TESTIMONIALS
“Blake is a kind and patient teacher who can seamlessly work with the tiniest of humans all the way up to adults. No matter who the student, Blake’s lessons are thoughtful and carefully planned to support every step of a student’s musical journey.”
“My two kids have been taking lessons from Blake for over a year now (piano, guitar, and band). His patience and creativity in tailoring lessons to their individual interests is what really makes it work for my kids. Because they play songs they love, practice and lessons are something they look forward to doing. Blake really inspires them to explore with their music.”
“My daughters have been taking music lessons (piano and guitar) from Blake for 2 years now. Blake’s teaching style combines technical ability, patience, and fun. He understands that each student is different and works with their strengths to ensure that each student is enjoying what they are learning. My girls love taking lessons from him and we plan on continuing as long as we are able to.”
“You showed me how to play guitar when all the other teachers just taught me lullabies.”
ABOUT MY METHOD
When I’m teaching a lesson all of my musical experience comes into play to create an immersive, creative, and thoughtful experience. Both my formal musical training and history of playing in bands helps me incorporate the power of creativity and improvisation into every lesson. My degree in Music Composition has allowed me to create engaging theory/ear-training games and exercises to sharpen a student's ear and musical understanding. My experience in bands over the years ensures a focus on being able to play with others, harmony, and keeping consistent rhythm. It also helps out when learning the chords to the latest pop single! Overall, I make sure learning the instrument is fun, because after all, fun is what kept me playing music consistently all these years.
I’ve been a musician for 20 years, but found teaching, my latest musical passion, 6 years ago. My introduction into teaching brought it’s own challenges as I was in a place where English wasn’t the first language. I was volunteering in the Middle East at an arts-focused non-profit teaching kids piano, guitar, and drums. I also helped organize a music and arts focused summer camp along with the other volunteers. This experience made me realize how much I loved sharing the joy of music with others, and particularly hooking kids on music early. Since then, I’ve taught many amazing students of all ages in both Brooklyn, NY and Seattle, WA on a variety of instruments (guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, piano, group band classes). Wherever and whomever I’m teaching, the focus is sharing the skills needed to be a great musician in a fun, creative, and engaging way.