Teddy

Cherished Piano Teacher, Teddy Newsom has not only established herself as a prominent piano and keyboard educator in South Orange County, but she is also the Chairperson of the Laguna Beach chapter of the National Guild of Piano Teachers, and a highly accomplished musician with over 30 years of professional teaching experience. 

Ms. Teddy, as most of her students call her, first gained her love of music as a young child learning to play organ in her home state of Utah. Eager to quench her thirst for knowledge, she expanded her repertoire to include classical knowledge of both the piano and keyboard, as she earned her degree in Piano Pedagogy from Cal State Fullerton, California.

As an accomplished musician, Teddy has been a headlining performer at some of the most exclusive venues in Southern California, including The Brown Derby and Bonaventure hotel. And, she also served as the Music Director of a prominent church in San Gabriel Valley for over thirteen years.Teaching hundreds of students over more than 30 years, many whom have gone on to become successful, and in some cases professional, musicians, she has become well verse in recognizing the challenges many musicians face as they develop She is proficient in areas of classical, jazz, adult contemporary and pop music, and has a knack for combining theoretic knowledge of academia with professional experience to maximize student results. 

Teddy Newsom is the Chairman of the Laguna Beach chapter of the National Guild of Piano Teachers, and an accomplished musician with over 30 years of professional teaching experience.

I Got Rhythm, George Gershwin - Teddy on her Yamaha Clavinova Digital Piano

John

I have been teaching for 8 years. I began on guitar and switched to bass in the early 90s. Since then I have been endorsed by Fernandez Guitars, VHT amp graduated MI Bass Institute of Technology, and toured over 16 states in America and 2 in Mexico. I have developed a very practical understanding of the fretboard that works with all stringed instruments. I will show you that you already know theory in music without realizing it. Building on what you know, I will quickly explain to you how the fretboard works.

 

My influences are: Being both Bass, and Guitar player, I have many influences on both sides. Here are some of my favorite players- James Jamerson, Brian Setzer, Jaco Pastorius, Randy Rhodes, Les Claypool, Jeff beck, Angus Young, Victor Wooten, Jimmy Page, John Entwistle, Duane Eddy, Jimmy Blanton, Chet Atkins, Larry Graham, Tom Morrello

 

Guitar Techniques: Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar, Open tuning, Vocal Accompaniment, Performance, Improvisation, Jamming Skills, Reading Music, Music Theory, Scales and Exercises, Song Writing, Recording and Production, Guidance In Equipment Selection

 

Your first guitar lesson with me might include the following: Through a series of questions and excersizes, I gauge the students knowledge and skill set. I then go over the basics on the first lesson for every student to make sure there is a strong foundation to build from.

 

A guitar lesson with me might entail the following: First 10 minutes are review of last lesson. The second 10* minutes is new information. The remaining 10* are there to make sure you know what you are doing, and ensure you are practicing correctly. *(45 and 60 minute lessons add to the new information and end of lesson)

 

The qualities I look for in an ideal guitar student might include the following: My favorite student is looking to know how the fretboard works more than just simply learn songs. My ideal student would want to expand their repertoire and, at the same time, understand truly what is going on in the song theoretically. My perfect student would want to improvise in any style, and throw away all there old books/posters on chords (because they will know more chords in their mind than any book can have).

 

Student and Teacher

Edmond

World-Class performer, composer and conductor with superb business skills and training who has taken his skills and discipline to the worlds of media production, major event production, social media marketing, project and product messaging. 

 

Developed and mentors his own specialized training for media presentation, vocal performance/speech from his years of diverse musical/entertainment experience.

 

"You work hard, you never give up. You lead or support the leader. Stay passionate. You master many things and continue to do them always at a high level. You make time to mentor those who want to know your worlds, guiding them to hone and master their skills. You do all this, or go home..."

 

First person in the Western Hemisphere to produce and broadcast news and create promos over ringback tones (Sprint telecom partner). Uniquely developed successful marketing plan using only social media, to bring more than 3,000 individuals to one company's product promotion in less than 30 minutes (as viewed by major executives in the communications, media and telecom industries) ...

 

Credits include Revenge, Desperate Housewives, Agent Carter, NCIS.

 

Business credits include work for NFL, NFLProperties, PGA, Trump National Golf Club, LPGA.

 

NCIS, Temptation, Cote De Pablo, Edmond Allmond on the piano.

Brent

 

With over 15 years of experience as a successful performer and educator in Southern California, Brent Dickason's deep knowledge of music performance has taken him to many areas of the music world.  

 

Starting piano lessons at the age of 7, then adding guitar and cello studies at age 11, music has been a significant part of Brent's life for over 20 years.  After an inspiring encounter at the age of 12 with John Walz (principal cellist of the LA Opera Orchestra, London Symphony and Long Beach Symphony), cello became Brent's main focus and he began to study with John Walz, studying with him for over two decades.  

In high school, Brent enrolled at the prestigious Idyllwild Arts Academy, serving as cellist in both the Idyllwild Arts Festival Orchestra conducted by Larry Livingston (Faculty at USC) and the ISOMATA International Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ransom Wilson (conductor of Metropolitan Opera and Yale music faculty).  

 

After graduating with a dual-degree from Idyllwild, Brent attended San Francisco Conservatory of Music for cello.  Two years into his time at SFCM, he was offered a full-ride scholarship offer to Chapman University, which he accepted and which allowed him to serve as principal cellist in the Chapman Symphony Orchestra for four years.  Upon graduating Chapman in 2007, Brent began studying modern recording technology, eventually becoming a certified AVID music production and post-production operator.  

 

His vast knowledge of instruments, music technology and music genres has allowed him to guide students in many areas including Classical, Pop, Rock, Folk, and Bluegrass, as well as musicianship, recording, music fundamentals and theory.  

 

He has served on the faculty of several local music conservatories, teaching both private students as well as group classes. He has also taught in a group setting for the city of Orange.

 

Teacher and Student ....