Sandra Girouard
Lesson Feesfrom $35.00 / 30 Minutes
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About
Sandra Girouard has been a musician for most of her life, beginning her own musical journey at the age of five, and has served her communities as an instructor for over thirty-five years. She has amassed a wealth of experience in working with group and individual classes through her private studio, including piano, keyboard, guitar, ukulele, recorder, music history, and music theory. In addition to working with individual students, she has experience teaching in both secondary (high and middle schools) and elementary schools, as well as at the university level.
Mrs. Girouard has a Bachelor of Music from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of South Florida. She is a member of the American Recorder Society and the National Association for Music Education, She is certified in Orff-Schulwerk and earned full certification (Level III ) through the James Hill Ukulele Initiative.
She has lived in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Florida, California, and Texas, and Alabama. When she's not teaching or playing, she enjoys container gardening, knitting, crocheting, and science fiction.
Mrs. Girouard learned to crochet as a child - she's not exactly sure just how old she was when she learned! Later, as an adult,, she taught herself how to knit. Making items from yarn is one of her favorite things to do: blankets, coasters, mug mats, facecloths, hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, sweaters, and toys.
My teaching style is highly student-centered and skill-focused. My goal as a teacher is for my students to become independent, life-long musicians. To accomplish this, while we're working on skills, I check periodically in with students about their feeling about their accomplishments and to make sure they're happy with the music they are playing.
Teaching is the opportunity to walk beside a student through their learning journey. As we build skills, I work hard to follow my students' interests and inclinations. My goal is for all of my students to become independent, joyful, life-long music makers.
I've been a musician for most of my life, beginning my own musical journey at the age of five. Most recently, I play with local musicians in folk music jams and am proud to be a member of the Uke Head community, with the self-titled album to be released soon.
I have served my communities as an instructor for over thirty-five years. I have amassed a wealth of experience in working with group and individual classes through my private studio, including piano, keyboard, guitar, ukulele, recorder, music history, and music theory. In addition to working with individual students, I have experience teaching in both secondary (high and middle schools) and elementary schools, as well as at the university level.
I hold a Bachelor of Music from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of South Florida and studied piano as part of my studies for both degrees. I am also a member of the American Recorder Society and the National Association for Music Education. I am certified in Orff-Schulwerk and earned full certification (Level III ) through the James Hill Ukulele Initiative. JHUI (the James Hill Ukulele Initiative) has the world's most comprehensive ukulele teacher certification program, with three levels of preparation and in-depth study of teaching individuals and groups. In addition to assessments about learning theory, JHUI-certified teachers must demonstrate skills through teaching, arranging pieces for solo ukulele and ukulele ensembles, performing on the ukulele, and performing on the ukulele while singing.
James Hill Ukulele Initiative, Level 3 certification
Member, National Association for Music in Education
Member, America Orff-Schulwerk Association
Participating teacher, MusicLink Foundation
Master of Arts, School of Music, University of South Florida
Bachelor of Music, Westminster Choir College
My teaching is focused on student progress and interest.
Piano: I am familiar with a wide variety of piano teaching series, and I am happy to work with any series if a student already has a preference. For students who are seeking guidance, I recommend working with SuperSonics Piano. This is a fantastic series with a broad range of approaches that builds technique while fostering skills that transfer to any style.
Ukulele: I rely on materials that I generate for most of my students' needs. My approach to teaching ukulele is based on the JHUI approach to ensure students build skills in both strumming and picking, reading notation and tablature, and moving into chord melody and solo work in addition to playing accompaniments. I supplement the JHUI texts' materials with tunes from classical and world folk repertoire.
Recorder: My students work with melodies from classical and folk music to build skills that can be employed with historic and modern compositions written or arranged for the recorder. I work primarily with soprano recorder students but have experience with alto recorder as well.