Greg G. TakeLessons Instructor Piano, music theory, songwriting, MIDI Houston, TX

Greg was born in Galveston County on Oct. 22, 1964.  The son of an Italian immigrant and a native Texan, he grew up in a very diverse household. At age 5 he began piano lessons and immediately fell in love with music. With parents who both loved music passionately, although of differing styles, Greg was exposed to the music of Chopin to the Beatles and everything in between!

As he progressed through his studies Greg entered 7th grade and promptly joined the band, where he played trombone.  Although he loved the symphonic band, the piano held his primary interest.  Through his band participation, Greg had the opportunity to join the stage band as pianist.  This is when he caught the jazz bug!!  So, at age 12 or so, Greg had his first group experience with pop and jazz music as pianist.

Years later, after enjoying rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues, a college jazz instructor introduced Greg to the genius of pianist Bill Evans.  At this point everything changed!  This exposure to such a rich harmonic language diverted his musical direction towards this beautiful genre.  Make no mistake, Greg still loved pop and rock, but now he was able to merge a deeper sense of harmony and complex rhythms with these mainstream styles.

In 1993 Greg began writing music he felt the world needed to hear.  It was unusual in that these tunes were a little bit of everything-pop, jazz, funk and classical.  This culminated in the release of "People and Places" in mid-1999.

Greg drew inspiration for the music from his experiences with friends and travel, hence the title.  The album was produced entirely in Greg's home studio with the help of a few close musician friends.  The advent of technology allows the technically adept musician to serve many roles.  Greg wrote, arranged, produced and engineered the album, and performed all of the keyboard, bass and drum parts.   Guitar  and saxophone were performed by close friends.

Greg served as musical and audio director for a Houston-based television program called INET TV in 1996, dealing with the internet explosion. He composed various themes and oversaw the audio quality of the program.  Greg has also composed music for several multimedia companies and recently has had the honor of composing the music content for the worldwide SHELL OIL website, as well as music libraries for Dallas’ TM Century post production.

From 1998-2003 Greg lived in Dallas, performing with his jazz piano trio, directing several praise bands, and running a recording studio in his house, producing music for various churches, singers and songwriters.

Returning home to Houston in early 2003, freshened up old connections, and made Houston his permanent home.

Greg has been on staff since 6/2003 at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church as assistant director of contemporary music.    He also is an instructor at Mediatech Institute, where he teaches music theory/songwriting/production.

   A new CD of original music was released in March 2003, “We Dream As One”, and it’s been well-received by local fans.   He’s still producing various projects in his home studio, and having a great time using all the latest technology to create quality music!

Students will undoubtedly benefit from Greg's versatility and pleasant demeanor.    His level of experience, not only in performing and producing, but also instructing, will give his students an edge!   He has instructed classical repertoire, but really specializes in instructing jazz harmony and performance technique, and also pop/rock/gospel/blues styles.

My students can expect to make serious gains in their understanding of music theory, which I believe is the key to total success on your instrument.  I don't just teach the dots on the staff, I teach the "why" and "how" it all works!    I share the secrets of the Circle of Fifths, chord voicing and function, different time signatures and their associated "feel", and improvising over a form.   Once a musician has a deeper understanding of the rules of music, progress becomes easier, and the black dots on the page take on a new, "easier-to-assimilate quickly" meaning!

I also stress technique, and will work with my students on scale and chord drills.  Boring at first, but soon the student is challenged and wants to master these drills.  Coupling solid technique with deep knowledge of harmony is the only real way to achieve total mastery of the instrument.  That's why I teach this way!

Jazz, Pop, classical, gospel, blues

Piano, music theory, songwriting, MIDI