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My Teaching Philosophy

Whether a musician creates their own music or plays songs that were written yesterday to centuries ago, they are bringing to life our deepest feelings, dreams and emotions. For some, this expression can be enough when playing in solitude but for many of us, the connection to other people created by music is necessary

There are many ways to learn to play an instrument, but study is important. Just as a painter learns to mix colors on a palette or a potter learns to shape clay on the wheel or a boat builder learns to bend wood into a sailing vessel, as musician needs the right skills to fully create and share their love for music.

This does not mean 10,000 hours of practice but rather to start with creating a musical skill foundation that you can continually build on with your teacher, or by self-study or by playing with others.

Some skills are fundamental. For example, being able to physically press the keys or press the frets at the right place and at the right time. Being able to interpret sheet music whether in chart or sheet music form. Being able to understand how music is put together from a theory perspective. These three provide a great foundation that is achievable for anyone.

I have found that music learning methods such as The Royal Conservatory (RCM) Prep (and beyond) or the Alfred Basic Piano Library or the Hal Leonard Guitar Method series are essential in that they provide a very tangible path for learning and practice for basic practical skills, technique and theory.

Musical learning is not just a straight line upwards from being a “beginner” to being a “skilled”. The journey takes many twists and turns and often feels like a set of plateaus or stairs that the student climbs as they add more knowledge over time.

I’m a lifelong musical learner and I hope my students follow this path too. Even now, after many years, I’m taking RCM courses as a certified teacher to improve my own skills…not just for playing but for teaching.

Music is wonderful when played with others. I encourage my students to take advantage of twice-yearly recitals and to learn tools for recording their music such as GarageBand. For my more advanced students we’ll spend more time on improvisation and composition. For all students, we’ll have fun which is the most important thing.

Although the student is the primary owner of their path to learning, for my younger students, there is a partnership that is put in place between the teacher, student and parent. I ask parents to commit to providing learning materials as requested, a decent instrument to play and positive space and time for the student to practice a bit daily.
In our busy lives, finding and prioritizing practice time is challenging.

At some point, a young student will decide that music is their thing (or not!) and they will prioritize it versus jobs, sports, schoolwork etc. My feeling early on is that practice should not be forced on the student. Ideally, younger students should have weekly practice and creative time on their instrument that cumulatively at least equals their lesson time.

Thanks for visiting me, I look forward to being able to help your student get started on a lifetime of musical enjoyment.

Group Ukulele classes for adults this winter in Redmond and Sno-Valley/Duvall/Carnation

For a while now, I’ve been bringing ukulele classes to groups of adults in Redmond and Carnation. The classes are extremely reasonable in cost and it’s a great way to get out and make music with other people. One won’t get all the level of detailed attention that comes with private instruction but some folks just thrive better in a group setting!

Here are some registration links. Note that costs can vary depending on whether you are a “resident” or not…but still very reasonable!

Registration for City of Redmond Group Ukulele Class (Tuesday Mornings 11am, Begins January 7, 2025): https://app.amilia.com/store/en/city-of-redmond/shop/activities/5624952

Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation group ukulele class (Tuesday Mornings 9am, Begins January 7): https://snovalleysenior.org/activities/games-groups/

Summer Uke Camps for the Kids

This summer, I’m partnering up with the Northwest Art Center in Duvall…to offer to ukulele camps that are focused on ages from 9-16.

No previous experience is required! I provide a set of classroom ukes for students to use during their time in camp. The camps run in two sessions…Monday to Thursday…9am to Noon. The camps are limited to 10 students and the cost is $180/student.

The first session starts Monday July 25 and the second starts on Monday August 1.

To Register, here’s a link to the Northwest Art Center’s site for more info:

Camp 1, starting Monday July 25 and Camp 2, starting Monday August 1.

Date set for our 2021 Virtual Fall Recital – 11/21. Videos are due on 11/18.

Hi, this will be a first for all of us! Our 2021 Fall Recital has just been scheduled and yes, this year, it will be virtual.

Parents, you’ve received in email an infographic that discusses how to get the best video performance and the process for submitting the videos. I’m happy to chat about any of the details, get in touch if you have any questions!

Student performance videos will be due on October 18 and this will give me a few days to integrate them into a single longer video that will go live on the 21st. I’m planning to host the video on the Bear Creek Interactive Youtube channel.

Stay tuned for more details. All the students are currently working on their Recital pieces and I’m super excited to see how they all turn out!

A bit of Bach for the Ukulele players

I have students who play both the 6-string guitar as well as Ukulele. So it’s fun to hear how instrumental arrangements are voiced on both instruments. On the Uke, there are occasional compromises that need to be made to accommodate the instrument’s typical gCEA tuning but the important thing is to capture the Uke’s unique voice.

Here’s a Gavotte by JS Bach. I published the original arrangement on flat.io. You can find all my arrangements on Flat through this link…

The Ukulele…an instrument of subtlety and power. Are you surprised?

Here’s a link to a Facebook Live session with me playing a variety of tunes on my baritone uke…a few original songs with words (“4 Strings”, “As Stars Burn”), a couple of instrumentals that could lead to new songs (“Sunshine in a Bottle” and more)…and a couple of classical standards too (“Fur Elise” by Beethoven, “Greensleeves”, “Fantaisie Impromptu” by Chopin)… Enjoy!

So your first Uke just arrived in its box on your doorstep. What next?

Here’s a Youtube video that I put together that answers this and many more beginner questions.

A bit of background…I am running a summer camp this June through August with Latino Civic Alliance where kiddos from across WA are getting new ukes mailed to them. What happens when that awesome first uke is dropped on your doorstep? This one-hour video takes you through what to expect and how to get started on making music.

As you can imagine, this is a really basic level video but it has a lot of interesting background that even more advanced players might enjoy.

While you’re checking out the video, feel free to subscribe to my Youtube channel so that you’re the first to know about new content!

Summer Uke Workshops with Latino Civic Alliance

This summer, starting the week of June 25th, I’ll be running twice a week online group camps with the Ukulele on behalf of Latino Civic Alliance. LCA is working with school districts across WA to bring students into these events. I’ll be bringing sunshine and the Aloha spirit and we’ll all have a ton of fun. Hopefully, more news soon on additional camps and workshops. Here’s a link to the news from my FB page. If you haven’t already, consider giving my page a ‘like’.