I'm John J. Giangrande and I'm a former California and Nevada classroom music educator.

I am a trained, experienced teacher:

• I have been teaching in both classroom and private settings for over 30 years. In classroom settings, I have taught piano laboratories and guitar classes, directed concert bands, choirs and string orchestras. I have literally taught thousands of students to play and enjoy music.
• Musically, I am classically trained through earning a bachelors degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
• My teaching education came from earning a Teaching Credential at San Jose State University.

I am a patient, easy-going teacher. I do my utmost to make the experience of learning enjoyable. I enjoy helping dedicated students reach their educational goals.

Want to learn more about me?
Please read My Mission statement and my Educational Philosophies below.

My primary mission in life is to help other people achieve their goals. I believe that all my students can be successful. I help my students believe in themselves. I try my best to foster, within my students, a desire to learn and succeed. I express a natural interest, passion, and enthusiasm for the subjects that I teach. I strive to support my students educational growth and development. I assist students in becoming life-long learners, help them achieve their educational goals, and help them appreciate their achievements along the way. I encourage and support my students dreams and aspirations.  I am guided by my integrity and values in all my actions and endeavors. I treat others with kindness and respect regardless of their race, gender, ability or disabilities. I maintain a positive warm attitude toward others. I continue my education to better myself and to better serve my students.

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires"
― William Arthur Ward

I emphasize:

• Self-Paced Learning
  Self-paced learning allows each student to learn at their own pace. The private lesson setting, rather than the group classroom setting, allows for self-paced learning.
  
• Mastery Learning
  Mastery learning demands that the student master a foundational educational objective before proceeding to subsequent educational objectives.  Students should master the level they are currently studying before moving on.
  
• Literacy
  Reading is the most important skill a person can learn. With the ability to read, a library card and the desire to learn, one can become the most educated person on the planet.*
  
• Vocabulary
  The most common barrier to successful learning is a lack of vocabulary comprehension. A student, who once showed interest in the subject, begins to develop a "dislike" the for subject and want to quit the lessons. When asked "Why?" the student often replies "I don't know, I just don't like it anymore."
  
• Purpose and Use
  Too often students are asked to go through the motions of learning something without knowing how they will use it and what purpose it serves. Without knowing this essential element the education of any concept is empty and lifeless.
  
• Individuality
  Students are individuals with a spectrum of learning styles:
  • Some are patient and find comfort in a step-by-step approach; they enjoy achieving small successes, while on their way to a lofty future educational goal.
  • Others have their own unique interests. They are unmotivated by exclusively focusing on a step-by-step approach, which would bore them, and want to try to achieve something beyond their current ability level (taking greater time to achieve success). Usually, they come to a lesson with a "wish" to be able to play a piece they are familiar with and that motivates them.
  It is a priority to identify how the student best learns and then to present new information in the student's optimal learning style. Only a self-paced, individualized approach can allow students to comfortably express their individual motivational and educational needs.

*For some students, I recommend, at the beginning, a non-reading approach. In much the same way, people learn to speak before they learn to read, it is beneficial to learn how DO, before learning how to READ. These experiences provide the foundation for a better understanding of reading. As soon as the student demonstrates readiness, they should transition to reading. I am a firm believer in Lao Tzu's philosophy:  "Give a man a fish; feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; feed him for a lifetime."

Curriculum Vitae

in reverse chronological order

Continuing Education

• Computer Programming
• Python
• Django
• Machine Learning

Nevada Classroom Teaching and Private Teaching

• Clark County School District; Las Vegas, NV
  • Substitute Teacher, including long-term assignments
    • Spring Valley High School:
      • Choir
      • Italian
      • Government
  • Las Vegas High School; Las Vegas, NV
    • Directed 5 String Orchestra classes
    • Directed student performances
• Southern Nevada Music; Las Vegas, NV
  • Piano students
• Private Teaching and Tutoring
  • Piano, guitar and math.

Continued Math Education

• College of Southern Nevada
• Pre-Calculus I and II

Math & Computer Science Employment

• Smart City Networks; Las Vegas, NV
  • Systems Programmer
• Gaming Systems International; Las Vegas, NV
• Systems Programmer
• Axcis Network Technologies Santa Clara, CA
•  Data Integrity Manager
• Apple Computer; Campbell, CA
• Project Coordinator

Math & Computer Science Education and Employment

• Masters Institute of Technology; San Jose, CA , A.S. in Software Development.
  • Re-studied advanced math courses
  • Software development in C
  • Advanced database programming
  • Network Engineering

California Classroom Teaching and Private Teaching

• Taught students privately while classroom teaching
• Santa Clara Adult Education; Santa Clara, CA
  • Taught beginning and intermediate Class Piano
  • Created the Mission City Concert Band (60 members strong)
  • Created the Benson Street Singers community choir.
• Delphi Academy; Palo Alto, CA
• Created piano laboratory
• Wrote teaching curriculum and self-paced class materials in their specialized education format.
• Instructed elementary and middle school students in:
  • Piano labs
  • Pre-instrumental class
  • Pre-band class.
• Campbell Unified High School District; Campbell, CA
• Del Mar High School
• Band Direction
• Beginning & Intermediate Choir
• Madrigal Singers
• Musical Production: Carousel
• Franklin-McKinley School District; San Jose, CA
  • J.W. Fair Middle School
    • Music Appreciation
    • Choir Director
    • String Orchestra Director.
• San Jose Unified School District; San Jose, CA
• John Muir Middle School
  • Band Director

California State University at San Jose, Teaching Credential, 1986

• Taught students privately
• Experienced playing each instrument of the orchestra (each for 6 weeks):
• strings, brass, woodwind, percussion
• Pedagogy of piano, guitar and each orchestra instrument.
• Voice
• Teaching Methods
• Pre-instrumental music training: Kodaly, Orff, Dalcroze
• Psychology of Education, Evaluation, Curriculum and Materials.
• Student Teaching: high school band and middle school choir.

University of California at Santa Barbara, B.A. Degree, 1983

• Instruments:
  • Piano
  • Classical Guitar
• Composition:
  • Wrote film scores for student films (Brooks Institute of Photography).
  • Conducted original film scores with student orchestras in school recording studios.
• Conducting:
  • Of over 40 students (upper and lower classman) who auditioned, I was one of two students accepted to study privately with the guest conductor of the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra.
  • Conducted the UCSB Orchestra and Choir in separate performances.
• Music Courses:
  • Ear Training and Musicianship
  • Harmony and Theory
  • Form and Analysis
  • Counterpoint
  • History of Music
• Mathematics Courses:
  • Calculus
  • Statistics.