Saxophone Lessons in Shrewsbury, NJ

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet Piccolo Oboe

Depending on the individual needs goals of each student, I will customize lesson plans on a week-to-week basis. If there are no immediate goals for my students, I prefer to focus on classical technique and tone exercises that I compile through a variety of method books for each woodwind instrument. This includes but is not limited to: Moyse, Kroepsch, Baermann, Ferling, Shaw, Filas, Lacour, and many others. Classical technique is boring however, and I also believe that it should be applied towards learning real music that I will tailor to each student! Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet Recorder

I have been teaching for over 45 years, mostly in students' homes. I started in the 1970's in my NYC apartment and since moving to Westchester 30 years ago have been going to student's homes. Many of my students have been accepted to colleges as music majors or minors and my students frequently get the highest ratings in solo competitions. School band directors often recommend me as a coach for their most serious students, since school music programs usually do not have the capacity for intensive individual coaching. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Saxophone Ukulele Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I’ve also tried my hand at Music Production and songwriting, and found that these ventures are gratifying ways to expand and grow as a musician. They’ve given me insight that I would have never received otherwise. Music is a great way to build many abilities that students will benefit from long after they’ve stopped studying and I hope to share my knowledge and experience with as many people as possible. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

For beginning students I typically start with an elementary band method (Yamaha, Hal Leonard's Essential Elements, etc..). We focus on basic tone production, finger technique, note reading, and playing simple songs. Once the student is comfortable we begin to work out of a duet book. This gives the student a chance to "perform" with me at each lesson, tends to accelerate progress, and is fun! For advanced students we can focus on particular areas of interest.Whether jazz, classical or popular music is your focus, refining various aspects of tone and technique are always incorporated into the learning process. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Violin Saxophone Bassoon

I like my lessons to be fun! I like to start my lesson with a "music swap": we each play one minute of a song that we found that week from youtube or spotify and take 30-60 seconds to say why we found it interesting or inspiring (it can be any genre). We then aim to discuss and practice a new technical skill and use exercises to develop it, we work on a song from the method series or a song that the student wants to work on (I often transpose pop/rock songs for my students), and then rhythm training, ear training, and music theory concepts are interspersed throughout. 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: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

In my previous teaching I have a very sound based approach. Everything will be easier and more fun if we can produce a good sound and tone out of the instrument. I have used this method in all of my previous students and found their niche to what they need to make lessons and their playing more enjoyable. We work at the students pace and make sure they are always ready to move on. Read More