FAQs
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I first assess the level of playing they are at, what they are aiming for in their training, and get to know what sparks their passion. After making my assessments, I compile materials for the student to begin with, which I help them learn.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
15 years of playing/learning music and taking private lessons, upon years of university level music training. I have learned to teach from my teachers, and also from my students.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
In my brass master class, my teacher asked me to give a quick lesson in front of my peers. He directed me to a horn player who had been playing for 8 years, but had never had private instruction. He was just now beginning to learn his scales in college. I asked him to play a piece he had been working on. He pulled out a small, simple excerpt, and played it for me. He was having difficulty expressing what the composer had intended the excerpt to sound like. I explained how to change his style, and then demonstrated it to him on my horn. He then played it back, already sounding much better. My teacher had me sit back down, and explained to the class that it was very impressive how much the excerpt improved in such a short amount of time, and that my teacher feels that even if only 1 thing is improved for his own students during a lesson, then he considers the lesson to be a success. This set me on the path to learning how to teach.