Saxophone Lessons in North Lakewood, WA

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Shakuhachi Conga

I have very high standards for teaching.That is why I did not start teaching until my fourties.At that point I felt that I had both the life experience and skills to be a good teacher.There is a lot more to playing music than just playing the right notes.That is what I call the mechanics of music but the not the soul.Obviously you must start with the basics to get to any deeper level of expression.That is what I am most passionate about.Why does anyone want to play an instrument? Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Clarinet

Hi, I'm Jane! I teach all levels of saxophone along with beginning/intermediate clarinet. I am also open to teaching beginning piano and ukulele. I graduated from Western Washington University in 2015 with a music minor and a self-designed Fairhaven concentration entitled Music, Inequality Resistance. Since then I've continued teaching lessons and performed, toured, and recorded with several groups, including Hot Damn Scandal, The Pazific, MarchFourth, and Lucky Brown. Likes: all-ages shows, exploring and fostering connections between music community Dislikes: boring/stressful lessons Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Euphonium French Horn Tuba

For beginning students, we work out of beginning method books such as Essential Elements or Standard of Excellence. This is supplemented with worksheets and personalized exercises specific to their needs. As the student advances, we will begin to introduce duets to begin to understand and play harmonized music. Once the student is able to play within a certain range, I will begin to use solo material as well as music that the student themselves would like to play. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Clarinet

The most painful part of learning a new instrument is the constant failure, screeching, and subpar performance most new musicians experience. My teaching method skips that by teaching students the fundamentals of good tone quality before technical studies. My first lessons focus on breathing, relaxation, posture, and embouchure. Within the first four lessons, most students are able to play beautifully in the low range of their instrument, and can then begin to study more technically-challenging music. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone

The first few students I ever had were actually swimmers! My first teaching experience came as a swim instructor for people of all ages at a local club. Because of my work there I was able to convert a small number of those kids into saxophone students as well and the teaching itch began! For the most part these students were family friends, and very much beginners so my strategies revolved around basic practice routines, some tone development work and helping with parts for school band or the like. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet

I teach not only how to play the instrument proficiently, but how to play it musically. Techniques and proficiency are taught along side musicianship, expression and appreciation for all musical styles. Students are also assigned a Question of the Week and a Listening Assignment to enhance their knowledge of their instrument, its function in music, and about music as a whole. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute

My teaching method is tailored to the desired goal of the student. I commonly employ classical fundamentals, which provide the student with tools needed to play the instrument. These fundamentals include: long-tones (for tone production), scales (for technique), overtone series (for the low/high range of the instrument) and reading music. From here, each lesson is modified to the particular student's goals, whether that is improvisation, playing jazz, performing classical literature, exploring experimental music, etc. Read More