Ella's Music Lessons

Hi there!

I’m Ella, a Berklee College of Music Alumni and Music Therapist in training with over 12 years of experience touring, performing, and recording 40+ singles and albums for dozens of artists in different amazing genres. I had the privilege of teaching close to a hundred students in the past 6 years. As a music teacher, I have the greatest passion for fostering joy through music. My philosophy is that every person can thrive in music and develop their skills to levels beyond imagination if they truly enjoy the process. Based on the success of over 60 students who developed their musicality beyond a hobby and found themselves in school bands, higher education/colleges, touring with bands and artists, and performing with their original music, if the practice is enjoyable, full of music that YOU love, and fostered by a positive growth mindset, the continuous progress become far greater.

I have a diploma in Jazz Performance and Composition from Rimon School of Contemporary Music, and a B.M in Music Therapy from Berklee College of Music.

I was fortunate enough to receive a full excellence scholarship to Berklee College of Music where I mastered my skills as a bassist, studying under legends such as Gery Willis and Oscar Stagnaro, and honing my skills at Victor Wooten’s masterclasses. At Berklee, I developed my existing expertise in Pop, Rock, Jazz, Fusion, and Funk, and expanded my styles by studying Latin, African music, and Middle-Eastern odd meters from Tigran Hamasyan all the way to traditional Bulgarian music, from the best in their field.

As a Music Therapist in training, I mastered my skills as a guitarist, ukulele player, and pianist, skills I continue to develop daily at the award-winning hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I’ve been enjoying practicing guitar and piano since I was a child, and in the past two years, I discovered and fell in love with the ukulele. Both as a teacher and MT in training, I taught all four instruments to kids as young as 3 years old and adults as far as 65 years young.

What can we work on together?

As a beginner and intermediate, we will focus on:

Develop skills by working on music YOU love by establishing a “dreams list”.

Music Theory, Rhythm, Harmony, Ear-training (to the level you wish to develop - I won’t force anyone into complex music knowledge if that’s not the goal, despite being a huge music nerd).

Understanding of the fretboard/keyboard.

Developing independence to learn music by ear.

Ensemble playing and reading sheet music.

Technique exercises and most-comfortable-playing practices.

As a musician who wishes to develop their skills further and possibly pursue music professionally as a bassist:

Advanced slap-bass techniques.

Advanced techniques and sound production for recording artists.

Advanced Jazz and classical harmony and ear training.

Advanced improvisation studies, from Bebop to Modern to Fusion.

Odd meters and music from different traditions.

Unlocking the fretboard.

Locking with drummers and keeping time in different styles.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

After 5 years of continuously teaching online, I developed systems that, according to my students, make online learning far more effective, resource-based, and even more fun than in-person lessons! Each student gets a Google Drive folder with personalized recordings from the lesson with important explanations, folders full of practice materials, and weekly practice logs. Making lesson materials long-lasting and more accessible than ever!

I’m happy to invite you to schedule a free trial lesson and start or continue to explore the never-ending inspiration and fulfillment music has to offer!