Trombone Lessons in Sunset Beach, CA

Instruments: Trombone

Born and raised in California, I grew up in a musical family. My father, a singer/songwriter and guitarist, always encouraged me to sing, compose and just make music no matter who was listening. I started trombone lessons at age 13, and immediately fell in love with the art of jazz and improvisation. As a member of the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, I was met with opportunities to travel the world playing music at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy and the Kurashiki Music Festival in Japan. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Trombone Saxophone Clarinet

Nothing is more rewarding than seeing one of my students develop a passion for music. Therefore, it is important that each student progresses at his or her own pace. I encourage this by setting realistic goals for my students at each lesson. Acknowledging accomplishments helps fuel a student's desire to progress, and makes students eager to learn more. By trying to find out what truly inspires the student, I can successfully tailor my instruction to their wants and the needs. Read More

Instruments: Trombone

The Arban book is available for free on PDF. For beginning students, I discuss long tones, sound, and simple scale studies. Once students grasp the fundamentals, I like to teach how they relates to the music they listen to. Through this, students can learn how theory and scales become music As we get advanced, I like to move in to scale studies, technical warm ups, and theory. When working on a recital performance, or simply learning the instrument, I like to concentrate on listening, developing a clean and full sound, breathing, and musicality. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Drums Bass Guitar Organ Synthesizer Harp Accordion Harmonica Lap Steel Guitar Banjo Ukulele Mandolin Recorder Lute Electric Violin Fiddle Double Bass Euphonium French Horn Tuba Piccolo Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Shakuhachi Oboe Bassoon English Horn Conga Latin Percussion Keyboard Electric Guitar Djembe Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

He is featured on the John Daversa Big Band's latest studio album, "American Dreamers". As a grad student at Miami, Derek was a guest lecturer in Jazz Pedagogy courses and guest conducted the Frost Studio Jazz Band. He has been a member of the Jazz Education Network since 2013 and the International Trombone Association since 2014. His teachers include Vern Kagarice, Jan Kagarice, Tony Baker, Steve Wiest, Andre Hayward, and Dante Luciani. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trombone Synthesizer Keyboard

I began teaching back when I was in high school. I distinctly remember helping the younger trombonists at the grade schools and helping lower classmen as I got older. By the time I was a senior in high school I had several private students and I have been teaching routinely various students ever since. I intend to use my own experience and connections within the musical realm as a guidance tool to my students. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Drums French Horn Oboe

The methods that I choose to use with my students depends on what they want to learn. Some students want to just play classical music, some pop, some jazz, some marching band, etc. Therefore I do not use the same teaching methods for all students. With that being said, I do make certain that all of my srudents understand the basic elements of music, i.e., time and key signatures, note values, melody, rhythm, harmony, pitch, intonation (if a wind instrument), form, theme and variation, etc. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone Ukulele Euphonium Tuba

Each student is unique and requires a customized approach to realize their goals. I don't believe in a "one size fits all" approach to students where they all play the same exercises, etudes, etc. I help students find what works for them, often times we create our own methods or modify existing ones to suit the needs of the pupil. I believe a solid foundation in the fundamentals of music can be very helpful, familiarity with music theory/terminology/notation. Read More