Testimonials from Students

Chen Zheng
La Jolla, CA

  "D C DowDell is an excellent Jazz piano teacher. I have worked with him for about 1 year and am light years ahead of where I thought I would be at this point. His approach allows you to push the envelope and play fun songs that would normally take you much longer to learn. He's also extremely knowledgeable in the arts. I'm always learning during my lessons with him. I highly recommend him as a teacher whether you are a beginner or advanced musician. Do yourself a favor and get started now!"

Noah Cosby
Pacific Beach, CA

  "D C DowDell is an amazingly talented person. He never skims a subject, but delves more deeply than most to where his expertise is unquestionable. He is patient and methodical, yet has a playful side that makes learning with him a special joy. His website is a wonderful source of Jazz information, history, theory and piano technique. Explore it and you're bound to learn something!"

Mary Angela Talbot
San Diego, CA

  "I took piano lessons when I was a kid and then quit. I started playing around a little on the piano in my mid-thirties. After a year, I realized that I should try taking lessons again because I wasn't making that much progress. I have been taking Jazz piano lessons with D C DowDell for two years now, and I can't believe how quickly I am progressing. He keeps you moving on to new songs very quickly, so I always can feel my brain being stretched. Highly recommend D C as a Jazz piano teacher. To my surprise, I am starting to think of myself as a musician!"

Ben Daley
San Diego, CA

  "Professor DowDell is a great piano teacher.....he goes beyond anything I have ever experienced.....and I have taken lessons off and on since 1953....he is able to teach how to be creative on the keyboard.....and after years of following the music....that is what I wanted...to sit down and start playing my own music....different everytime. He can teach at any level...from beginners to professionals.....the best!"

Joyce Watkins
Ocean Beach, CA

  "D C DowDell's passion is Jazz, but it's also teaching. It's rare to find such a perfect balance of a gifted musician who is also an academic and teacher in the same person (Ellis Marsalis comes to mind). D C is an experienced and polished Jazz musician who can, with equal facility and knowledge, dive into arcane classical music history and theory, discuss Jazz personalities and trends in Jazz evolution, demonstrate and explain different styles, and inspire his students through his contagious love for the idiom. He listens to his students, observes their progress, and tailors exercises to their individual needs. After six months of lessons, I'm much much further along than I anticipated and I attribute this to the quality of D C's instruction. I couldn't be happier."

Toby Morral
Clairemont, CA

  "Professor DowDell is a knowledgeable, patient instructor and a highly talented and widely experienced Jazz pianist. He delves deep and brings out the very best from his students and truly loves teaching. I highly recommend D C DowDell at A Passion for Jazz! Music Studios."

Agnes Jones
Ocean Beach, CA

  "I have been taking lessons from D C for more than 3 years. D C tailors my lessons to my particular needs and skills, giving appropriately challenging assignments to facilitate my progress. Being a perfectionist, I especially appreciate his encouragement to be patient and to view mistakes as not only "O.K." but necessary for learning and creativity."

David Blasband
Escondido, CA

  "As someone who has played the piano for over 40 years, I was very interested in learning how to play improvisational Jazz. D C provided me with a simple and powerful system and a great repertoire of Jazz standards that has elevated my skills and has opened up a whole new world of music and live performance. I really enjoy the annual recital and it is great to see students of all ages and abilities who are benefiting from D C DowDell's instruction."

Ted Price
Encinitas, CA

  "Whether you are passionate about Jazz or just learning about it, D C will take your piano performance to new heights. For me, this is a full-life experience -- it feels good in my body, stimulates my mind and enriches my soul. I've taken lessons off and on since I was a child but always felt like a beginner. My progress over the last few months with D.C. is stunning. I was stuck in a rut and he bumped me right out of it! Moving forward has been fun."

Kathleen Murray
San Diego, CA

  "I started Jazz piano study with Professor DowDell a little over a year ago after a 4 year absence from Classical lessons. I was bored with the music I had been playing and wanted to understand how to play Jazz. D C has opened up a new musical world to me by really getting "inside" what's going on with Jazz and Blues. He has shown me how to improvise over chords that used to baffle me, and I am now playing regularly with a club band."

Dennis Lahey
Oceanside, CA

  "With a mastery of harmony and piano-voicings, Professor DowDell teaches students to bring the most out of every tune, while facilitating personal expression. His approach to improvisation is based on harmonic understanding rather than the memorization of modes; students learn to formulate musical ideas spontaneously in response to chords played rather than from preconceived ideas. His love for music is infectious and his dedication to the development of his students is inspiring. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced musician, your musical experience will be greatly enhanced by taking lessons with D C DowDell."

Jim Georgiev
San Marcos, CA