Ear Training • Music Theory • Composition • Choral Arranging
TEACHING
Taking a holistic approach that does not separate music theory from ear training, I have been helping people improve their music literacy and composition skills for over 25 years. In addition to teaching privately, I have been on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 2008, and have served on a variety of other faculties. (bio)
Since some of my training took place at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, I’m heavily influenced by the Hungarian (Kodály) approach to teaching, which I have modified over the years into my own method, suitable for American adults seeking to improve their musical skills.
Among my students have been classical music composers, singer/songwriters, musical theater composer/lyricists, choral arrangers, amateur & professional singers, and others. I am now doing my private teaching exclusively online (currently via Zoom).
Ear Training and Music Theory
(Musicianship)
Ear training is something you need to master and constantly improve whether your goal is to compose music or to read it. My Musicianship students tend to fall into any of a few categories:
Complete beginners
Amateur or professional singers who know some music theory, and have some reading ability on an instrument, but need help with sight singing
Experienced and accomplished musicians who don’t happen to have formal training in notation
Composers who approach me for composition lessons may discover the need to improve their ear training in order to improve their composition skills
More advanced musicians still wishing to improve their ears, sight singing, and rhythm skills
My musicianship lessons come with a necessary dose of music theory training, because as far as I’m concerned, the two should not be separated. That makes this an excellent opportunity to fill gaps in your theory knowledge.
“I really got it this time! I already feel more capable as I study the music I’ll be singing this fall.”
Sight Singing
Even if you're an experienced musician – maybe you know your theory and can sight read at an instrument – you may lack the ear training necessary for sight singing without the help of an instrument. Sight singing is actually a completely different skill. We can play the right notes on an instrument by simply knowing where to put our fingers down. Sight singing is almost entirely about ear training.
Like learning a language (or anything, really), it is best to start this training with very basic elements and build on them gradually.
“Better than any other sight singing lessons I’ve had in the past”
Composition
While I emphasize ear training, music literacy, and theory as important for growth as a composer, it is not at the total expense of creativity and craft! Most important is understand and serve your goals as a composer, whether you’re writing chamber music, choral music, theater songs, pop songs, or game music. I approach all students according to their individual needs, and work with them to determine how I can help them most effectively.
I enjoy the challenge of working with students in diverse styles, but I feel that my particular kind of teaching is best suited to students who are working with notation – or would like to learn how to do that. I am probably not the teacher for you if your work is not notation-based.
“When I didn’t know how to proceed with my ambitious plan to write an opera, I was lucky enough to find Michael as a teacher. He helped me through with good humor and good advice — and the result was all I could hope for.”
“Michael assisted me greatly as someone who feels like the music I want to be writing is often just out of reach. He not only showed me new techniques and ideas I could put to good use, but also helped me to see and expand on the value of what I was already doing.”
Choral Arranging
The choir is a very special instrument with its own set of requirements, and writing well for it is a specific skill that is often neglected in the training of composers. If you have written choral pieces that were not well received by conductors, it may just be that you need to master the practical side of writing for voices. I can walk you through that step by step.
How do lessons work on Zoom?
I have found teaching composition and musicianship on Zoom to be very easy and comfortable for most students. I am able to screen share my iPad, where I can annotate and laser point at materials, whether they’re your composition drafts (sent to me ahead of time as PDFs) or ear training materials.
Musicianship lessons, in particular, require both of us to be in a quiet environment with reasonably decent microphones and speakers. (I find the native mic/speaker on my iMac to be perfectly fine.) There is singing involved, of course, with musicianship lessons, so you might also wish to consider privacy in your environment. I require students to be on camera during lessons.
Rates and Payments
My rate for one-hour lessons is $90, with the option to pay $300 for blocks of 4 lessons. Payment can be made via Venmo or PayPal.
Book a Free Preliminary Meeting
You probably have questions! Let’s set up a meeting to see if we’re a good fit, and discuss your needs and goals over Zoom. You are also more than welcome to email me with any questions!