Saxophone Lessons in Somerville, NJ

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Recorder Music Keyboard

After graduating from college, I began teaching privately in my home state of Texas at the middle and high school levels in New Braunfels and Austin. Soon, I began teaching adults as well and when I moved to Washington D.C. in fall of 2006, I became the Music Instructor at The Art and Drama Therapy Institute, a center for adults with developmental disabilities. This experience had a great impact on me in terms of understanding the big picture in that the goals and methods relating to the technical aspects of music lessons, but the grand value that music offers in terms of the emotional and spiritual rewards as well. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Saxophone Flute Clarinet Music Keyboard

I like for a student to look at a piece of music and then to explain to me what they think it is. Their perception is different than my perception and I can learn a lot about how to teach them based on how much they may already understand or do not understand. Understanding musical concepts and musical language is important and I emphasize getting basic concepts right immediately. If a student has a misconception about something I try to correct it so they can move forward make progress. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

I enjoy when my students show improvement through dedicated practice. I encourage this by setting achievable weekly goals for them. This can be as simple as working through a known exercise at a few metronome clicks faster than the previous lesson, or as complicated as learning a whole song in one or more entirely new keys. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet

My first student was a NYC firefighter that I met in October 2001 right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was looking for a way to distract himself from the experience that he had gone through. Working with him and seeing how simply playing a note on the saxophone changed his vibe and relaxed him, I realized that music truly heals. Since then, my approach has been to get to know my student well and discover how I can help them enjoy the learning process. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Clarinet

I've been teaching since the end of high school, when my saxophone teachers enlisted me to help give lessons to some of the younger students in their own after school jazz programs. Since moving to New York I've taught lessons privately from my home studio and traveling to students homes, as well as teaching group lessons in several after-school programs in the Bronx. There is nothing quite like the satisfaction of teaching music, and I get a special joy from seeing my students grow and progress. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute

I use a few different method books, and while they are very useful for attaining the building blocks of technique and knowledge young and beginning musicians need but I like to go beyond what reading books has to offer. My goal is to show my students everything there is - reading, theory, and technique are all important but so is creation, improvisation, learning through sound and finding what inspires them. Read More