High-Quality Online Lessons

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Here are some of the reasons why you should choose JLA Music for private lessons.

• Tutoring in
        »guitar
        »piano
        »ukulele
        »music theory
        »music fundamentals
        »ear training and sight singing
        »music technology
        »composition
        »arranging
        »college-level music theory
        »improvisation
        »college music major prep
        »ensemble coaching
        »audition prep
         . . . and more. Please ask for referrals to professional teachers for subjects not taught at JLA Music.
• Professional online studio - truly high technology
• All online meeting platforms supported, but ZOOM preferred due to its superior audio quality
• Multiple cameras, split screens, drawing on screen, graphics, etc., supported
• PC, Mac, iPad, Android, and iPhone devices
• Industry standard music software such as Finale, FL Studio, Studio One, Logic Pro, and more
• No 3rd-party tutor agency needed for direct access
• Available Monday through Friday from mid-afternoon through the evening central time (weekend appointments available by request)
• Students from 9-years-old through senior citizen accepted (younger students by request after interview)
• All skill levels of guitar and other subjects, beginning and intermediate levels of piano
• Personable and positive instruction
• Multiple learning techniques: traditional, individualized, computer-assisted, creative, Suzuki-Inspired, mixed
• One-of-a-kind methods not available anywhere else
• Arrangements and compositions created specifically for individual students
• International list of current and former students - Norway, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Canada, U.S., Australia
• Former students are performers, music educators, music directors, music business owners, recording engineers, music therapists, etc.
• I have studied music at three universities, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees, with teachers who have won Grammy Awards and the Pulitzer prize.
• I have taught at universities, public schools, community education programs, commercial music businesses, private practice, and the internet.

Hire a Qualified Teacher

If you're looking for a music teacher, look at their qualifications. Have they had formal education in music? Have they taken lessons themselves? What kind of experience do they have in the music field? How long have they been teaching music lessons? Don't accept that they are qualified just because they put up a sign that says they are a music teacher. Anyone can do that. (In North Dakota there is no requirement to call oneself a private music teacher, so you will run into teachers who have little or no training or experience.)

Although there are some terrific teachers who have little formal training in music (or none at all), in general it's a better bet to hire a teacher who is experienced and formally trained in music. Reward the teachers who have experience and education by hiring them, rather than enlisting instructors who have little to no experience and education. If the price a teacher charges is low, they may lack experience and training.

About Teacher Jeff Anvinson

Jeff Anvinson of JLA Music has been teaching private lessons, online lessons, group lessons, and classes for over 44 years. He has taught many hundreds of students in more than 26,000 private lessons and 160 classes.

A multi-award-winner, he was named one of the "faculty stars" and nominated for a university-wide teaching award while teaching at the college level, named "Artist of the Week" by the Grand Forks Herald, presented with the Americanism award by his home town American Legion, and awarded many certificates of appreciation for his work. Jeff's company, JLA Music, has won many awards, including "Music Services Company of the Year".

Jeff holds both master's and bachelor's degrees in music and has learned from Pulitzer-prize and Grammy-award winners. He has taken many years' worth of private lessons on guitar, piano, bassoon, and voice, while taking music education classes in woodwinds, brass, percussion, and bowed strings. One of the most versatile musicians around, he has performed, taught, composed, arranged, recorded, conducted, transcribed, and written about music.

Jeff has performed hundreds of times in the United States, Canada, and China. Performances have ranged from soloing with orchestras and wind ensembles, accompanying choirs, instrumentalists, and singers, and playing in various bands and chamber groups.