Music Lessons.
Music Lessons with Laura Vines.
Laura Vines is a multi-instrumentalist who has been training and playing since the age of 7. She is a prolific singer-songwriter and now a composer with an enormous range of performance experience. She has two CDs out, and material on YouTube. More information on her background with each instrument can be found under their corresponding tabs. Recordings and videos of her playing can be found under the Video/Audio tab, and also under each instrument she teaches. All recordings under each instrument except for Piano are Laura's original songs. She will at times offer songwriting workshops.
What makes her different from the average teacher is an exceptional passion for being involved in the teaching/learning process, a creative approach, and an interest in discovering what works best for each student. She has a degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education, and over 15 years of teaching experience, so she is familiar with developmental stages and learning styles. She also taught young adults with disabilities for almost 9 years. She has a wide range of life experience with different places and cultures as well.
Class Details.
Fees are $60/hr. plus the cost of books and materials. Laura buys books and materials at a teacher rate and passes that along to parents/students at cost. Most students do well with a half hour lesson per week, but she recommends an hour for more advanced and/or dedicated students.
For guitar and banjo students, the opportunity to jam once a month with other students and musicians can be added for an extra $30 a month.
All students will have the opportunity to share their music with other students, parents, relatives and friends every other month as they are ready. Students for whom it is suitable and desirable may perform with other students--for example a piano, guitar, or banjo student may accompany a voice student. Or a piano and guitar student may play a duet, or two piano students play a duet, etc.
Invoices will be sent out on the 25th of each month, and parents pay in advance for the following month. If a student needs to cancel and gives 24 hours’ notice, they can schedule a makeup lesson. No refunds given for missed lessons with no notice or late notice. If Laura has to miss a lesson or lessons, it will be reflected in the following month’s invoice. Parents/students can use the Pay Pal link to pay easily.
For now, lessons will be offered from two locations:
On Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from Laura’s home in Irondale, AL (located conveniently near freeway exits/entrances). Time slots between 12PM and 7:30PM are available on Wednesdays and Fridays. Time slots between 9AM-5PM are available on Saturdays.
On Thursdays, from the Episcopal Church of the Ascension at 1912 Canyon Road, Vestavia, AL 35216. Time slots between 1:30PM-8PM are available on this day.
Online lessons may be an option for students at a distance for whom that process works well, or on some occasions where students are not able to be physically present for their lesson. Consult with Laura for more discussion on that topic.
Classes Available.
Piano Lessons
Laura has a strong background in classical music, but plays a variety of styles. She has taught piano for more than a decade. She began playing piano for her church at age 12, and accompanied choirs all through high school and beyond. She was the organist for St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Fairbanks, Alaska for six years, and substitutes at her church now. She would be a suitable teacher for anyone from beginner to advanced. She chooses books depending on what would suit the student’s needs rather than being locked into one series. Laura uses a checklist of skills, and students will not advance without mastering basic skills. The situation (all too common) of students taking piano for years and not knowing how to read music will not happen with her!
Guitar Lessons
Laura started playing guitar at age 16, and has a wide range of experience performing with guitar and voice. She has about 4 years of experience teaching guitar. She excels at fingerpicking, interweaving melody and harmony with accompaniment. She is primarily a folk/old-time/bluegrass/classic rock guitarist, but easily teaches beginner-intermediate students with interest in other kinds of music. Students will learn to read music and tablature as well as chords, strum styles and picking styles.
Old-time Banjo Lessons
Laura started playing banjo at age 19, and bought her first banjo (which is now over 120 years old) with her first earnings from her first job! She is a prize-winning clawhammer-style banjo player, winning and placing at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddler’s Convention a number of times, and also winning other contests. She has taught banjo for 10 years. To find out what “clawhammer style” banjo playing is, listen to the video/audio links.
Voice
Laura has been singing in performance since she was a child, and has trained in choral settings and also private lessons. She is new to actually teaching voice, but began doing this at the Birmingham School of Music a year ago, and has found it very rewarding to teach. She is good at helping students learn about their voice and the different ways it can be used, singing on pitch, and improving vocal production and quality. Students typically begin to sing with greater power and confidence, and enjoy exploring different kinds of music.
Interested in lessons?
Please contact Laura at songcatcher8@gmail.com for more information.