About
I created Music Made Easier because I believe beautiful music should be accessible to children and adults alike. For over 20 years, I have continually created many teaching aids and creative systems to “make music easier.”
I was raised in Boise, Idaho and began my formal music instruction in 4th grade public school orchestra. I took private music lessons on violin and piano through high school, and was part of public school orchestras. I am self-taught on the organ, and was the primary organist for my local congregation during my high school years. I continued private violin lessons in college at Brigham Young University, and was a member of the BYU Symphony Orchestra.
I graduated from Brigham Young University in 1982 with a BA in Human Resource Development, and in 1984 with an MBA, emphasizing Organizational Behavior. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2020 with a Master of Applied Positive Psychology. My Capstone analyzed the overlap between religion/spirituality and wellbeing/positive psychology. There is also significant research showing the overlap between music and wellbeing.
I began violin lessons anew in 1992 with a Suzuki teacher in the Los Angeles area, and took Suzuki Teacher Training through various summer Institutes and international conferences. I have been actively involved in the Suzuki program in the Los Angeles area since 1992, as a parent, teacher (since 1998), and Co-Director (since 2013) of a local Suzuki organization. I also took multiple years of Teacher Training in Kaleidoscopes, a new method of teaching violin to young children which is complementary to the Suzuki Method. I have also received training in Kodaly and Music Mind Games, additional systems of teaching music theory to young children.
I understand “both sides of the street” as a parent and as a teacher in dealing with children and music lessons – the challenges, the triumphs, the tears, and the joys.