About Me

 Welcome, Musicians!😍

My name is Dr. Malia, and I'm the creator of Music Theory Shop. I'm a music theorist, pianist, and author, and I'm so happy you stopped by. 

I help ambitious, multi-faceted, diverse musicians of all genres, go from being overwhelmed and frustrated in music theory and musicianship, to honing their  skills with proficiency and confidence to begin teaching, creating, and performing. 

When I was in community college taking theory, I earned C's and D's. I DID NOT GET IT! I was upset and embarrassed. 😭🤯🤬 I was playing advanced piano repertoire but was not doing well in theory and musicianship. I don't have perfect pitch or natural facility to playing by ear. But I do have grit. 

Fast forward to undergrad and grad school X2. I went through THREE music theory sequences (2-years each) at three different institutions until it finally clicked for me. I became an unstoppable pianist. I learned music rapidly and felt confident on stage. I was composing music and continue to arrange and record.

The struggles that I had are now my strength because I understand how to teach people like me. My goal is to help musicians transition to creating a soul-fulfilling music career and lucrative music-teaching business that is built for longevity.

 

Would you like to support my work? You can buy me a coffee!!

Thank you so much 🙏☺️ and thank you for supporting music education.

Guest Speaker at Cal Arts, 2013.

 

Pianist

Listen to my new album, "90s songs for like, piano" wherever you stream music. New singles dropping in Jan 2024. Follow me on Spotify!

 

 I'm thrilled to be the face of Pandora's Solo Piano station! (2024)

Music Educators

 If you are a music educator, I invite you to read my blog, When Music Called, We Answered.  Please leave your comments and pedagogical insights!

Musicians are lifelong learners. I train rockstar musicians 🤘🏼, but I especially enjoy working with musicians that are "coming back" to music; professional musicians that want to refresh their skills, or add an income stream teaching music.

I have worked with pop, rock, punk, folk, jazz, mariachi, and classical musicians. All are welcome.🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

If you'd like to work one-on-one with me, please reach out! Email musictheoryshop@gmail.com (limited spots available). Most popular services ~ Weekly 1:1 music theory via Zoom (4 weeks); weekly 1:1 advanced piano in-person (10 weeks). 

I offer online or in-person music theory coaching, in-person piano (Pasadena or possibly Los Angeles area, online or in-person music marketing coaching.

Publications with Hal Leonard:

Music Theory Staff Paper (Hal Leonard 2019), the original hybrid music manuscript notebook. It is the Cornell note-taking method, but for music! The cover design is inspired by vintage 19th and 20th-century European and American sheet music. 

        

Visualize Keyboard Scales & Modes (Hal Leonard 2020) is not like any other scale method book on the market. This is for both readers and non-readers. It includes theory lessons and scales and modes are organized by tonic to understand multiple methods of building modes, which is truer to how musicians think about mode and scale construction. 

 

 

Academic Credentials

Lecturer in Music Theory, Aural Skills, Piano, Music Marketing, and Undergraduate Research at California State University, Channel Islands.

Teaching experience: Occidental College, Pomona College, California Lutheran University, University of California, Santa Barbara, Cabrillo College

College Board: Table Leader, AP Music Theory Exam (sight singing)

Areas of research: music entrepreneurship, music marketing, music theory pedagogy, public music theory, music theory trauma

Upcoming article in Music Theory Spectrum, "Music Theory Influencing: The Content Creator Musicpreneur."

Membership: ASCAP, Music Managers Forum, ReverbNation 

Dr. Malia has participated in four Workshops in Music Theory Pedagogy, at UMASS, Amherst and the Eastman School of Music and conference organizer for the West Coast Conference for Music Theory and Analysis (Eugene, OR, 2023).

•  Ph.D. in Music Theory, University of California, Santa Barbara
•  M.A. in Music Theory, University of California, Santa Barbara
•  M.A. in Piano Performance, University of California, Santa Cruz
• B.A. in Music, University of California, Santa Cruz

 

 

Personal History

Malia's hometown is San Clemente, Ca. She was the webmaster for the Hobie Memorial Foundation and helped realize the memorial statue of Hobie Alter in Dana Point, Ca. The HMF built the most beautiful statue in the world that honors the boating~surfing culture and heritage in Southern California!!! Go see it!

        

Malia lives in Pasadena, CA with her boxer-bulldog, Cooper.  

 All items at Music Theory Shop are made or printed in the U.S.A.