Learn how to sound like yourself.
With all of my students, regardless whether they be studying piano, voice, classical, jazz, pop, soul, whatever - I focus on the individual needs, strengths, weaknesses and wildest dreams of each in order to help them become the musician they already are deep down, just as my first jazz teacher Donald Brown did for me. Interested in learning jazz? I welcome pianists of all ages and levels. Want to find your voice? I teach a wide variety of vocal styles with an emphasis on proper technique and individual sound. Looking to improve your skills in improvisation, composition, arranging, or stage presence? We can absolutely cover those as well. In-person lessons are available locally in New York City, and FaceTime lessons are available for students anywhere. I offer regular private lessons within my own studio for a select few students. Please email me at hollybeanmusic@gmail.com for more information.
Subjects offered: jazz, classical, and much more
Jazz Piano
Jazz piano lessons with me will provide you with a lot of language, new ideas, exercises and demonstrations to open your ears, and fundamental instruction in jazz theory, improvisation, rhythm, harmony, repertoire (tunes), style and pianistic technique. You will play a lot in these lessons as they are a very hands-on experience. You do not have to be a strong sight-reader to excel in jazz lessons, nor do you need to plan on becoming a career musician, though for those with this future in mind, I am honored to help you on your way. If you are already a career musician, come and learn about voicings and patterns you've never seen before, or pick up a technique that you probably have never thought of. Students will be provided with standard jazz repertoire and a wide selection of listening examples to ensure that your ears are always learning, even when you aren't sitting at the piano. We will cover the many different subgenera of jazz including bebop, hard bop, latin and afro-cuban jazz, contemporary jazz, fusion, and gospel. We will study the different approaches to the piano taken by jazz giants that have shaped the genre over the course of history. All of my jazz piano students receive a holistic and comprehensive education in the jazz tradition, catered to their individual musical inclinations and identity.
Classical Piano
Beginning students will learn the fundamentals of sight-reading, proper technique and posture, critical repertoire, harmony, theory, ear training and rhythm. Intermediate and advanced students will be challenged with repertoire selected to target areas in which they need to improve, so that they may become a well-rounded and versatile pianist or accompanist. If you are interested in studying classical piano with me, I encourage you to visit the Listener School of Music website, which you can access via the button above.
Jazz Voice
Learning how to sing in the jazz idiom involves a great deal more than simply capturing a sultry tone, though that is one aspect of the art form that I can teach you. Students will learn proper breath control technique, how to produce different timbres and tones with their voice, how to improvise vocally (and the language that comes with it), along with fundamental instruction in jazz theory, harmony, rhythm, and standard repertoire. Students will study the work of legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, Carmen McRae, Betty Carter, Dinah Washington, and more, depending on each student's individual inclinations and preferences. Students will learn to imitate the sound of different horns and stringed instruments with their voice. Students will learn to command a melody, such that a tune truly becomes them, and how to pick repertoire that showcases who they are as a person as well as how they identify, so that they may truly shine when performing. We will cover proper pronunciation for common languages heard within the jazz idiom such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Students will also be provided with instruction in stage presence, confidence, gig etiquette and attire, and recording technique. Jazz voice lessons may also include instruction in related genres such as blues, soul, latin and afro-cuban jazz, R&B, gospel, neo-soul, pop and hip-hop. Most importantly, students will learn to sound like themselves.
Classical Voice
Students will be instructed in proper breath control technique and provided with different vocal exercises each week to expand their vocal range and capabilities. My approach to classical voice instruction is extremely heavy in ear training and intonation. Students will learn the solfège scale, as well as how to sight-sing virtually anything with minimal prep time. Students will learn how to pull pitches out of the air, and how to identify solfège scale degrees aurally from any piece of music. An assessment will determine the different ranges in your voice, and repertoire will be catered to your strengths as a classical vocalist. Students will learn how to pick repertoire that showcases who they are as a person as well as how they identify, so that they may truly shine when performing. Repertoire selections will be divided into sections, each with their own lesson and challenge for the student to focus on, such that the final performance of a piece will have great attention to detail and proper approach to dynamics, pronunciation, technique, and tone. Students will learn how to blend with other vocalists or instrumentalists in various ensemble settings. Students will receive instruction in stage presence, confidence, proper performance attire and posture.
Jazz Improvisation
I approach teaching jazz improvisation from a strongly aural standpoint. Students of any and all instruments will learn by listening, provided with instruction on how to properly transcribe language from original recordings of prominent jazz improvisers by singing first, playing second, and analyzing third with my instruction and guidance. Students will be provided with an extensive range of different materials and tools for improvising including instruction in modes, the many varying types of scales used in jazz improvisation, harmony, dissonance, consonance, the usage of space, licks and patterns, and how to construct a solo that sounds as though you're giving a beautifully organic speech. Students will be provided with an extensive foundation in jazz theory, harmony, rhythm, melodic interpretation and repertoire. We will cover a wide variety of jazz subgenera and the improvisational techniques specific to each, including early jazz, bebop, hard bop, cool jazz, contemporary jazz, latin and afro-cuban jazz, and whatever other subgenera the student may wish to learn. Students will learn to play the blues and to sing the notes that they want to play in their head, before they play them. Students will be challenged with specific transcription assignments to target their weaknesses, so that they may grow to be a more well-rounded and versatile improviser. Students will learn how to develop their own personal language, such that the more they study, the more they will sound like who they really are as an individual.
Jazz Arranging & Composition
Arranging and composition students will be provided with a vast and holistic instruction in theory, harmony, rhythm, melodic invention techniques, motif development, variations, form, orchestration, texture, mood and notation. Students will learn many various ways to voice chords, how to orchestrate for various ensembles from duos to big bands, and how to create strong melodic and harmonic material based in the jazz tradition, while showcasing each student's own creative identity. Students will learn how to use professional music notation software and MIDI devices, how to transfer ideas from the piano to different instruments or sections of instruments and vice versa, and how to phrase their works artfully. Students will be provided with comprehensive instruction in transposing instruments, the differing ranges of various instruments, as well as basic instrument techniques and limitations for the various parts they are writing for. Students will learn to draw melodies out of thin air, out of their own head, out of the piano, or from ideas implied in recordings they are drawn to. We will also cover a wide variety of techniques that can be used to quickly remedy what some call "composer's block." Students will learn to expand or distill arrangements depending on orchestration.