David McCormick
Hi, and thanks for visiting. Here’s where I tell you a bit about what I do and why I do it.
From the time I was about 8 years old, I knew that what I wanted to do when I grew up was play music. So for my 10th birthday, my mother drove me downtown, bought me a guitar and signed me up for my first lessons.
What a disappointment! My teacher taught every student the same material out of the same outdated book, which included none of the classic rock that I was eager to learn. After awhile, I went on to a couple of other teachers who would show me to play songs I liked, but could never explain how to learn anything for myself.
Frustrated, I gave up on lessons and started trying to learn on my own by watching and imitating the lucky people who seemed to know the secrets. It was a slow process, but by high school I was playing for local dances and concerts.
I knew the long odds against becoming a rock star, so I became a newspaper editor instead. But I never put down that guitar. In fact, I went on to learn the bass, the mandolin, the fiddle, the piano and the drums. Again, I could never find anyone to teach me the music I wanted to learn, so I ended up teaching myself. Like many people, I tried to learn by tab, but it offered no help in learning to understand music. For that, I had to teach myself music theory.
So I find myself now in a second career as a most unusual music teacher, having had very few formal lessons and specializing in no particular style. I’ve played bluegrass in the hills of Kentucky, jazz in the street parades of New Orleans and jigs in the pubs of Ireland. Since moving to Alaska in 1994 I’ve tried to be active in the local music community, serving as a director of the Anchorage Folk Festival and as entertainment coordinator of the Girdwood Forest Fair.
Because I embrace such a wide range of instruments and styles, I am a virtuoso at none. But between my background in communications and 14 years of fulltime teaching, I’m able to explain complicated subjects simply and to show students immediately how to start playing their own favorite music. I don’t want anyone to experience the frustration I felt during my own first lessons.
I opened Hillside Music in 2005 as an alternative to conventional teaching studios, which are typically operated either by individuals specializing in a single style or with employees trained to teach everyone from a standardized method. What we offer here is a personalized experience, individualized to what you or your children want to play.
Our belief is that what people want from music is a fun recreational experience, not a demanding perfectionist regimen. I don’t believe in nagging or criticizing – what I try to offer is encouragement and enthusiasm. Most of my students are very comfortable with this approach and content to make music for their own enjoyment. But over the years I have seen more than a few go on to careers as performers, teachers and recording artists.
I invite you to call or e-mail
to discuss your own goals.
David McCormick
868-8869
my daughter, Mariah, ready to rock