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Private Lessons





Do You Have Dreams?
Are You Pursuing Them?



Mark Christopher Brandt

Chick

Jazzin, Talent Show, Fall and Spring Plays.

Future Plans: To become a musical performer.

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This is my senior yearbook picture from 1979 and the caption that was placed underneath. It contained my nickname, my school activities and my future plans.

(I was nicknamed Chick because of the pianist Chick Corea but my friends also called me Herbie - as in pianist Herbie Hancock).


Since the day I walked out of high school with my diploma (and actually even before) I have been chasing, following and cultivating my dream of being a recording, composing, performing and improvising musician. As jazz pianist Doctor Billy Taylor once said, "You don't choose a career in music. It chooses you."


I hope that my website will inspire you to revisit, rekindle or begin from scratch the whole-hearted pursuit of your dreams. What desire is burning within you? God put that there! Don't let anyone steal it or trash it!!


You can learn about my teaching style below!

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The Finest Piano and Music Instruction on the East Coast Since 1991



All Ages. All Styles. Affordable Rates. All my clients and students have come to me through
WORD OF MOUTH REFERRALS ONLY! I have never advertised my business!



Come and see what music lessons are like in my studio. The focus is on your gifts and not my expertise.
Let me know how I can help you realize your dreams and accomplish your goals.





Affordable



From the day I opened Lionheart Music East studio to this very moment my rates have remained competitive. Teaching is one part of my income and a large part of my artistry. I am still the most affordable and the most reasonably priced music teacher in the Northern Virginia area despite my reputation and the amount of successful students I have turned out.


My rates remain the same because I do not see the difference in those who are serious artists and those who simply want to play for enjoyment. Joy for the amateur comes from practice and artists should never lose the joy that first enticed them into their artistic life. That joy is a gift from God and it is one in the same in all students of music.




Reliable



Lionheart Music East has been home base for my private instruction music studio since I began my teaching career in 1991. Located in Manassas Virginia, my passion for sharing the art form of music with everyone and anyone interested has kept me busy teaching full time since I opened my door to that first student.


All of my students have come to me exclusively through word-of-mouth referrals, unless of course, like you, they have discovered my simple little LME website



Trustworthy



I believe that those who can do should teach for it is in teaching that the artist is able to convey in words what he is so desperately trying to say without words in his music. It is in the exchange between teacher and student, that the art form of music is transferred to future generations.


This simpatico relationship provides, at least in the small pockets of the country where true artists dwell, the hope of fostering higher art which comes not from computers or sequencing software but from the gifts of soul found in every artist as placed there by God.



Offering Truth, Goodness and Beauty



Some people play the piano. Some people play music and they use a piano to do so.


You can learn many exciting and wonderful things from a qualified teacher, but you can only learn the art form of music from a musician. Over the years I have learned to be all things to all people while still retaining my own artistic identity.


I am certain that I can help you find the joy of music and your own unique way of getting to it. I have done this successfully with hundreds of students since 1991.



I offer all of these options based on the individual desires and needs of each student



Lessons are Monday through Thursday 3:30pm to 9:00pm



Contact me ABOUT RATES, TIMES AND LESSON LENGTHS





Classical Piano



All Periods Baroque to Contemporary Scarlatti, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff.


Maintaining and Maintenance of Repertoire

Developing a Personalized Practice Routine

Sight Singing and Ear Training. ​



Jazz Piano



Ragtime, Swing and Standards Be Bop, Post Bop, Modal and all Modern Styles.


Maintaining and Maintenance of Repertoire

Developing a Personalized Practice Routine

Sight Singing and Ear Training.



Piano For All



Church Music and/or Praise and Worship

Improvisation in all Styles:

Country and Pop Music

Basic Piano Repertoire

Sight Reading



Composition



Advanced Piano Students Only

Compose and Arrange in the Style of Your Choice

Solo, Small Ensemble, Vocal, Large Ensembles Classical, Jazz and Everything in Between



Music Theory



Theory is the Most Exciting Aspect of Music

I Offer Beginner to Advanced Levels

College Theory up into the Hidden Mysteries of Music Theory is Fun!!!



Music is Whole Brain



Improve and Develop Brain Function

Improve and Develop Time Management Skills

Improve and Develop Eye-Hand Coordination

Develop Ambidextrous Capabilities

Increase Concentration Skills



In Studio Lesson Policy





Tuition/Payment



A personal check or a cash payment will be accepted. There are no credits and no refunds. Make your check payable to: Mark Brandt or Lionheart Music East.


Payment for regularly scheduled students will be expected on the last lesson of each month to reserve your time slot forward. If this is not possible then it must be paid no later than the first lesson of the new month.


Failure to comply with this portion of the policy could result in your time slot being forfeited.


When the weather is dangerous and the roads are bad I cancel. If I cancel I offer makeups. There is no activity so important or fun that risking one’s personal safety or that of your children is necessary.


There are no lessons on Memorial Day, Labor Day or the Fourth of July. There will be no charge for these holidays when they occur on your lesson day.


LESSON RATES


Hour Lessons: Contact me.

Half Hour Lessons: Contact me.


One lesson per week. Four per month.

No Charge for the extra lesson in a 5 week month. (See Holidays).


Lesson rates for high school scholarship students, advanced college students, and professional artists vary in both cost and frequency. Contact me for rates.



Holidays



Four times during the year there will be months on the calendar which possess a fifth week. There will never be a charge for that fifth lesson.


I forfeit this income all year long so that the four holiday weeks (see below) may be observed by my family without cost to my students. Tuition will remain the same during the months in which these holidays occur. Unless otherwise announced, If you are going away for an extended period of time you must pay to reserve your spot.


Below are the agreed upon breaks during the teaching year.


THANKSGIVING WEEK:

No lessons


CHRISTMAS/NEW YEARS BREAK:

No lessons the week of Christmas or the week of New Years


SPRING BREAK:

No lessons from Thursday of Holy Week through Easter Wednesday. All lessons resume on the Thursday after Easter Sunday.



Practice and Attendance



I teach music lessons in my home studio (Monday through Thursday) all year long. This is not a hobby for me. Music is not a source of “extra” income for me. Music is my life and my full time occupation.


Please try to remember that all of my available lesson spots are consistently filled with paying, and attending students. Students are of course, expected to attend all lessons, on time, with the necessary materials.


During the school year it is not possible for me to offer make up lessons or credits for any cancellations on the part of the student. Time slot juggling (in most cases) will not be an option either.


If a student is practicing properly between lessons, and is consistent in attendance, the occasional absence will not hurt the student either musically or financially.


All missed lessons on my part will be made up at the earliest possible convenience for both student and teacher.


There will always be greater flexibility during the summer months. This flexibility will be respectful of both the student and the teacher.


It is of course, assumed that all students will have a "reliable" instrument to practice on.



Pay-As-you-Go Students



Adult students and professional artists only.


One hour lesson is $50.00.

Scheduling for pay-as-you-go students is based on the goals of the student and teacher availability.


Lessons are Monday thru Thursday. Fridays and Saturdays are available for these students upon request but subject to teacher availability.


Payment will occur at the beginning of the scheduled lesson. Cash or check will be accepted.


Please make your check payable to Mark Brandt. Pay-as-you-go students are not charged for last minute cancellations.



Lionheart Music East



Serving the east coast and beyond since 1991



This site is managed by the team at:

Lionheart Music East. ©2026 All rights reserved.



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creativmusic101@gmail.com


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