Teaching must come from a basis of mutual respect. The student should feel comfortable enough to respect the teacher's opinion and advice, but also feel they are in an environment to step out of their comfort zone in lessons and practice. It is important to explain that results don’t happen overnight, and the student will need patience with themselves during their learning process.

Depending on the level and experience of the student there will be different strengths and weaknesses in their musicality. My goal as a teacher is to accent those strengths in their music while applying them to improve their weaknesses. In the end, it is most important to me that the student puts their all into their performance presence, no matter what their level or instrument is.

To give my students the best opportunity to grow, I adjust my teaching style based on their individual needs. For example, a visual student may want to understand how the technique will feel whereas a technical student will want the science of what is happening. A student with a learning disability may need more repetition, whereas a student going through a hormonal period will need a piece that has several keys depending on where their voice is that day.

It is vital that I give my students the tools to recreate what we worked on in lessons so they can work it into their muscle memory. The most important thing I can teach them is how to practice. If a student is working through a piece from start to finish instead of working on specific sections that give them issues, it will take them significantly longer to get the fixed techniques we work on in lessons into their muscle memory.