Hi, I’m Melissa, and I’m excited about the prospect of becoming your teacher!
If you connect with music as much as I do, I’d love to help you find your own voice, expand your musical skills, and have fun exploring the mind-bending universe that is music.
My Teaching Style
My style is organized, innovative, and encouraging! I am committed to developing your musicianship, but I also want us to be able to laugh at our mistakes, have fun, not take our egos so seriously, and cultivate a sense of humanity through music. Similarly, while there is absolutely a place for traditional music fundamentals, there is an equally important place for creative expression and imagination.
The Language of Music
Music is an immense part of how I make sense of the world. It is truly a rare “universal language” that speaks to us and transforms us, regardless of our disparate backgrounds. Music stirs up something ineffable within us, and through it, we can communicate that which eludes speech. We can give a voice to our nuanced experiences, and share that voice in order to connect with others.
Why I Teach
Through my teaching, I hope to give you some fantastic tools that I wish I had when I was first learning to play music. I also want to inspire and show you what an adventure playing music can be! I hope to connect you with that voice deep within you that has something to say, to unveil, to create, to discover!
I teach because I want to give you the gift that I was given by my own teachers – the gift of musical education and expression, which is therapeutic, enriching, and life-changing. These phenomenal teachers nurtured my talents and steered me to a path of humility and wisdom. I want to share the transformative power of music with you. I teach because I also can learn from you!
What are my musical credentials?
I attended the University of Colorado at Denver’s Guitar Performance program from 2011-2014, where I studied both jazz and popular commercial music. My education there was indispensable to the shaping and refining of my musicianship, and I was fortunate enough to be mentored by an absolutely outstanding faculty. Drew Morell, Paul Musso, Sean McGowan, Bill Kopper, Peter Stoltzman, Dan Schwindt, Karin Hauger, and Todd Reid were all incredibly supportive and roused much of my motivation, discipline, and eventual confidence. I was one of only two females in the guitar program at that time, which was challenging, but thanks to the progressive and nurturing environment there, I was able to thrive and grow.
While at CU Denver, I was a member of their highly esteemed Guitar Ensemble under the direction of Drew Morell. I have performed a number of times at the prestigious and historic jazz club, Dazzle, the King Center Recital Hall, and I’ve been sought out for a number of private and community events.
I continue to hone my skills as a musician and a teacher, and I regularly attend workshops and conferences all over the United States, including Jazz Camp West in San Francisco, and the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Camp in Louisville, Kentucky. One of my current major mentors in jazz guitar is the acclaimed Matt Warnock, who is a phenomenal educator and a major influence on my teaching approach. He has featured my feedback on his website.
When did I begin playing piano and guitar?
I began piano lessons at age 8, after tinkering so much with little toy keyboards that I probably drove my parents bonkers. They wisely enrolled me in lessons, and I became trained under the esteemed “Suzuki Method”, where I was introduced to the rapturous wonders of Classical music. In high school, I composed my first full length piano piece entitled “Tales of a Leprechaun”, an effusion of impressionistic harmony, Celtic dances, and stormy Romanticism.
At age 14, I became hopelessly infatuated with the guitar. Inspired by 60s/70s rock and alternative rock, I got my first guitar (an electric!) and began lessons with one of the absolute BEST teachers in Denver, Shon Howard. His boundless enthusiasm for guitar, teaching, and songwriting made me look forward to every single lesson. Guitar was my refuge from the turbulence of those days, and cranking up my amp, breaking out the four track, and singing into the late night hours were how I spent my spare time.
The summer after graduating high school, I attended a jazz camp with my brother in Boulder, CO which forever changed my life. There I was plunged into a world of cutting edge musicians, brilliant educators, nonstop jazz performances, and the most liberating concept ever – IMPROVISATION. To create music, on the spot, in real time, with others – to engage in an intimate musical dialogue – how utterly revolutionary. The freedom that this music entailed, the welcoming community of artists who celebrated it, and the moving history behind it motivated me to pursue Jazz Studies.
Favorite musicians/bands/composers?
J.S. Bach, The Beatles, Duke Ellington, Beethoven, Jim Hall, Radiohead, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Rachmaninoff, The Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell, Stan Getz, Stevie Wonder, Billie Holiday, Debussy, Nat King Cole, Jacob Collier, Pink Floyd, Joe Pass, Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, Elliott Smith, Bill Evans, Beck, Chicago, Wes Montgomery, Simon and Garfunkel, Schumann, Chet Baker, The Temptations, James Taylor, Charlie Parker, Keith Jarrett, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Neil Young, America, The Everly Brothers, Bob Dylan, Emily Remler, Verdi, Mozart, Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, Chopin, Santana, Kenny Burrell, Marvin Gaye, Kurt Elling, The Smashing Pumpkins, Eliane Elias, Bill Frisell, The Carpenters, Otis Redding, Paul Desmond, Nirvana, The Zombies, Todd Rundgren, Lester Young, Tori Amos, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayer, Astor Piazzolla, Sinatra, Mingus, Monk, Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, The Smiths, Chet Atkins, Diana Krall, Linda Rondstadt, Brahms, Hildegard of Bingen, Pearl Jam, The Doors, Fiona Apple, John Pizzarelli, The Oh Hellos, Frankie Valli, Bill Withers, Alice in Chains, Burt Bacharach, Billie Eilish, Horace Silver, Mamas and the Papas, Julian Lage, Tommy Emmanuel, Lenny Breau, My Bloody Valentine, Rosa Passos, Justin Kauflin, Matt Warnock, Pat Metheny, Celia Cruz, Astrud Gilberto, Aimee Nolte, Poncho Sanchez, Pat Martino, and MANY MORE!
If you’ve been frustrated or felt stuck with your musical progress, I can help!
During my own musical journey, I encountered obstacles that hindered my development. Information overload, inefficient practice routines, and lack of ear training were culprits, to name a few. I also kept reinforcing mistakes and poor habits, which hampered my progress and dealt a blow to my confidence. I want to help you avoid these snags and give you some fantastic tools and wisdom! If you’ve ever wanted to learn music and felt like you couldn’t or that you weren’t progressing, don’t give up – there is a teacher out there for you! (I hope that teacher can be me or that I can help find the right one for you!)