Lessons

What sets Maxwell's Music House apart from everyone else?

- Choose your own instructor!

- You learn what you want to learn!

- Have FUN and learn how to play like a ROCKSTAR!

- Learn how to perform on a stage!

- Option to record your lesson to track your progress!

Take Music Lessons on:

- Electric Guitar

- Acoustic Guitar

- Bass Guitar

- Piano/Keyboard

- Drums

- Vocals

- OPTION TO LEARN TWO OR MORE INSTRUMENTS FROM THE SAME INSTRUCTOR!

Rates:

- 30 minute private lesson = $22

- 60 minute private lesson = $44

Please inquire about Group lessons for special rates!

(all rates include optional stage performance package, inquire for more details)

Daniel Alac

Now accepting Students! To book your lesson please call 519-498-5705 or visit our location.

Learn how to play Bass guitar with local talent:

Daniel Alac

Daniel first picked up the bass guitar at the age of 16. By 18 he was playing professional shows on a regular basis.

Daniel has been formally trained through both private lessons and broad performance experiences.

Musical Styles

His skill formation was founded in the blues, but he rapidly branched to other styles- quickly mastering rock, pop, funk, country, punk and metal.

Daniel has been invited to play alongside such music legends as Tom Wilson of Junkhouse, Frankie Venom of Teenage Head, Blues aficionado Mel Brown, and 70’s starlit singer Charity Brown. He has also played with a slew of popular local rock and blues musicians including Shawn Kellerman, Mike McDonald, Corey Williams, John Lee, Watermelon Slim, Chris Latta and Paul MacLeod.

Performance

With the natural flair for performance, Daniel has focused primarily on ensuring he plays as often as possible, in several diversely styled bands including:

The Droops; a funk rock inspired popular band who sold out crowds at all local venues.
Sweetfire; an up and coming Rock four piece who in a recent national battle of the bands placed in the top four across Canada among thousands of entrants.
Honeywood Express; popular weekly jam hosts, in demand rhythm section backing blues acts across southern Ontario and featured duo for the last 3 years at the Kitchener Blues Festival.
The Lucas Stagg Band; who is releasing a new three piece collaboration album.
The Kil’Billys; Rockabilly favourites.

He has been featured on the bill with famous names such as Peter Frampton, David Wilcox, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Lover Boy, Eddie Money, and The Detroit Women.

Dave Mansell

Dave began music at the age of 4 with the violin. Over the next few years, he moved up in size to the cello and eventually the Double Bass. He began piano at the age of 7 and guitar at the age of 12. His studies in music took him to the University of British Columbia where he did an Honours Bachelor of Music in Composition and maintained his instrumental studies in piano and bass. He has since done some composition work for film and television as well as arrangements for other bands and artists.

Aside from playing in many various orchestras and classical ensembles, Dave has a second life as a prolific singer/songwriter and producer. He produced his first solo album in 2005 and was nominated for the Toronto Independent Music Awards for Best Male Performer.

As a solo artist, his folk, alt-rock style has taken him across Canada and large parts of the US and Europe. He has also performed and recorded with various artists including Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Ora Cogan, Mark Berube, Vanderpark and Tariq.

Musical Influences: although this list is endless… Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake, Thom Yorke, Dave Matthews, David Bowie, Hawksley Workman, Ron Sexsmith, Danny Michel, Gord Downie, Tom Waitts, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, Eddie Vedder, Lenny Kravitz, Feist, Sarah Slean, Beethoven, Wagner, Puccini

Achievements and Qualifications Guitar – 16 yrs, acoustic and electric: Rock, folk, blues, jazz, alt-rock Piano – University level, (RCM grade 10 equivalent) Double Bass – University level, (RCM ARCT equivalent) Sound Production/engineering – 7 yrs experience Touring experience – Canada, USA, Europe

Kimberly Manning

Now accepting Students! To book your lesson please call 519-498-5705 or visit our location.

Learn how to Sing/Play Piano with local talent:

Kimberly Manning

Education and Experience

Kimberly is a psychology graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University, where she obtained her honours degree along with a minor in music. She has studied both voice and piano classically, and has achieved levels equivalent to grades 10 and 9, respectively, according to the Royal Conservatory of Music’s standards. She has been teaching piano and vocal lessons since September of 2007, and has enjoyed working with a wide range of students. Kimberly also plays guitar and harmonica, and enjoys trying out new instruments as well as writing, recording and performing her own songs.

