My teaching interests lie almost completely in the humanities. Beginning in the Fall of 2023, I’ll be teaching various courses and lessons from my studio in Laurel, MT. I may offer online instruction later, but for now, it will all be in-person. My studio is at

201 East Main Street
Laurel, MT 59044

Here’s a brief list of what I intend to offer. I’ll post more detail over the next couple of weeks. Please contact me if you’d like more information sooner.

Courses

Space is limited, with most classes being capped at 9 students.

DAYTIME

• Guitar Class. Scheduling Survey. 2 semesters (26 weeks). 75 minutes. 10 years old and up. Capped at 9 students. Play in class and practice at home. Learn to read standard music notation. Open to students and parents. $90 per semester.
• Voice Class for Teens. Scheduling Survey. 2 semesters (26 weeks). 90 minutes. 14-18 years old. Capped at 10 students. For beginning/intermediate students. Fun and challenging. Learn more mastery than there’s time for in choir. More effective and less expensive than private lessons. Lots of group activities, as well as solo singing in front of the group. Learn to overcome your fear in a fun/safe setting!We’ll also work some harmony with simple Barbershop tags. $100 per semester.
• Etiquette for Teens. Scheduling Survey. 1 semester (13 weeks). 75 minutes. 12 -18 years old. This is a super-fun class that really makes the students think about what it takes for humans to get along with one another. Learn common-sense, reality-based, Golden-Rule-based good behavior that works! Sure, we’ll touch on napkins and place settings, but most of this is about everyday behaviors, down to how to introduce yourself confidently and how to treat others with respect. $100 per semester.
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Scheduling Survey. 1 semester (13 weeks). 75 minutes. 14-18 years old. Students will read Stephen Covey’s classic book (at home) and students will narrate each week in class, with rich, teacher-led discussion and further examples of the book’s points. This is one of the most useful books on this planet. It’s deeply spiritual, in a very practical way. $100 per semester, you buy the book.
• Music-Reading Class. Scheduling Survey. (Glockenspiel-based) 1 semester (13 weeks). 75 minutes. 10-18 years old. Capped at 9 students. For beginners. Reading music is simply not that hard, yet so many never get around to doing it because it’s not convenient. Well,it is now! You buy the $50 glockenspiel (bells), and we’ll start from the beginning. At the end of the semester, you should be qualified to read one of the voice part a typical songbook or hymnal, or to plink out a part (with one finger) on a piano. Don’t let your kids be musicians without learning to read! This will enrich them for the rest of their lives! $110 per semester, you buy the glockenspiel.
• Public Speaking Workshop. Scheduling Survey. 1 semester (13 weeks)—though some may want to take it twice, for the fuller experience. Capped at 9 students. 12-18 years old. 90 minutes. Get coached as you work with some of the world’s best speeches. This is neither a speech-writing, nor a debate class. Rather, we learn how to make the best use of the speaking voice. Super-fun class, and it helps students overcome their fears. $100 per semester.
• Reality-Based Thinking /Sway. Scheduling Survey. 2 semesters (26 weeks). 75 minutes. Capped at 9 students. This course mixes the reading/narration of Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior with my course on Reality-Based Thinking, which promotes honesty, rationality, and responsibility. (See a video primer here.) It’s a fun and very relevant course that gets students thinking about their thinking, and about their behavior. $100 per semester, and you buy the book.
• Skits Workshop with Performances. Scheduling Survey. 13 weeks. 13-18 years old. 120 minutes. Auditioned. Capped at 9 students. Learn to do clever and funny skits in a skilled cast. There’ll be a final performance, and the cast will also perform one skit in the big Montana Christmas! show in December (probably at the Lincoln Center). This is the funnest thing ever! And it’s hard work, too, with lots of attention to tiny details. Gain confidence. Make friends. $125 per semester.
• United States Constitution / Miracle at Philadelphia. Scheduling Survey. 2 Semesters (26 weeks) 14-18 years old. 75 minutes. Capped at 9 students. This non-partisan course mixes the at-home reading and in-class narration/discussion of Bowen’s classic book, Miracle at Philadelphia, with a line-by-line study of the entire US Constitution (including its 18th Century vocabulary). It’s the ultimate big-picture civics class, and your student will be one of the few Americans who have actually read and studied the entire document. And Bowen’s book will help give some rich historical context to the academic experience. $100 per semester, and you buy the book.

NIGHTTIME—For teens and adults. Starting in September.

• Voice Class. 8 weeks. (See the description above.)
• Music-Reading Class. (Glockenspiel-based) 8 weeks. (See the description above.)

Choral Ensembles

I’ll also be directing up to four choral ensembles through Sing Montana!. They are:

• Kids’ Choir (7-9 years old). Daytime.
• Treble Choir (10-12 years old). Daytime.
• Teen Choir (13-18 years old). Daytime.
• Freedom Choir (16 years old through retirement.) Monday evenings.

Everything else on this page you’re reading is all my own for-profit teaching venture. The Sing Montana! work, however, is volunteer work at this point, though it may become a paid position for me whenever enrollment numbers are sufficient to pay out. To learn all about Sing Montana!, visit singmontana.org. You can also like and follow us on Facebook.

Private Lessons

• Musicality Lessons (Any instrument—Music beyond basic rhythms and pitches) Preparing for solo & ensemble festival?
• Singing (Bel Canto and other styles)
• Music Reading Lessons. (Piano or glockenspiel based.)
• Beginning/Intermediate Trombone
• Beginning Guitar
• Public Speaking
• Comedy Routines

Ensemble Coaching

• Vocal or Instrumental—short-term or long. (If it’s a large ensemble, perhaps I can come to you.)
• Comedy/Skits

More information is coming very soon. In the meantime, please let me know if you have interest in any of this! Contact me here.