Piano

Chris Weatherbie

Guitar, Bass, Piano, Ukulele

Works with

Ages 6 - 18

Shines with

Beginners

Not currently accepting new students

What is your musical background?

I got really into piano and guitar my senior year of high school. I just wanted to play along to some of my favorite songs on the radio. I don't think I became competent in guitar until my freshman year of college. I never went to school for it, but I took classes at Pima. I'm mostly self-taught. I’ve been in bands, what I really enjoyed about playing in a band was the sense of community, how we all came together. Even though we had different influences and interests, and we were able to come together and just play music, and just kind of groove along to the things that we came up with. I write music, I write a lot of poetry. It’s a lot of alt rock, pop punk.

How long have you been teaching? Why do you teach music?

I’ve been teaching for about two years, most consistently here at the Fretboard. Before that, I mostly taught informally, working with some of my friends. I've substituted in music classes, I’m a sub for a few different districts. I have a bachelors in elementary education. I’m studying to be certified as a teacher in the Tucson Unified School District - I want to be a music teacher.

My favorite thing about teaching is just getting people interested in music and learning more about it, understanding a little bit more of the craftsmanship behind it. And just being able to appreciate your favorite songs on a deeper level. It's really cool seeing people get excited playing music. Like, I actually did that! That's really cool.

What are your students like? Who do you work best with?

My youngest students are around seven. I work with high school age students, too, mainly beginners.

What do you want your students to take away from their time with you?

That music can be applied to their life outside of just learning – and that it can come from stuff they really enjoy. I teach students the Mario song, I have certain students who just want to play songs from video games. And I guess just that music is a really great thing, and it's a way to build communication and community.

What is a favorite musical memory?

There was one band I was in and everyone just played everything. No one was assigned to lead singer, no one was assigned to lead guitarist or whatever. We just played whatever we wanted, and we all had a really good time. That’s one thing I really like about music, you can build community and you can understand. And you can get other influences and discover new things.

John Welsh

Guitar, Classical Guitar, Piano, Drums, Theory, Composition, Rock Band

Works with

All ages

Guitar - all levels

Drums - beginner to high intermediate

Piano - beginner to low intermediate

Shines with

Ages 9 & up

What is your musical background?

I started playing guitar when I was around 13, and had a pretty conventional kind of beginning. I had a band with my friends. I started to get really into jazz around 14 or 15 and slowly started to learn how to play it a little bit. By the time I graduated high school, I was playing a lot more and started to play in some jam sessions. Eventually I started going to Mesa Community College, and realized that I was getting very serious about studying music. So, I applied to a couple of schools on the East Coast and I got into The New School for Jazz and Contemporary music in New York. From there, I went and did a master's program in Composition at Wesleyan University, in Connecticut. One thing that's made me sort of unique is I have a pretty strong background in what they call freely improvised music. So I’ve played a lot with people where there is kind of no set tune, we just start to play and see what we come up with.

How long have you been teaching? Why do you teach music?

I’ve taught formally and informally for about 15 years. Initially I taught private guitar lessons, going into people’s homes. In Brooklyn, I taught in a Chinese American community school. I did some summer orchestra camps, and most recently taught in the public school system in Phoenix. I wanted to shift gears a bit, and went back to doing private lessons.

I realized that that teaching is as much a part of being a musician, as any of the other things that we do, the different phases you go through. From being in your own of zone of practicing a lot, then playing with others and playing out, and that sort of leads to teaching. The more I've done it, the more I realized that it's just kind of one of those nodes along this along this path that you're on. So many of the things I did before I really started to teach have informed how I teach and informed how I think about music. And I’ve learned so much in just teaching lessons. W hat it is that people respond to when they are responding to music? What is it that people like about music? What are the things that draw people in? I think I've gained a big appreciation of how music can be important for people in ways other than just going to the show and screaming your head off.

How would you describe your teaching style and methods?

I come from a jazz background – my lessons aren’t rooted in a classical pedagogy. With the three main instruments that I teach, there are some things I hope to be able to work on a little bit with all students. I think all drummers should know a little bit about rudiments and how they work. With piano, I always try to emphasize exercises and learning scales and having stuff that you can practice that aren’t songs. It really can be very beneficial to sort of turn your brain off and just see play through this same thing. On guitar, it’s the same thing – like scale shapes. Then just as much, maybe a little bit more, I lean into what the student is interested in, and making sure that whatever we're doing is related to that.

What are your students like? Who do you work best with?

I think I've had equal experience all ability levels. Guitar, I’m comfortable with all levels. Drums, I’m good with beginners to just past intermediate. On keys, once a student gets to that intermediate level, it’s best they graduate to another teacher. I work best with older kids and adults, age 9-10 and up.

What do you want your students to take away from their time with you?

To always have some fun with musical things and lessons, whether it's a saving of five or ten minutes at the end to kind of have a little bit of free time to just play around on the piano, plunk different notes, see how they sound. To keep it fun, make sure that there's always some element of fun in there, some element of – just the joy of, it makes us sound when you hit it. To try to keep some connection with that.