Performance

Kimberly has been performing in a variety of forms since the age of five. From classical piano and choir recitals, to live rock and funk shows, to musical theatre, she is no stranger to the stage. She is currently a member of the club Laurier Musical Theatre, which puts on several musical shows throughout the school year. Kimberly filled a lead role in this year’s 2008 production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. She has also been a cast member of several other shows in both Waterloo and Kingston, Ontario, and has provided her own style of live musical entertainment at a variety of venues in both areas.

Interests

Currently working towards her master’s degree in music therapy at Laurier, Kimberly takes a great deal of interest in working with individuals with special needs. She is co-founder of the program called Creative Musicianship, a group music education program specifically designed for children and youth with special needs, soon to be hosted by Maxwell’s Music House. Kimberly looks forward to running this program as well as to meeting a wide variety of new students at this facility.

Duncan McLennan

Now accepting Students! To book your lesson please call 519-498-5705 or visit our location.

Learn how to play the Drums with local talent:

Duncan McLennan

Duncan McLennan is a drummer and percussionist who is currently studying toward a BMus. degree at Wilfrid Laurier University. He has vast performance experience, which includes work as a vocalist, and on the guitar. Duncan began his musical studies at the age of two in Kodaly

and ear training programs. He began studying vocal techniques at the age of four, piano and music theory at the age of eight, and percussion at age eleven.

Instruction

Duncan has studied drum kit and percussion with Dave Campion of the Stratford Festival of Canada, Dr. Gill Ball of the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble, and Kevin Gorman, Associate Producer of Sony Records, Canada. Doctors Kevin Swiden, Anna Ferenc, and Glenn Buhr

have provided the performer with a thorough knowledge of music theory, arranging, and composition. He has studied at the Eastman School of Music in Chicago, IL, as well as at Aberdeen University in Scotland. As of 2010, Duncan will have completed a Bachelor of Music

Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Performance Experience

Duncan is a regular performer within several symphony orchestras, which range in size from 32 to 125 members. He plays rock, pop, and jazz drum kit in various groups. Music has lead Duncan all over the world, and he has had the opportunity to perform across both Canada and the United States, and to tour to Scotland, England, and Ireland, visiting some of the world’s greatest concert halls along the way. Duncan’s interest in mallet and keyboard percussion continues to grow, and he is pursuing performance opportunities on these unique instruments.

Teaching Experience

Duncan has worked as an instructor in primary, middle, and high schools. He has filled the roles of a section rehearsal leader, individual instructor for drum kit, percussion, and mallet instruments, and as a conductor for school bands. Duncan’s private students have ranged in age from eight years old to over fifty.

Teaching Style and Philosophies

Duncan is a classically trained percussionist, vocalist, and pianist, and as such recognizes the importance of fundamentals and rudiments in the development of any performer. He also understands that a basic knowledge of the instruments with which someone must perform is essential to a player’s ability to develop as a musician. Understanding and using basic music theory is just as important. Duncan’s teaching concentrates on the development of a technique and style that will allow a performer to survive in any environment, and adapt to any situation, while making sure that performers truly are mechanically capable, and stylistically tasteful.

Matthew Hortobagyi

Now accepting Students! To book your lesson please call 519-498-5705 or visit our location.

Matthew Hortobagyi

Matthew is a guitar enthusiast, specializing in 6-string and 7-string electric guitars. Additionally, he regularly works with acoustic and classical guitars, mandolin, ganjo, harmonica, piano and percussion.

Matthew started playing guitar at the age of nine and 15 years later he jokes, “I still can’t seem to get it out of my hands!”. He relishes the ability to create and share music -- while bonding with the instrument -- is an incredible feeling, one he hopes to share with as many as possible.
Throughout those 15 years, Matthew has studied with a variety of musicians and teachers, both contributing their expertise and sharing effective methods to success. With this knowledge, Matthew delivers complete analysis of the guitar, teaching not only a single method, but all methods with extraordinary ease and most importantly, enjoyment.

Some highlights of Matthew’s teaching style:
 * ear training
* sight-reading tab/sheet music
* music theory comprehension
* goal-setting, planning effective practice regiments
* finger exercises, posture
* repertoire tailored to student’s interests
* music scene analysis and involvement