Eliza Densmore
About
Eliza Densmore is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and educator based in Brooklyn and originally from the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. With a deep love for the feeling of a great song (that was planted when her parents exposed her to the Beatles at a young age), Eliza began writing songs on the piano as a teenager—inspired by singers like Norah Jones, Regina Spektor, and Billie Holiday. An interest in fingerstyle guitar and alternate tunings commenced after that, and soon Eliza went down the rabbit hole into the music of Nick Drake, Bon Iver, and Joni Mitchell on a journey that continues to this day. Eliza studied music at Colorado College and was recently a finalist in the renowned Kerrville Folk Festival’s songwriting competition. She’s released two albums of original music, has toured nationally, and is fluent in songwriting, music theory, intermediate piano and guitar, and ukulele. Folk Radio UK says of her most recent release: “Like a good photo, how you frame a subject makes all the difference and Edens provides a masterclass in composition." Eliza brings passion, patience, and humor to her students—tailoring lessons to students’ needs with a goal of instilling a life-long love of music.
I offer each of my students a tailored approach to their current musical needs—whether it's honing in on a guitar finger-picking pattern or discussing how the music theory behind a song's chord progression makes it tick. Together, we select areas for growth and create tangible goals to work toward. I strive to create a welcoming & safe environment for all of my students to practice and make mistakes with their playing. I try to encourage self-discipline and self-motivation when it comes to practicing, and I hope to inspire each student I work with to fall in love with their instrument so that the quest to become better is fueled by passion and curiosity. I'm a patient, empathetic, and energetic teacher.
B.A. with Distinction, Colorado College, Film & New Media Studies, Music Minor
For all piano students, I use the Alfred Basic Piano Library supplemented by individualized selections of repertoire that are mutually agreed upon, as well as additional theory & technique materials. We'll focus on building a strong foundation of theory and a concrete sense of rhythm. We'll sight read, work on ear training, improvise, talk about dynamic interpretation, correct hand position & technique, discuss what kind of story the music is telling, and talk about where it's situated in music history. All with the goal of helping you learn the music you're passionate about while also providing you with a basic foundation to play all types of music using the piano.
For guitar students, I supply chord charts and graphics of scales to learn and discuss. We'll talk about strumming & picking patterns, how to use a pick correctly, how to map out & visualize the fretboard in productive ways, how to play pentatonic scales, and how to take evocative solos. We'll pick mutually agreed upon songs to work on and learn how to read lead sheets and tablature.
For songwriting students, the structure is a bit looser and based even more on the individual's wants & needs and self-motivation. I believe there is no right or wrong way to write a song, but there are tips & tricks that can jumpstart the process and make it more exciting. Topics we can cover include: how to write an engaging chord progression for your song, melody-writing, lyric-writing methods & games, and how to glean inspiration from daily life. We'll pick apart what makes your favorite songs so appealing and try to apply our findings to your own songwriting experiments. These lessons are more collaborative and involved and require weekly practice to make progress. Some books on songwriting / writing in general that I'd encourage you to read if we work together are: How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy, If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland, Big Magic by Elizabeth Bishop, and The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.