• a comprehensive guitar education that will develop their musical imagination and enrich their daily life.
• to appreciate and value music as an essential form of human communication.
• the steps to learn and how to teach themselves.
• to have high expectations of themselves and to set the bar high at each step of the journey.
• mastery learning and the necessity of a detail-oriented approach; each step must be mastered before moving on, with a feeling of success after each step.
• how to practice by joining in the the process of practicing with me and leaving their lesson with a "recipe" of the steps to most easily achieve the goal of success.
• music literacy; unless otherwise agreed upon, all my students learn to read music.
• to build a repertory of carefully selected musical pieces of graded-difficulty with plenty of reinforcement at each level.
• proper piano technique and its importance to easier learning.
• music theory and musicianship. Advanced students can study harmony.
• form and analysis. from their earliest pieces, students are introduced to the structure of music.
• ear training with simple listening exercises.
• sight reading by learning the proper way to read and play new music at sight.
• music history as it relates to their pieces.
• composition; I firmly believe that creativity is the pinnacle of the arts. Student who are interested are encouraged to write their own music.
• Improvisation, piano functionality, getting around on the keyboard without music and chordal harmony.
• performance; all students are encouraged to perform at the performance recitals, allowing them to share their musical advancements with others.

Advanced students can study all these subjects more formally.

• Bring music of their own choice/interest to their lessons
• Stick to a structured approach to learning music and their instrument.
• Perform in regular recitals.
• Test yearly with the local MTNA chapter to acknowledge, validate and document their musical growth. A great resume stuffer!
• Learn different styles of music (Classical, Pop, Rock, and Jazz; whatever interests them!)
• Have fun!

• have a desire to learn music and to play the guitar.
• have a positive receptive attitude towards learning.
• listen attentively and carefully to my instruction during lessons.
• attend their regularly scheduled lessons as often as possible.
• practice 6 days-a-week (Warm-up on lesson day).
• practice for the length of their lesson time, for each practice day.
• show the same respect for me as I show them.

• helping with responsibilities (books, pencils, practicing, time, etc.)
• being supportive and positive. Keep it fun and enjoyable
• sitting in on the lessons and being aware of what their child is learning, so they can help at home.
• being with young students while they practice. Generally, younger students need supervision; the younger the student is, the more directly involved a parent needs to be for their child to be successful.
• learning how to play guitar, as well,¹ and practicing with their very young child at home. For parents of a very young child, this is a requirement.

I work with students and parents to create a team approach to their child's learning. Most successful students have had what I call The Success Triangle: Good student, good parent and good teacher. Note: talent is not mentioned. Here, good parent means a time-involved parent (with practice, responsibilities, etc...) Also, if one leg of the triangle is weak or missing, the student is left unsupported; success is less likely. It takes an exceptional student to overcome this and achieve success.

¹ The highly successful Suzuki Violin Method was based on this concept. Shinichi Suzuki insisted that the parent take lessons for 6 months before the child was admitted as his student.