What is this crazy instrument where we push down on metal or nylon strings on a slab of wood while the other hand strums one or all of the strings? With tutoring in Guitar, we work on the fundamentals... of dexterity in each hand and the position of the body to execute beginning to advanced concepts and put it all together for efficient music-making through the Gentle Release Model and Universal Backwards Design approaches that are incorporated for self-efficacy. My expertise in the field of music and education is wide-ranging and allows for students to set, achieve, and exceed goals quickly. As an experienced recording artist and producer, I've composed and performed in all genres. From Musical Theater to Latin Jazz, Big Band Jazz to Heavy Metal, they all use the 12-note scale and vertical/horizontal grids with instrument-intuitive techniques to compose. Since I am a multi-instrumentalist and advanced music theoretician, helping students learn how to make music through their own bodies and instruments is something I am very passionate about. If I am ever asked what instruments I play, I stick to the main 5 that I play professionally consistently: guitar, bass, piano, flute, and voice. In education, I have taught any and all kinds of music classes with during and after school programs for grade PreK-high school, as well as professional development for classroom teachers in music integration practices across the US in-person and online. I have extensive experience with private lesson instruction and have been consistently tutoring one-on-one for 26 years with the past 5 years being exclusively online. When I continued my own education with a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, it was to focus on online education techniques for all ages. With innovative technologies constantly evolving, I love keeping up with the different hardware and software that allows myself and students to execute amazing music-making no matter where we are!read more

For half of my life, I have been a multi-instrumental musician through gigging, teaching, professional development, touring, recording, composing, and arranging all around the U.S. I love traveling th... roughout the country via #vanlife and petsitting while being able to teach and learn simultaneously! From international tours with big bands to national tours with original bands, I have been to all 50 United States and have been exposed to a greater global community. When I first started playing the flute at 11 years old, I knew within the first week that I was going to be a music educator. I was so enthralled at the opportunity to play music because of a school that provided the instruments and caring teachers! By the time I was 15 I was teaching private lessons on multiple instruments. By 21, I had 60 weekly private students and became a music educator in schools by 25, despite only having an Associates degree at the time. At 27 years old, I expanded into giving professional developments to classroom teachers. My private lesson studio grew over the years and morphed from in-person to online lessons by 2018. In order to accomplish more of my mission work with equitable access to education I returned to school and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a minor in Psychology at Ottawa University Online in June 2018 and a Masters of Education: Curriculum and Instruction from August 2018-August 2019. My favorite aspect of being a musician is composing and collaborating with others. The arranging I have done for music of all styles, from etudes for aspiring musicians to orchestral jazz arrangements with full score notation, have continued to challenge my musicianship. I’ve arranged for school orchestras, educational institutes, cruise ship guest entertainers, and cover band. My favorite arrangements tend to be the songs I perform as a solo guitarist, relishing in the challenge of making a song sound complete with just one instrument.read more