The Best Learning Environment

I do my best to remind my teachers to reduce all forms of stress during the lessons. I believe that if the student is happy when learning, he/she will be more likely to want to repeat the experience of playing when they arrive at home. I want our students to begin by gaining the skills, as quickly as possible, to read music quickly and accurately. In addition, students are trained to play "by ear" from the first lesson, gradually increasing the difficulty of both the reading and ear-training exercises. This is the teaching method proven by the National Guild of Piano Teachers, and Dou Dou Sight Reading, to allow students to be able to work through their method books as quickly as possible, identifying melodies they recognize and love along the way. When a student is playing songs they love, they will be much more inclined to include music in their daily activities. When the student plays more, they attain their short and long-term goals more quickly, and stay motivated to keep coming to lessons. We understand that students of all ages have other things in their lives, and that sometimes practice isn't a priority for the week. Rather than focusing on what isn't done, we focus on the overall progress the student has made, and help the student find a sense of balancing practice with other life activities.

Custom Tailored Lessons

I teach my instructors how to help students recognize when there are real time management problems, or when they are just generally overloaded. Depending on their personal learning style, as determined by the initial testing session, we work with each student to determine the best time management strategies to achieve the goals they have set for themselves. The bottom line: I believe that music lessons can be a fun, creative, and motivational experience where the strengths of each student are recognized and emphasized. I work with my teachers to help them recognize that not everyone aspires to be a professional musician, and we work together to create a lesson plan for each student based on their personal priorities, not ours. (Some of the most rewarding times I have with music, personally, are when I have had a hard day, and I just sit down and play a relaxing piece of music for pure, personal pleasure.)

Versatility In Teaching Personalities

I take special care to find and retain instructors that are as encouraging, patient, willing and able to be flexible to fit the needs of each student as I am. They modify their teaching methods based on each student's individual needs as determined by the student's goals, and learning styles identified in the initial assessment. All teachers are tested to determine their teaching style, and attend semi-monthly training sessions to continually update their knowledge of teaching each learning style. Our number one objective is to give our students a positive, rewarding, and enjoyable experience with music from the very first lesson on. We only have approximately 6 months with a new student to either make or break their musical success. We can not afford to make mistakes during this critical period. I consider the first 6 months of lessons to be the most important of all the lessons the student will ever have, as they set the student's confidence level, and set the tone for all lessons to follow. NO LESSONS ARE BETTER THAN A BAD EXPERIENCE IN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS. I would rather teach a new 8 year old student that has never had a lesson, than a 6 year old that has had even 6 months of a negative experience.
I also realize that a music teacher spends a lot of one on one time with their students, and I consider it my personal responsibility to find teachers that can be positive mentors and role models for our students. I consider my job of matching students up with teachers to be absolutely critical, and I do not ever place a student with a teacher that does not thoroughly understand that student's individual learning style.

Note: All teachers have passed a thorough background check, and are required to adhere to a very strict moral & ethical code of conduct, including:

1. No history of, or current problems with, alcohol abuse or misuse
2. No current use, or history of use, of illegal drugs
3. Absolutely no history of any sexual deviance or crime against women or children
4. No criminal record of any felony
5. Professional attire
6. Clean vocabulary

An additional requirement for hire is that the teacher have a demonstrated, verifiable ability to teach and connect with children in a positive way.

I will NEVER have a teacher on staff that I would not trust, 100% completely, to teach my own grandchildren. This has made it very difficult to find teachers, but I would rather not have a child taught, then take a chance on having a teacher be, in any way, a negative influence on them.

Dynamic Range In Lesson Activities

I believe all music students, including those studying voice, guitar, and drums, need to develop basic music skills, i.e.: notation, rhythm, sight reading, playing by ear, instrumental and/or vocal technique, and performance presentation. In addition, I offer special classes, on a seasonal basis, that teach recording, including mixing down a demo CD and using MIDI with various computer software programs and processors, and burning your own CD. The following is a partial list of classes that are available at the teVelde School of Music:

Recording

Students can now record instrumental and vocal components, and add musical effects to create their own demo CD. They learn how to:

- Record multiple tracks in layers, in a professional recording studio environment using "Sonar, Producer Edition"

- Listen for instruments in a given recording, and reproduce the sounds precisely in their own Record their own instrumental tracks, creating and combining drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals w/harmonies, and effects

- Mixdown a given project experimenting with effects and processors to get the sound they are looking for Create final wave, MIDI, and MP3 files of their finished work, burning the final copies on CD to play in their own CD player or iPod

- Use their experience with recreating other artist's recordings to begin writing their own music Create their own song, from beginning to end, including performing all of the instruments, and singing all vocals with harmonies

- Composing: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced. Students will learn to write lyrics, create melody lines, chord structures, and rhythms that work together.

Please indicate your interest when you contact us. Enrollment is on a student by student basis. In addition to these classes, we offer private instruction for ages 4* to Adult. The styles of music we teach include Classical, Opera, Pop, Rock, Country, Jazz, and Alternative.

Children under 7 years old may need to take lessons with a parent for the first year. Children of all ages are welcome to take combined lessons with a parent, at no additional cost, and all parents are encouraged to participate as much as they wish.

Participation in all events, recitals, and performances is completely optional, and these events are structured primarily to give those students who want a forum to practice performing in, the opportunity to do so. All parents must be particularly careful to refrain from sharing negative stories about their childhood experiences with music lessons, as many children strive to be like their parents. Fortunately for most students, teaching methods have changed dramatically in the last 30 years, and we strive to use the most current, effective, and fun methods available.