Instruments:

Guitar, Bass, Drums, Rock Bands

Genres:

Rock, Pop, Indie, Prog, Math-Rock

Location:

Gaithersburg, Germantown, Rockville, Potomac, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Maryland

Why I work well with kids?

I have been teaching kids for over 4 years now, and I’ve had only 2 students stop taking lessons with me because of lack of interest.  I love working with kids because they are so malleable and you can help mold them into the little rockers they want to be.  You know everything is going well when the next lesson comes up the following week, and your student is plugged in and ready to show you what he/she has mastered.  Teaching kids music theory through the songs they know and love is in integral part of the way I teach.  I find that in doing this, students have more fun in the lesson, and are keen to practice more in between lessons.

John W. Resume and Bio

Music Teachers Just Got Easier to Find

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Every city in the United States (and the rest of the world!) has well educated and capable music teachers who can help the community by sharing their knowledge.  Every city around the world also has people who would love to find the right music instructor for their needs. Savvy Lessons.  Get Savvy.  Be Savvy.

Savvy Lessons Music Teachers

Choosing The Right Music Lesson Company in a Tough Economy

Times are tough. The economy’s still sluggish, and summer expenses – camps, vacations, reunions, weddings, etc. – are hitting all of our pockets pretty hard. Looking for ways to cut back, parents often have to prioritize their spending budgets.  This isn’t an easy task with our high paced lives.  

Yup, you’ve heard it before.  ’Practice makes perfect’!

If your child could use a boost with his reading skills, sign him up for music class.

Research shows that kids who participate in multi-year music instruction that grows increasingly more complex out-perform their non-musically trained counterparts in reading and language skills. While the idea that music makes you smarter is nothing new, a recent Long Island University study confirms this long-held notion and investigates how using music can enhance academic performance.

Researchers set out to compare vocabulary and verbal sequencing, critical reading subsets, in two sets of second graders – one exposed to music instruction and one not. They identified two schools located in the same geographic area with similar demographic characteristics and comprehensive literary programs so the groups were as similar as possible. Only, children from one school were given formal piano lessons during the three-year study, and students attending the second school had never received school-taught or outside music lessons of any kind.

Each participant was assessed both before and after the study. And wouldn’t you know it; when they completed fourth grade, children in the music group boasted significantly higher scores in both vocabulary and verbal sequencing than their peers.

Since we interpret music and language in similar ways, it stands to reason that there’s some overlap in how our brains process these things; so learning music can actually enhance linguistic capacity. These findings prove just how much music matters. But you don’t have to trust the experts. Enroll your child in music lessons, and the proof could be just a report card away.

From infancy, humans respond to music and rhythms.  The ability to make music is wired in our brains as much as the ability to learn a language.  Children are genetically programmed to absorb information and develop skills that will be used as an adult, and the same ability is evident when a child is exposed to music and learns to play an instrument.

The creative concepts of tempo, pitch, harmony and syncopation, as well as mastering an instrument, help a child develop related skills. Musical notation and composition is a form of mathematics; breaking musical notes and sounds into full, half and quarter notes give a practical lesson in math.  The mental skills of concentration, comprehension, as well as refining motor skills and physical dexterity is learned by playing an instrument. Learning to play and instrument and read music also promotes self-confidence, discipline, and encourage creativity .  These  are the obvious by-products of  any education, and a musical education enhances and refines these skills along with the additional benefit of intellectual  growth and maturity. .
From the time they begin hearing and responding, babies naturally respond to the stimulus of rhythm and music.  Between the ages of six months and four years, music lessons can help a child develop their sense of rhythm and musical expression. Group participation by singing and playing simple instruments like rattles and tambourines develop social and cooperative skills.  Such simple percussion instruments are easily manipulated e by a child at an early age, and a three year old can begin to learn and repeat songs.

By the age of five, many children are capable of learning to play simple tunes on a piano or other keyboard instruments. Most children by then the dexterity, strength and motor control to begin  piano or violin lessons.  By this age, most children also have the patience, concentration and attention span to concentrate for a half hour music lesson or practice.

By age seven, most children will have the strength and coordination for lessons in drum or guitar. It is advisable to wait until age ten before starting lessons in woodwind instruments, as they require a larger lung capacity and control of the mouth and lips.

It is essential that parents and teachers encourage any child that shows musical ability, and most of all interest, to have an early introduction to music and musical instruments.  The mental and physical skill and discipline required to play an instrument will be a great asset in their education and expand their skill, knowledge and a greater appreciation for learning and experiences as well.

We know all about how music boosts linguistic ability in students, but a new study proves that even infants too young to speak can benefit from musical training.

Canadian researchers conducted a six-month study of two sets of one-year-olds that had similar communication and social development. Both groups attended music classes during the study, and neither had previously participated in baby music instruction. One group’s class consisted of the infants visiting various toy stations as “Baby Einstein” played in the background. The other group’s instruction involved interactive music making; these infants learned songs, nursery rhymes, and lullabies, and parents and infants worked together playing percussion instruments and singing songs.

At the end of the six-month study, babies in the more interactive classes had developed larger and/or earlier brain responses to musical tones than those in the less interactive group. They also showed a bias to hearing music played in key, as opposed to toddlers in the passive listening group, which showed no preference between melodies played in key versus songs with out-of-key notes thrown in.

But the benefits from interactive lessons weren’t all music related. Babies from the interactive group were also better communicators – waving goodbye or pointing at far away objects. And socially, this group smiled more, was easier to comfort, and was more adaptable during stressful situations.

So, while playing music at home provides great exposure for infants, get the maximum benefit by going a step further. Sing songs, play interactive musical games with little ones, and sign them up for music lessons. If toddlers could talk, they’d thank you.

Learning to play a musical instrument can be one of the most enriching experiences in life. The pleasure of producing music for the delight of others, or for personal enjoyment, is a powerful gift. While teaching oneself is possible, having an experienced teacher who provides a structured program of advancement is the best way of achieving musical goals in the shortest time.

Music lessons can be a challenge, however. The cost and time commitment needed for getting to and from lessons can be as much of a burden as the lessons themselves. This extra burden of expense and can seriously detract from the enjoyment and progress of learning to play the instrument itself. And the time spent traveling back and forth from home to lesson could be much better spent practicing the instrument, rather than doing the commute.

The solution is finding a teacher who can do the lessons at your own home. For parents of children who are learning a musical instrument, this solution offers many advantages. The parent can be engaged with household tasks  while the child is taking their lesson, rather than wasting time driving struggling with traffic and worrying about being late to the lesson , idly waiting  for the lesson to end while chores at home are left unfinished,  are all eliminated. At- home lessons can also be easier and less stressful on the child in the familiar surroundings of home rather that in a strange environment as well. Taking lessons at home means the child can associate music with his normal life and familiar things, making music a part of the family, as it were.

Eliminating the cost of travel, and time lost from other activities and needed chores at home lessons can be just more economical, and learning and practicing easier when music becomes part of the normal household routine, rather than the ordeal of a commute. At home lessons can make learning to play an instrument easier, faster and more enjoyable for everyone.