Welcome to Minnix Music
Background check: Last verified 11/25/2014
Willy teaches: Children 7 and up and Adults,
private and group lessons available,
home-school group lessons
What the Kids Are Saying About Minnix Music Lessons!
Top 10 Reasons To Take Music Lessons
10. Music Education helps train your brain in many ways - Music lessons develop the portion of the brain that controls language, helps children increase their IQ level, and improves test scores. These are just a few proofs that a musical education helps develop your brain!
9. Music Education provides a life-long skill that can be useful in many different settings, work, education, religious and several other uses throughout ones lifetime.
8. Music Education provides a powerful tool against depression throughout ones life by teaching one how to refocus negative emotions.
7. Music Education helps with basic memory recall. Not only does music education help develop and train your brain, it also can increase your memory. Studies have shown that music education even helps Alzheimer's patients by slowing some of the progression of the memory eating disease.
6. Music Education helps young children learn discipline, and teaches them the benefits and rewards of working hard to accomplish something, by providing step by step goals for them to accomplish each week, and by demonstrating to them in a very tangible way progress as they achieve those goals.
5. Music Education instills creativity, which trains students to think outside of the box when tackling difficult problems in life. This creative element allows music students to go on to be excellent team leaders, who know how to think critically about overcoming problems.
4. Music Education builds teamwork - In order for a band to sound good, each member must be a team player, or else the band does not sound right. Music education teaches kids how to work together, and the sound itself trains the kids in positive and encouraging ways as the band gets more and more tight knit.
3. Music education allows all people a chance to express themselves in positive ways. I always tell my students that learning to play an instrument is like giving a voice to your soul. Music Education teaches you how to express what you feel inside in a beneficial way to everyone.
2. Music education teaches kids how to overcome anxiety. When they realize how much the audience loves to hear them perform, it instills confidence in them, and helps them develop good methods of dealing with stress, which in turn can help keep them away from harmful ways of dealing with stress.
1. Everyone knows the top reason - Playing an instrument instantly makes you cool! When you're having fun playing music with your friends, and other people get to enjoy it, there is nothing on earth cooler than that!
For more health and mental benefits to music education check out what VH1 says about it here: Why Music?
And also here at the National Association for Music Education: 20 Important Benefits of Music Education.
Why Take Lessons With Willy?
About Willy Minnix
Overview
Willy has been teaching music for twenty years, carrying on the tradition he learned when his father taught him piano as a youth. He is a multi-instrumentalist with a degree in music from Earlham College in historic Richmond, IN (the birthplace of recorded jazz, and home of 30s era Gennett Records).
Willy is also a published author. He written three books, part of an on going series about open D tuning for the mandolin, entitled "Dead Man's Tuning Vol. 1" and Dead Man's Tuning: Christmas Edition." They are available for sale at www.willyminnix.com, and amazon, or can be ordered from your local Barnes and Noble, Borders or BAM.
As a father of four young children, Willy teaches in a family friendly environment. Willy offers group lessons, called the Stringed Instrument Workshop, for all ages. At the SIW events, he has taught elementary students as well as adults all the way up to 86 years old! Willy is a background checked teacher and would love to pass on his knowledge of music to you and your family!
Photos and Videos
You can find it at Musician's Friend or at Guitar Center!Experience
Taught music to elementary, jr. high and high school students. Taught private piano, guitar and mandolin lessons.
Willy was a sound technician and stage hand for Tarry Town Music Hall where he was able to work with many well known music artists such as Procol Harum, Keb' Mo', the Indigo Girls, Yonder Mountain Stringed Band and Dweezel Zappa.
Taught Music to Elementary school children. Also taught Piano, Guitar and Banjo lessons privately.
Taught Piano and Guitar.
Taught Music and Substitute taught elementary, Jr. and Sr. High students.
As a sound technician Willy gained valuable experience working at the world famous Tarry Town Music Hall near Sleepy Hollow, NY, where he worked with top notch touring bands like Blues Traveler, the Indigo Girls, Robert Cray, Keb' Mo', They Might Be Giants, Dweezle Zappa, They Might Be Giants, Paul Shaffer, the Marshall Tucker Band, and the late, great Levon Helm. He also worked with A-list actors such as Stanley Tucci, James Cahn, Kevin Bacon and Keanu Reeves.
Back Stage With the Blind Boys of Alabama
Working With blues legend Keb' Mo'.
While living in Austin, TX, Willy was a member of the American Federation of Musicians alongside greats like Los Lonely Boys, George Straight, Lyle Lovett and Willie Nelson.
Willy and Paul Shaffer from the Late Show with David Letterman and the Blues Brothers
Education
Certifications
Licensed Minister with the Missionary Church USA.
Licensed Minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Affiliations
One of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed. In FY 2013, BMI collected more than $944 million in licensing fees and distributed $814 million in royalties.
A labor union representing professional musicians in the United States and Canada. Founding in 1896 as the successor to the "National League of Musicians," the AFM is the largest organization in the world representing the interests of professional musicians.
5 Reviews on Willy M.
★★★★★
Sandy M.
February 4, 2015
Richmond Academy, Richmond, IN
You should know that Jacobi, my grandson, whom you started teaching drums. Is now playing for school Chapel Praise & Worship as well as his church youth group.
★★★★★
Renée T. January 16, 2015
Piano and SIW - In Studio
We miss having you as Jayden's music instructor. You knew how to embrace his creativity and talent! I enjoyed learning to play the mandolin is string instrument workshop this summer. We had a fun time and also learned how to play our instruments.
Fiddle · In studio
The Stringed Instrument Workshop last year was really fun because almost everyone in the group won some different musical freebies from different music stores nearby. We had a cookout and a concert, and both of my children were able to perform in front of the class. Willy set up a stage, lights and a sound system for us all to feel like we were stars! It was such a fun time, and we even had hotdogs and marshmallows!
I loved the Stringed Instrument Workshop so much, I had him teach my kids private lessons too, and they love it.
Piano · In studio
Mandolin · In studio
I will continue playing mandolin, and want to also learn violin, piano and guitar. I can even play "Mean" on the 12 string guitar now in open tunings!!
Acoustic Guitar · In studio