What is a favorite musical memory?

There's this one show I always think of. I played in this group for a while, we played a lot of shows, we did a little tour. The last show that I played with that group was at this big theater in Brooklyn called Roulette. And it was kind of a cool closing to my time being in that group. We'd rehearsed a lot at each other's apartments just for fun, played shows around New York, eventually did a little tour around like the northeast, that was really great. And then all of that stuff kind of culminated in this pretty amazing show in this big theater that was very well attended. And we were all up on stage, everybody had a little station of weird electronics and stuff that they were doing. There were about six or seven of us and we were all kind of spread out on the stage. It was really a great memory, the stuff that we were doing we had pretty dialed in at that at that point. It was one of those kind of effortless shows where it's just like, I don’t even feel like I'm doing much but like everything seems really cool. Everything's amazing. Yeah, it was. I think of that show. That was really wonderful.

What can students and parents expect during the first few lessons?

I try to keep an open slate a little bit. I try not to have any expectations, and see where they're at. For beginners on piano, the first few lessons are focused on getting your hands on the instrument, what does it feel like to make this thing make sound. Being deliberate about it, like, going through and playing every single key and just see that they all work, that they all do the same thing, that the sound gets higher as it goes this way, it gets lower as it goes this way. Usually little kids do that anyway. It’s a little trickier on guitar, because that requires a bit more coordination to kind of get it to sound like something than it does on the piano. Drums, usually, people don't have a problem hitting the drum. The very first lessons are also getting to know each other. And I like them to leave with something concrete, that they can practice.

Micheal Jackson

Voice, Piano

Works with

All ages & stages

Male & Female Voices

Shines with

Middle & High School Students

What is your musical background?

My interest in music began in the church, listening to my grandmother sing. When my cousins and I turned about five, we were inducted into the choir as well. I got into choir in high school, then I was in a men's acapella group with the entire starting line of our varsity football team. My junior year, I met a teacher who said you should sing classical music, have you ever heard of an aria? I was like, I don't know what that is. And so she taught me by rote, I mimicked her, and learned my very first aria, which was from Carmen. And I was so impressed that I sang in French that I tried out for the state solo and ensemble competition, and I ended up winning the state solo. I went back the next year, and won first place again. It started to become very clear to me that this is what I should be doing.

I got my bachelor's at the University of Nevada in Reno, and then my Master's at the University of Arizona. I'm currently in my finishing up my PhD program, for vocal performance and in vocal jazz and piano.

How long have you been teaching? Why do you teach music?

I've been teaching since 2016. What I enjoy about teaching is that students come to me with their own individual goals. Some are predetermined by their parents, but for the most part, from what I can tell, these are the students own personal desires. I think it's important to help them achieve that. To show them, through what they want to learn, how to chip away at that. Voice lessons are not something that people are going to get the first time. I don't think any instrument is. But what we do know how to cultivate is individual study, and the desire to learn by themselves. So basically, teaching students how to teach themselves.

How would you describe your teaching style and methods?

My teaching style is, I did the reading so you don't have to. I like to present very difficult topics in a palpable way, the way student gets the point. They don’t know that they're learning very difficult things, because I didn't phrase it in that way. I found by doing that, students can take on a lot more, especially younger students. Students can take on a lot more, and you don't limit what you think that they can handle. So they can definitely expect to be challenged all the time, and talking about how what we're doing in our lessons applies to a specific song, and then have them teach me the method.

What are your students like? Who do you work best with?

I typically can work with both male and female voices, and work best with students in middle school and high school. I vibe the most with students who have a clear idea of what they want in lessons.

What do you want your students to take away from their time with you?

What music has taught me the most is you have to stay consistent, do the work today and rest tomorrow.

What is a favorite musical memory?

I was in a jazz chorus one time, and we were privileged enough to go to a school in China. And we were going to perform for them one of our songs in English. And when we got there, they were already assembled, and when we started singing, they had learned the song and sang with us. This Chinese chorus, we did not speak the same language. And we were able to sing the same song together and speak the same language of music. And that was really, really powerful.

What can students and parents expect during the first few lessons?

The first couple lessons, a parent can expect to the student to know what specifically it means to sing, in the definition of things, what we do as singers, in terms of how to breathe and how to use our voice. I also like to demonstrate to the student and to the parents that their student can actually do the thing that they want to do, what it is that they're setting out to do.

Nelly Hawley-Hayes

Piano, Voice

Works with

All ages & stages

Shines with

12 - Adult

Teens

What is your musical background?

I have a foundation in classical piano, having studied for 18 years, and I’m also trained in vocal jazz performance. I attended Berklee College of Music and am currently pursuing a degree in Jazz Studies and Vocal performance at the University of Arizona. Over the years, I’ve performed in a wide range of settings—bands, choirs, musical theater, and solo engagements. Recently, I sang with the University of Arizona Jazz Orchestra at the Century Room, and I’m currently performing in Dreams and Rumors, a Fleetwood Mac tribute show at the Gaslight.

