Certain Music

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Very patient

In April 2021, I decided to take the risk in learning a brand new instrument right before my 51st birthday. I knew that it was unusual for someone at my age to start to learn an instrument they have never attempted. In fact I was learning it with no note reading ability. I knew I had to get over any embarrassment in learning as an adult and Dr. Certain sure made that easy with his positive, jovial demeanor. Dr. Certain has been very patient with me as I struggled through some techniques in playing. He always helps you through the corrections to be made, while encouraging at the same time. Even though the violin is a very sensitive instrument to play, I pushed through despite some bad sounding moments at the beginning. And now working through the music theory workbooks, song books to play music, I can read music, play different scales, and had my first recital with a group of violists. I am amazed that I am as far as I am in such a short period of time and am confident that moving forward with Dr. Certain I will only improve with my violin playing.

Strongly recommend

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was looking for something different and interesting to do - and since we had a piano at home, thought I would give learning the piano a try. At the age of 47 and with not a single "musical bone" in my body, I wasn't sure where this would go. After speaking with a few experienced teachers, I went with my gut instinct and decided to learn with Dr. Certain - and I am so glad I did. We are doing sessions by video due to Covid-19, and yet Dr. Certain has an uncanny ability to feel how I am feeling and adjust his teaching style accordingly.

He balances teaching logical concepts and theory with hands on practice, he paces his teaching to what I can grasp while maintaining some stretch to push me forward - but only up to the point that would not cause frustration, and so on. He has also customized his curriculum to use a mix of well selected standard piano books and his own material. I have been very happy with the lessons, and have learned a lot under his tutelage. To top it off, his sense of humor and anecdotes ensure that even if the content is heavy and difficult, the mood is light and fun. And last but not the least, he has also been very patient with my frequent requests to reschedule classes due to work and family commitments. I would strongly recommend Dr. Certain without a second thought.

Great teacher!

It has been more than 3 months since Dr. Certain began mentoring my son Arjun on his Piano lessons. I already see a great progress in his technical abilities and musicality as a whole. Firstly, Arjun has started to love his piano that he never misses his practice time. Thanks to Dr. Certain's frequent encouragement. His lessons have an equal balance of Technical drills and Music playing. There is sufficient focus on honing the ability to play with the count (metronome) and in understanding notes, chords, musical nomenclature and scale. All this has only enriched Arjun with knowledge and Dr.Certain's '2-session-a-week' format ensures that Arjun spends quality time on music every day. Dr. Certain is patient, encouraging and at the same time enthusiastic teacher and is exactly what I thought for Arjun. Here is hoping for a long beautiful musical journey for Arjun under Dr. Certain's guidance.

Excellent teacher

Dr. Rand Certain has been my daughter's private violin teacher for nearly two years now. Neither she, nor I could be happier with him as an instructor. With an emphasis on technique and music theory, my daughter has gone from an intermediate junior high orchestra to making high school varsity orchestra. Her skills continue to develop and her confidence continues to grow under his expert instruction.

Dr. Certain is incredibly kind, patient, and knowledgeable. His passion for the violin is contagious. He makes us feel like part of his family--always understanding, always flexible, and very responsive to communication. Most importantly, he is very, very good at encouraging my daughter to push past her own perceived limits (which is not easy for her). He is attentive to her needs as a student, but offers her strong direction when she gets lost. He is an excellent teacher and I could not recommend him more!

Highly recommend!

Derek (8 years old) and Dylan (6 years old) started their weekly piano lesson with Dr. Certain in July of 2019. We have been very pleased with the boys progress. I think Dr. Certain's pedagogical style is unique in that he puts a lot of emphasis on music theory and making sure the boys are able to read musical notes fluently, yet he is able to teach these difficult concepts to them in a humorous manner. Dr. Certain has a 'proven way'  of helping young pianists improve that include calling notes out and always playing with a metronome.

Miss Gaby began teaching Derek and Dylan since the beginning of 2019 under the guidance of Dr. Certain. We first met Miss Gaby at the piano and violin recital for all of Dr. Certain's students, where Miss Gaby, Derek and Dylan all performed. Miss Gaby is very dedicated and patient. She is also very thorough in assigning and correcting the boys music theory homework for each week.