At the heart of my teaching philosophy is recognizing that every student is an individual with unique learning styles. That’s why I strive to make lessons as interesting and useful as possible to each individual student. To do this, I often incorporate things based on their interests and capabilities. Duets are a great way to make music more fun and engaging, so I often include both duets for the same instrument and duets with other instruments so students can become familiar with the sound of different combinations. Another important part of my teaching philosophy is to encourage students to “play with their ears” as well as their fingers. This helps them to become a critical listener of their own performance and start to recognize when their sound is exactly what they want it to be. With this approach, I hope to help my students become confident and independent musicians.