How long have you been teaching? Why do you teach music?

I’ve taught private lessons in the past and have been with the Fretboard for the past year. Teaching is deeply rewarding for me because I get to watch people transform—both musically and personally—through the same art form that has shaped my own life. It also keeps my skills sharp and challenges me to grow alongside my students.

How would you describe your teaching style and methods?

My style is intuitive yet disciplined, and always tailored to the individual. Lessons are heart-centered, with a strong technical foundation. For piano, I take a primarily classical approach, though I can incorporate contemporary pop-rock styles as desired. For voice, my teaching is blended: every student gets a classical foundation, but we also explore jazz, pop, rock, R&B, and blues—styles that keep things fresh, fun, and expressive.

What are your students like? Who do you work best with?

Right now, my students range from ages 5 to 16, from complete beginners to advanced players. I work especially well with teens, as I enjoy helping them develop both technical skills and artistic confidence.

What do you want your students to take away from their time with you?

I want my students to leave lessons knowing they can achieve anything they set their mind to. Music is a microcosm of life—it teaches perseverance, builds confidence, and opens the door to self-expression.

Sam Sierra-Feldman

Piano, Voice, Ukulele

Works with

All ages

Shines with

Younger students & groups

What is your musical background?

I began studying piano at age 3, and started singing in choirs at age 7. I first worked as a church musician at age 15, and have never stopped! Over the past 15 years I have taught children’s choirs, youth musical theater, K-8 general music, and private lessons. It is my passion to use music as a primary tool for building community and helping kids find their own passion and confidence.

How long have you been teaching? Why do you teach music?

I have been teaching for 12 years. I teach music in order to enrich my community. The best thing for society is for students to become well-rounded, confident, and joyful citizens who care deeply for their community and everyone in it. Music is a universally human phenomenon that binds us together organically.

What are your students like? Who do you work best with?

I love to work with students of all ages who are curious and creative. My students develop a goal-oriented growth mindset and will find fulfillment in working hard to achieve their goals!

What do you want your students to take away from their time with you?

Above all else, my students will know that they are loved, respected, and powerful — they each possess the power to impact their community with joy, love, and care. Music is only one tool through which we can do this, and through which we can make sure each child knows their own capacity to uplift those around them just as they themselves will be uplifted through our lessons.

Tara Sanderson

Flute, Piano

Works with

All ages & stages

Shines with

Students interested in theory or composition

Neurodivergent learners

What is your musical background?

I studied music therapy at Nazareth University. This program included years of advanced musical instruction and I was privileged to learn from a flute professor recruited from the Eastman School of Music. In addition to refining my performance skills on a major instrument, the music therapy curriculum included piano and guitar study, with competency exams. Private piano lessons preceded and followed this. I performed my junior and senior flute recitals before transferring to Walden University to complete my bachelor of science in a related field. During my time in Upstate New York, I regularly played with my church's worship team, and since relocating, I have been participating in a gospel choir.

How long have you been teaching? Why do you teach music?

I have spent a combined six years teaching flute and piano lessons for two music stores. I have periodically given piano lessons in peoples' homes throughout the years. During the pandemic restrictions, I designed an informal music curriculum within a charter school to give students access to music education.

My music teachers were exceptional people who inspired me throughout school and university. Personally, I love working one-to-one with all age groups. Students' progress is rewarding for everyone involved. This is especially true when someone new to the piano plays a recital piece successfully within three months time.

How would you describe your teaching style and methods?

Student-centered learning is very important for keeping learners engaged. I encourage students to help select their music according to their playing abilities. At the same time, I stress excellent music reading skills. I focus on fluent note reading, counting rhythms, and music theory, since these skills are foundational for growth as musicians.

What are your students like? Who do you work best with?

It is most rewarding to work with students who are eager to learn and progress. Teachers can sense when an individual's motivation level by the frequency with which concepts must be retaught. Some youths are over-scheduled and do not have much time or energy left for lessons and this drains their enthusiasm.

I particularly enjoy creative learners who are beginning to write their own music or explore music theory. At the same time, my music therapy, school-setting, and behavioral health work backgrounds have equipped me to assist learners with a variety of struggles. I have worked with many who were affected by ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, and personal hardships. Teachers must fit instruction to each individual's needs and I have had the training and experience to adapt accordingly.

What do you want your students to take away from their time with you?

The most inspiring teachers that my family and I have encountered share common characteristics. Their passion and competence are contagious and they have the ability to inspire others to greatness. The hold the line of high expectations while maintaining atmospheres of encouragement. These instructors are genuine and posses character traits that make them role models beyond their subjects of expertise. I aim to be this type of person and instill confidence in each learner.

What can students and parents expect during the first few lessons?

First, I will ingratiate each family, since I wish to make them comfortable with me and teacher transitions. Next, It will be important to take time with each family to discuss musical goals, interests, and abilities. I will also want to get a feel for each learner's playing style to gauge their playing strengths and areas for growth. Last, the student and I will decide on a plan forward.

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