Experienced tutor in Marimba in Independence, Larissa offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

I have studied with Mountain Marimba for about two years now. She is a wealth of information about all facets of music, teaching music, and learning music. I had some previous experience with music lessons as a child. I knew the basics of learning music, but was very rusty. She is a highly trained musician, but is very adept at working with people who are just beginning. She breaks down everything to a level where anyone can understand it.

She loves answering questions! I have never known her to get frustrated, even when explaining the simplest thing again, after I've asked her several times before. If there's something she doesn't know, and that's not much, she won't stop until she has an answer. I have had conversations with her, more than once, on all sorts of music technique, which might seem boring to others, just for the pleasure of learning, and she's always happy to talk about it!

Her approach to teaching comes from all angles. Not only does she teach you how to play, she also has a very well designed system that teaches you how to practice most effectively. 5 excellent points that will help get the most out of your practice time, both with her, and on your own.

In addition to her practice method, she has a highly developed system for reading and counting music that made it so much easier to pick up where I had left off decades before. After just 3 months of weekly lessons, I was ready to play in public for the first time, on a new instrument.

I can say I have learned a wealth of information in my two years under her instruction! And more than that, I have learned to listen to, study, and appreciate music in a whole new way! I look forward to our lessons, and what new thing I am going to learn from her every week.

Larissa has been amazing to work with. I have studied marimba with her on and off for several years (when I'm too busy to take regular lessons, she has been flexible enough to fit me in on an intermittent basis as her schedule allows). When I have a specific goal in mind, she listens to what I want to accomplish and helps me get there; and when I don't have a specific goal but just want to generally improve, she is really good with giving me an honest feedback and suggesting a direction for my focus. She is tremendously musical and verbally articulate --- an excellent and valuable teacher. Highly recommended.

Larissa is a great musician, and wonderful marimbist. She can also teach piano and handbells. She has an engaging personality, and is extremely intelligent, well read, speak well, and loves kitties! I recommend her with no reservations whatsoever.