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Piano
We feature two different tracks for piano lessons: a traditional approach and a pop-chord approach.
Traditional piano lessons will focus on reading scored music and are great for students with an interest in classical music, as well as young beginners whose hands are developing, and those with specific goals that require reading complex scored music.
The pop-chord approach will focus on learning how to read chord charts, improvise, and understand chord theory. For students who envision themselves singing while they play (think Alicia Keys or Elton John), this is a great approach to take, as it leaves the melody with the student's vocal and teaches students how to read and improvise through the underlying chords. It is also a great approach for students who are interested in playing keys in a rock/pop band or a contemporary worship team. However, because of the physical challenges of full chords, we require students be 8 years old before starting this approach.
Some lessons may overlap a bit into both of these, but for the most part our instructors tend to specialize in one or the other. And no, it is not necessary to have a classical background to try the pop-chord approach!
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Guitar
We offer lessons on both acoustic and electric guitar.
Acoustic guitar lessons will focus initially on learning the basic open chords in your left hand and strumming correctly with your right hand. This is the best track for students who love to sing and want to play while singing songs they love (think Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran). Singing while playing the guitar is a skill unto itself, but with the right emphases, almost any student who wants to sing and play can find success in this approach. For older students and more advanced students, this approach will also dive into fingerpicking, chord theory, songwriting, and the general arrangement principles of popular music.
Electric guitar lessons will be great for people who need to learn the basics of rhythm guitar, but who also love classic rock, guitar solos, and killer rock riffs. Electric guitar lessons, particularly for the older and more advanced student, will have a focus on scales and reading tabs with the intention of being able to learn famous guitar solos as well as improvise your own. It's hard to get far without some rhythm chops, so rhythm guitar will inevitably be a part of this as well, but the focus is generally less of learning to sing with the guitar and instead learning how to make the electric guitar itself sing. However, you can play and sing from an electric guitar as well if desired! Our guitar instructors have varying degrees of expertise with lead electric guitar (as opposed to rhythm acoustic guitar), so please specify your experience level so we know which instructor will make the most sense for you.
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Drums
Drums are a lot of fun and are the rhythmic foundation of most music we hear! If you think your student may have an interest in rhythm and drumming, we'd love to follow that with them! All bands need great drummers, and playing steadily in time will also translate to anything else you choose to do musically. Our drum instructors have a wide array of professional drumming and teaching experience, and make these lessons a blast! (And parents, it's alright to try a couple of months of drums lessons before committing to buying a full drum kit for your house. Practicing on pillows at the beginning is totally fine!)
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Voice
Our voice instructors will help students develop good habits and techniques to use their voice to their fullest and healthiest potential! They will find songs that challenge the student's ability to use their voice, but they also will not shy away from the music they love. We are happy to work on a complicated classical piece or rock out to Taylor Swift with you, or in many cases, a little bit of both! Our primary goals are the expansion and health of your vocal capabilities, as well as the development of your ability to sing the kind of music that means the most to you!
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Ukulele
Ukulele is a wonderful instrument in and of itself, and also a great on-ramp to guitar for younger students. Ukulele is great for new students who want to sing and play, and is a fantastic way for young kids to get introduced to many musical concepts. With just a few easy-to-make chords, ukulele students can begin singing many of their favorite songs, with the help of the right instructor. Ukulele is highly recommended as a starting point before guitar for ages 8 and below, and can transition to guitar when the time is right.
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Bass
Every musician will tell you: everyone needs bass players! Often an afterthought for students signing up for lessons, many students do not ever pick up the bass. But for those that do, opportunities will likely abound! And here's the thing: it's actually pretty easy to get started for the older student. Unlike guitar, it generally only requires playing one note at a time; often just one note for an entire measure! Bass may be a great way to go for a middle or high school student who sees themselves playing in pop/rock, country, or contemporary worship band and isn't sure where to start. It also may be a great and fairly easy pivot for a guitar student looking to make a change and find more opportunities to play in the community. It's also just really cool!
For more info on our full team of private lessons instructors, please access our booking portal through the "Sign Up" page and select what instrument you'd like to learn.
DIMA primarily offers weekly individual private lessons. Our weekly private lessons can be self-booked here on our website, but if assistance is needed, please reach out to dima@holyspiritdi.org.
We also offer "dual lessons" on a case-by-case basis. Dual lessons include two students in a lesson at the same time with one instructor. At the moment, we are offering dual lessons to parent-child duos or to any two students who are both over the age of 10. For more info on details and pricing for dual lessons, reach out to dima@holyspiritdi.org.