Thomas J. West Music

There is no question that trained musicians who offer private lessons deserve to be compensated fairly for the time and effort they put in to teaching private lesson students. There is also no question that in the current global economic slump, less people can afford to pay for private lessons at $40 or more an hour.

I have been ...

I've been formally offering private online webcam music lessons since 2008. I offer lessons from beginner to advanced on any band or orchestra instrument, piano, and voice, and beginner to intermediate on guitar. The lessons are typically delivered over Skype, although I have delivered lessons using Tinychat and Google Plus Hangouts. I have had students from across the US and two European students.

One of the many things I took away from my time as a member of The Cadets drum and bugle corps was a stronger work ethic. I packed so much more learning and skill development into those two years than any other time in my life, quite simply because it was the only thing on my plate. Olympic athletes operate similarly. There is little else in their focus. They can devote hou...

Everyone else is having a Back to School sale - why not me? :-)

I am looking for new private webcam music students for the 2011-2012 school year. I offer every potential student a free half-hour trial lesson to see if online learning is right for them before committing to anything.All webcam lessons are live, in-person interactions with the teach...

Recently, I have been doing a lot of writing about encouraging students to reach for higher levels of excellence in their music-making. Motivating young people to do their best at any endeavor, musical or otherwise, is a challenge tha...

Recently, I have been taking about 15-20 minutes each morning when I first arrive to school to work on material from the Alfred Adult Piano Series. I gave up piano lessons in 2nd grade and regret that decision to this day. Even after my lab piano classes in my undergrad days, I am still not satisfied with my proficiency on the piano. Throug...

Back in January, I wrote a review of the Sheer Piano color books series. The series is quite unique and worthy of attention.

Dror Perl, the author of the series, has extended a special offer to the readership of my website. For one...

Music PLN member Lindsay Morelli posted the following email from the Music Teachers National Association about a recent email scam:

MTNA has become aware of a scam directed toward music teachers. As many of you are likely aware, there ...

Private music instructors often work as freelance self-employed individuals or teach lessons at a music studio of some kind, often times a retail store that offers lessons or a music academy. If you are considering teaching private lessons as a second income, both options have advantages and disadvantages.

Free...

Many young students (and even some old pros who are in a hurry) practice from the beginning of a piece of music to the end repeatedly. Since a performer makes the most progress on a piece when they are efficiently playing the highest number of successful repetitions of the music, it only makes sense to break the music do...