About Spencer
Click here for my Resume
The professional story.
Taught private studio lessons since 2006.
Played professionally as a soloist, in duos, small ensembles, bands, and pit orchestras since 2001.
Bachelor of Arts in Music (Otterbein University, 2006)
Master of Music in Music Education (Boston University, 2012)
The personal story.
When I was fourteen, I started sneaking the electric guitar out of my brother's room. I played in secret for a few weeks until my brother finally noticed his guitar was missing. Did I get in trouble? I honestly can't remember, but I do remember rocking the “Top Gun Anthem” on a single string. I learned mostly by ear, but also with the help of my dad, who showed me some chords and the lick from Peter, Paul and Mary's "A' Soulin'", and song books my parents bought for me, stoking my interest in my favorite bands at the time (such as Alice in Chains and Metallica).
By the end of high school, I was playing most weekends in clubs and bars around Central Ohio. Setting my sights on a career in music, college seemed like a good idea. I enrolled at Otterbein University in Westerville, OH, and spent four years learning as much as I could about music—theory, sight-reading, technique, songwriting, history, and performance. I also began diversifying my performance experience, playing pit orchestras, churches, cocktail parties, even concert halls. I honed my skills as a musician and performer, preparing for every possible occasion I might be called on to play. I wanted to be a “guitarist for all occasions.”
Upon graduation, I was asked to take on a few private lessons at the local Colonial Music in Westerville, OH. I'll admit I began teaching with reservations, as teaching seemed apart from performance. Then my students started asking hard questions. I found myself spending my free-time pondering well-thought-out answers, like analogies that related tough concepts and techniques, or mnemonic devices to help students remember musical ideas. Things like, “Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie,” to remember string names, “Resting Tone” to describe how resolution to the tonic chord feels, and “C for Circle, F for Fifths, and everybody hates the BeeGees—BEADG, BEADG,” to describe the Circle of Fifths. I find myself still saying, “Listen to your brain, not your fingers; your fingers have their own agenda,” “Say it before you play it,” “If you can't hear it, you got no business trying to play it,” and, “Music is a language—and right now it might as well be Chinese.”
Honing my skills as a teacher became as fun, exciting, and important to me as honing my skills as a player. Further, I found that teaching, rather than being apart from performance, is a part of performance. Breaking down tough concepts isn’t just good for students, it’s good for me. I benefit from playing with a metronome every bit as much as my students. Playing slowly and concentrating on tone and intonation isn’t just for beginners! How I teach has shaped how I play, and with every new song a students brings to the table, I am reminded what a joy it is to learn, practice, improve, and play music.
The professional story.
Taught private studio lessons since 2006.
Played professionally as a soloist, in duos, small ensembles, bands, and pit orchestras since 2001.
Bachelor of Arts in Music (Otterbein University, 2006)
Master of Music in Music Education (Boston University, 2012)
The personal story.
When I was fourteen, I started sneaking the electric guitar out of my brother's room. I played in secret for a few weeks until my brother finally noticed his guitar was missing. Did I get in trouble? I honestly can't remember, but I do remember rocking the “Top Gun Anthem” on a single string. I learned mostly by ear, but also with the help of my dad, who showed me some chords and the lick from Peter, Paul and Mary's "A' Soulin'", and song books my parents bought for me, stoking my interest in my favorite bands at the time (such as Alice in Chains and Metallica).
By the end of high school, I was playing most weekends in clubs and bars around Central Ohio. Setting my sights on a career in music, college seemed like a good idea. I enrolled at Otterbein University in Westerville, OH, and spent four years learning as much as I could about music—theory, sight-reading, technique, songwriting, history, and performance. I also began diversifying my performance experience, playing pit orchestras, churches, cocktail parties, even concert halls. I honed my skills as a musician and performer, preparing for every possible occasion I might be called on to play. I wanted to be a “guitarist for all occasions.”
Upon graduation, I was asked to take on a few private lessons at the local Colonial Music in Westerville, OH. I'll admit I began teaching with reservations, as teaching seemed apart from performance. Then my students started asking hard questions. I found myself spending my free-time pondering well-thought-out answers, like analogies that related tough concepts and techniques, or mnemonic devices to help students remember musical ideas. Things like, “Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie,” to remember string names, “Resting Tone” to describe how resolution to the tonic chord feels, and “C for Circle, F for Fifths, and everybody hates the BeeGees—BEADG, BEADG,” to describe the Circle of Fifths. I find myself still saying, “Listen to your brain, not your fingers; your fingers have their own agenda,” “Say it before you play it,” “If you can't hear it, you got no business trying to play it,” and, “Music is a language—and right now it might as well be Chinese.”
Honing my skills as a teacher became as fun, exciting, and important to me as honing my skills as a player. Further, I found that teaching, rather than being apart from performance, is a part of performance. Breaking down tough concepts isn’t just good for students, it’s good for me. I benefit from playing with a metronome every bit as much as my students. Playing slowly and concentrating on tone and intonation isn’t just for beginners! How I teach has shaped how I play, and with every new song a students brings to the table, I am reminded what a joy it is to learn, practice, improve, and play music.
