Taylor Sappe

BMI affiliated published songwriter since 1979
Private Music Instructor at DeMelfi School of Music and "in-your-home" instruction
Record producer and A&R for Captain Blue Records

Photo by Ken Gallagher

About Taylor Sappe

Formerly As a performer

I played a variety of acoustic songs ranging in time period from the 60 to current, along with some of my own songs. Shows ranged from 1 to 4 hours and the rate of pay depends on the length of the show and the type of show it is. Here are some of the show types:

I prefer not to do shows in smoke filled rooms, for rowdy crowds, or where drunk and disorderly conduct is permitted. That's a job for the heavy rockers.

As a teacher

A creative approach

I take a creative approach to teaching. That means not going strictly by the book....especially when going strictly by the book can make learning boring or laborious and frustrating. Over the years I have discovered ways to bring the students to their musical goals much faster than following a strict curriculum.

Goal oriented

I personally interview each student before beginning lessons to find out what their goals are. Then I let them know what needs to be done to accomplish those goals. If they are not willing to do the work to reach those goals, then I help them to redefine their goals to something more attainable and work with them to reach those goals before setting higher goals.

Aptitude oriented

Every student learns at different rates. For those who are slow to learn, we take it slowly and break lessons down into smaller components that are easier to understand. For those who are fast learners, I feed them information as fast as they are capable of handling it and allow them to excel at phenomenal rates.

I have also found that some students are strong or learn faster in some areas of their lessons and slower in others. I focus mostly on the areas that need work first. When we have strengthened those areas to equal their stronger areas, we then work on strengthening all areas at one time. In addition to this, I suggest practice methods that help the student to get the most out of their practice.

Patience

Nobody likes to get yelled at when they have difficulty with something. Yelling at a student who has trouble with a lesson only makes it harder to do that lesson. My goal is to make the lessons easier. Not harder.

I understand that everyone in today's society has a busy schedule, and sometimes that schedule prevents a student from practicing. Although some students plan to work in music full time and totally immerse themselves in their studies, there are others who believe there are higher priorities to take care of. When these priorities prevent a student from practicing, they don't get yelled at for not practicing. We just practice what should have been done at home at the next lesson.

The general curriculum

Music is music, and it all comes together at one point: Instrumental performance, music theory, composing, songwriting, arranging, singing, reading. No matter what the instrument, my students are introduced to a little of everything. This helps them to look at their tasks from several different angles. For instance, if you looked at a TV set from the side, you would only see the depth and height shape of the TV and that is all you would know about it. However, if you then looked at it from the front, you would then know what controls are available on it. If you again looked at it from the back, you would discover some inputs and outputs and would know what types they are, giving you more knowledge about the TV you are looking at. It  works the same way with music. The more angles you can approach it from, the more you will understand it. The more you understand it, the more you are in control of it.

Each instrument has it's own set of controls, and music has a separate set of controls. You must understand the instrument to be able to operate it properly, and you must understand music to be able to make music with your instrument. My students learn both how to control their instrument and how to control music.

Music: Inspired or crafted?

Everyone has creative abilities. I show them how to tap into that as well. Music can be both crafted and inspired. It can be a science or an art. Those who do not study music, but play an instrument, such as the self-taught, may get inspiration to compose something. But because they don't have the knowledge of the controls of music, it becomes a trial and error process that may take a very long time to shape the music to properly express themselves. Music can be controlled by craft as well, picking notes from scales and chords, following formulas and rules, etc. However, without the creative inspiration, it may take more time than necessary to produce something worth listening to. Knowing what chord and scale tone combinations produce the emotions you are feeling is what gives you the control that produces good music.