Saxophone Lessons in Cliffwood, NJ

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Saxophone Ukulele Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I love to spend time with my students listening to some of their personal playlists and picking out songs from there for them to work on. Once I understand a student's taste, I love to show them other artists they may like and help expose them to new music. I try to balance the lessons with this type of work and more structured technical skill development. Music should be fun, exciting, and stimulating. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Bass Guitar Music Electric Guitar

Hi! My name is Nish M. I am an improvising musician, specializing in Woodwinds (primarily the Saxophone and Clarinet), Composing/Arranging/Producing/Recording. I attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2010 where I studied Jazz Performance. I stayed in Sydney until 2020, where I did a lot of work as a session musician, (The Voice, Solange Knowles, Yolanda Be Cool, ++...) For the last 2 years I moved my life to the USA to firstly undertake a Masters program at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, where I found myself studying and being asked to perform with some of the most elite musicians in the world (John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano, Terri Lynne-Carrington, Bruno Raberg). Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet

I started teaching music in college through my babysitting network. When the mothers and fathers of the children I cared for found out that I played piano and woodwinds, many of them asked if I would also give their kids private lessons. Having a knack with kids and with music, my music teaching practice quickly blossomed in that small town. I have found that while it's important to keep kids sharp in their ability to read music on the page, it is at least as important to engage their creativity off the page. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet Music Keyboard

I am a recent college graduate, so it hasn't been so long since I was taking lessons myself! That said, I've taught music in a wide variety of settings, from private lessons, to music summer camps, to instrumental demonstrations, to running college ensembles, and more. Because I'm still young, I remember what it was like not to understand certain topics within music, so I'm particularly good at figuring out where my students are getting stuck and helping them to look at it from a new point of view. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet Piccolo Oboe

I believe strongly that passion is infectious, and is key to my teaching. I ask all of my student to set realistic goals and treat our progress as a journey in which we will gradually pick up the skills to grow with steady work. This comes from enjoying the “artistic process” and can only be discovered when we move together at a pace that is comfortable for the student. The only requirement I have for any budding musicians is that we both be open-minded and willing to listen using our ears and mind (this goes for me too!). Read More

Instruments: Saxophone

For younger and beginning students, I typically start with technique exercises that focus on producing a strong and clean sound on the instrument, and ensure that the base technique is solidified. We will then work through various technique and work books until the student is at a level where they can choose the music that interests them most. For adults and more advanced students, I like to gear the lessons toward what they want to learn, and provide them with the tools they need to reach their goals. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Music Keyboard

For absolute beginner students of any age, we begin outside of a book as the best way to learn is from personal experience. With wind players for example, we work on breathing, posture, and hand position as these three components help students produce a quality sound in as comfortable of a way as possible. Moving into more formal studies, I used the Standard of Excellence series for young children and the Rubank series for more intermediate students. Read More