Saxophone Lessons in Union City, NJ

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Piccolo

Dependent on the instrument, I generally use essential musical workbooks as well as my own scales and exercises that create a better base to suppliment the workbooks.  I find that these general books are useful to keep the student's growth on track, however, my own sound exercises alllow wind players to usually progress at a quicker rate.  For more advanced students, once we have discussed what each student hopes to get out of their lessons and what they generally see themselves doing with their instruments in the next few years, we can decide what pieces to work on and what skills to develop. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet

While his primary instrument is saxophone, John also doubles on clarinet and flute as well. His favorite music styles are jazz, funk, soul, and rock music, but enjoys playing all varieties of genres including, but not limited to, classical, latin, musical theatre, and many other types of music. John is a performer and private instructor, as well as a composer/arranger. He has been performing for years with many different bands around Atlanta, Tallahassee, and now New York. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Music

For beginning students, I typically start with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements, along with my own personalized sound and technique exercises. After getting a grasp of the fundamentals - depending on the student's area of interest - I will either begin to introduce classical solo repertoire, jazz theory and transcription or concepts of a style of music the student is particularly interested in otherwise. Music composition is also one of my biggest passions, and I am always willing to introduce the wonderful world of writing your own music to my students, no matter their ability level. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

I believe each student is different and because of that every student needs to be taught differently and at their own pace. Learning a new skill can be frustrating and because of that my goal is to acknowledge accomplishments, and to give students more creative freedom as their skills on the instrument grow. I believe it is this formula that pushes students into practicing. With each skill mastered the student can directly see the application of the lesson they just learned in an everyday musical situation. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Drums

After graduating from college I joined the Peace Corps. I spent 2 years in Tehran, Iran playing in the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. I returned to the U.S. and went back to school to get my Masters degree. I worked as a music teacher in the Bronx, N.Y. for several years. After that I worked at an electronic music studio in Hawthorne, N.Y. The studio eventually shut down and I began teaching Band at the Stamford Public Schools where I taught music at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

I believe that in order to engage a student in the learning process, goals must be clear. I begin by asking new students what they want to learn. Many students are not sure what they want to learn, and this is to be expected. In this case, some trial-and-error is necessary; if a student is bored by Bach, maybe its time to see how he/she can relate to learning a simple tune by ear maybe a jazz tune like Summertime, or maybe the latest single on the radio. Read More