Trombone Lessons in Montclair, NJ

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Trombone

No two students are the same, and I try to take each student's strengths, goals and preferences into account when designing their custom curriculum. For brass, I devise custom exercises for the player in addition to using classic pedagogical texts such as the Arban's and Clarke books. For piano, I start students off with a combination of scale work and repertoire. All lessons with me will include learning a wide variety of repertoire as well as a fair bit of improvisation, as I believe it is an invaluable tool for developing ears, creativity and musical personality. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Clarinet Drums Synthesizer Conga Latin Percussion Music Keyboard

Aquiles Navarro is a New York-based trumpeter, composer and DJ of Panamanian heritage. He derives his sounds from folkloric music, salsa, and reggae. This eclectic music background, based on his upbringing in Panama has led him to collaborate with folkloric musicians, dancers, visual artists, actors, and poets. He studied in Panama with tenor player Carlos Garnett and trumpeter Victor “Vitin” Paz. After moving to the US, he received a Bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory, and a Master’s degree from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami where he studied with trumpeter Brian Lynch. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone

My particular brand of brass pedagogy has roots that trace back to the Chicago Symphony's legendary Bud Herseth. I believe in the pursuit of mastery of many of the basic techniques of brass playing - air movement, flexibility, and tone are the most important pieces of what we do as brass players, and I have collected an arsenal of exercises to build skill in these areas. I use a collection of techniques from a wide range of trumpet players from Ray Mase to Allen Vizzutti to Michael Sachs and will use these approaches to define musical outlook and technique. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone

I have been teaching trumpet, improvisation and theory for ten years and have worked with students from beginner to professional level. I have taught private students, clinics, summer workshops and full band classes. I have worked with the Juilliard Outreach Program, Yamaha Canada, the Sterling Hall School and Roy Thompson Hall's 'Save the Music' program. I have also given university level workshops at schools such as Humber College, Vancouver Island University, Snow College, and the University of Toronto. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Acoustic Guitar

I usually start my beginning piano students who are children, in Alfred's Basic Piano Library, Lesson Book 1A. After a few months, I begin adding solo repertoire that is appropriate for age and ability. For middle school age students and adults, I start with Alfred's Basic Piano, Adult, Level 1. I also like to find out the student's individual interest and find repertoire that they are interested in learning and that are aligned with their current skills. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone Euphonium French Horn Tuba

I believe that students need to be taught to teach themselves. As a teacher, my role is to guide the student toward realizations with appropriate materials and information. However, the most beneficial learning occurs when the students feels they were an active participant in the discovery(ah-ha! moments). I can give students the answers, but I tend to use more leading questions to get them to figure out the solution on their own. Read More

Instruments: Trombone Euphonium Music

My teaching experience goes back to when I started my undergraduate studies at Cal Lutheran. I began taking on students from my high school simply as a way to give back and help students with upcoming auditions. I made it a point to develop a consistent practice regimen consisting of warm-ups, fundamentals, and solo work. I had been self-taught up until my undergraduate experience and I also made note to learn to play along with music that wasn’t tailored to the trombone such as hip-hop, r&b, and literally anything else that came across my ears. Read More