Monty Smith is a pianist and drummer from Northern Virginia. In addition to teaching private music lessons in these two instruments, he also works as a stagehand, collaborates with friends on a variety of projects, and writes and records his own original music. Samples of all this work are showcased on this website. For a full, first-person bio, read on:
I was born in 1990 to two musical parents. My father was once the director of the Air Force band in Chicago, as well as directing many high school groups over the years. He now teaches bassoon and piano out of his home. My mother plays flute, piano and organ, and participates in a variety of community ensembles. When classical music wasn't flowing from my parents hands or the radios in the house, I was being enthralled by VHS soundtracks and snippets of rock music found in toys and computer games.
After outgrowing my Jamar toy piano, my father began teaching me music around the age of 4, and I was enrolled in group music courses outside of grade school. At age 7, I was enrolled in classical piano lessons. During this time, I performed many solo pieces at recitals, as well as accompanying classmates at solo-ensemble festivals, and performing concertos with orchestras.
When my parents divorced in 2001, my mothers house was temporarily without a piano, and a cheap plastic keyboard became a stand-in so I could practice. The intrigue of so many sounds to play and the ability to record multi-part songs in the keyboard had me hooked, and my mother wisely responded by signing me up for Dayjams, a rock music day camp for kids. In this camp, students were grouped into bands by age and skill level, and we would write an original song (complete with band name, logo, t-shirt and CD artwork) to perform at the end of the week-long camp session. The director of the camp turned out to also be the director of my middle school choir, a school ensemble I had already tried in 6th grade and was eager to continue.
I thoroughly enjoyed my choir experience in 7th and 8th grade, and sought out further music ensembles by playing with a couple of church Praise & Worship bands at local churches. Unfortunately, I was also beginning to lose interest in my classical piano studies, and difficulties with school and home resulted in my piano lessons being put on indefinite hold. I proceeded to forge my own musical path for several years, teaching myself out of books and growing my improvisational vocabulary. During this time, I began to record my playing, using a second electronic keyboard and some rudimentary recording equipment for the grand piano my mother had since acquired.
After five years as a camper at Dayjams, I outgrew the 8-15 age range for students in 2006, and immediately hired on as a Counselor-In-Training. This unexpectedly became a teaching role, and I proceeded to teach keyboard class and direct bands of campers for another five years, until the company went out of business in 2012.
Rejoining the choir in 11th grade, I was placed in the highest-level group, where I met many fellow musicians all trying to find their respective paths. Aside from singing at school, we spent many hours writing songs together on Garageband in the choir room closet, or forming jam bands after school at each others houses. The director of the high school choir department was especially supportive of our endeavors, and enlisted me for audio technical support many times. This prompted me to try my hand at professional stagecraft by hiring on at the local arena as an operations staff member, where I still work to this day.
After graduating high school, I was having difficulty determining what I should be doing for higher education, so I enrolled at Northern Virginia Community College, intending to only take a couple of music courses just to pass the time until I got into a proper music school. Ultimately, I graduated in 2014 with an Applied Associate of Arts in Music. During my time at NOVA, I upgraded my equipment to professional workstations and synthesizers, as well as buying my first drum kit and guitar. I studied with college-endorsed instructors as well as private instructors outside of school. This included a guitar teacher, a composition teacher, three drum teachers, and four piano teachers, not to mention the supplementary music theory and history courses required by the degree. I also spent a few of my college years playing in progressive and heavy metal bands around the D.C./MD/VA area, and although my taste for metal isn't as strong as it was during college, I still contribute to some of their projects to this day. I was also offered a teaching position at a music & tutoring studio one of my piano teachers was starting up, where I worked for five years before moving to join Potomac Falls Music, where I teach today.
About the Lessons:
I currently offer private one-on-one lessons for piano and drum kit students in Great Falls, Sterling, and Chantilly, Virginia. Please contact Potomac Falls Music for all lesson inquiries. I have nearly a decade of experience teaching individual lessons, group instrument classes, and student band rehearsals. I encourage my students to experiment with their instruments and follow what suits their musical tastes, while supplementing their adventures with rudiments, self-discipline, a working knowledge of music theory, and hands-on music technology experience with both vintage and modern equipment. This ensures that no matter where their interest in music takes them, my students are prepared when they arrive. All my goals as a teacher stem from my own experience as a music student. I am happy to work with any pupil who brings their best to the piano bench or drum stool!
All music on this site is performed by Monty Smith, unless otherwise noted.