Clarinet Lessons in Fairfield, CT

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

My teaching philosophy revolves around one core principle: the joy of musical growth. While technical proficiency is essential, my main goal is to ensure that every student relishes the journey of becoming a better musician. I firmly believe that the more you enjoy the process, the more motivated you become to excel. I emphasize your unique musical taste in my teaching approach because I understand that your personal connection to the material is a powerful motivator. Read More

Instruments: Piano Clarinet

I like to teach from an understanding that depth is more important than scope, meaning thoroughly practicing a single piece of music is more effective than skimming over many things at once. This allows more mindful practicing and mastery. It also allows me to find my students' most effective learning methods and cater to their specific learning needs. I like to make goals for my student using this way of practicing. Read More

Instruments: Clarinet

I began teaching clarinet to beginners in high school, and 9 years later I maintain a small studio ranging from beginners learning fundamentals, to advanced high-schoolers preparing for college auditions, to masters students seeking supplementary lessons. My students have come from North America, Asia, and Australia. As a professional musician, I have performed in the United States, Germany, and Austria, and I have played with orchestras such as the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, Newport Symphony Orchestra, training ballet orchestra OrchestraNEXT, Clackamas Repertory Orchestra, and with school groups including HfM Trossingen Hochschuleorchester and University of Oregon Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

For beginner students young and old I start out with Rubank Elementary Method for saxophone. This book provided a solid foundation in basic theory and reading that lead to musical literacy. From there I go towards the basics of improvisation in the blues while continuing with technique books on the side. Once this foundation is in place I begin to encourage the student to explore music they're passionate about and start with the basics of solo transcription and more advanced improvisation. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Clarinet Keyboard

Beginning Piano Students: I use three books in the Piano Adventures series: (Performance, Lesson, and Theory). I work composition into the lesson using the Orff-Schulwerk technique of elemental music creation. In addition, I supplement written musical work as needed. Voice Students: I interview all voice students first to see what their goals are in voice study. I then begin vocal study with the study of posture using Alexander Technique ideas, and a study of breathing and support techniques. Read More

Instruments: Piano Clarinet Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Djembe

For beginning students, I typically start with the basic fundamentals of the instrument, focussing on right posture, grip and sound. For intermediate students there is more freedom. If there is a good understanding of how the fundamentals work, the student can share her / his preference with me. Since I teach all genres, there is a very broad palette to discuss. Whenever I have a good feeling with the student's preference, I'll come up with a system so we can start working on new material. Read More