Alex D
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Drums, Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Recorder, Euphonium, Tuba, Mallet Percussion, Orchestral Percussion, Oboe, Conga, Latin Percussion
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, R&B, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Salsa, Showtunes, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul, Punk, Avant-garde

Teaching, for me, began when I was in high school; I taught summer drumset lessons at McQuaid Jesuit and taught Karate at Martial Arts America. This desire to teach was incorporated with my love of music...leading me to pursue a degree in Music Education. I began performing and competing in fourth grade, which continued into my college years. In my third year of undergraduate work, these elements of music led me as well as three of my percussion buddies to performances and clinics (that we taught) at the New York State School Music Association and the New York State Band Director's Association conventions. These were wonderful opportunities to teach peers and those who have been in the music education field much longer than the four of us. Although teaching large groups is exciting, nothing beats one-on-one lessons with a student. I have had and taught plenty of these lessons for several instruments including flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, french horn, euphonium, tuba, percussion, piano, guitar, and bass guitar. These lessons vary quite a bit in skill level, but they all offered challenges for both student and teacher.

My method in teaching depends on the instrument and the age. For beginners on band instruments and piano, I would start them with a method book of their choosing (though I would steer them in a good direction). For guitar and drumset, the use of method books is fine...but this would not be my first approach. It is important for students to be familiar and fluent in music notation. It is not necessary, however, to learn chords or grooves specifically from a book for these instruments. Depending on the desired style, there may not be much use of notated music, guitar tabliture, etc. But as already stated, this does not excuse a good foundation in reading music and understanding music theory. For more advanced players (who would most likely be percussionists if working with me, though I am willing to work with any instrument at a more advanced level), we would work out of books I and the student(s) find fitting for their skill level.