Clarinet Lessons in NYC New York

Instruments: Piano Voice Trumpet Trombone Clarinet Euphonium Tuba

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
1. NEVER GIVE UP. Yes, practicing can be frustrating, I completely understand because I too have been so frustrated during practice sessions to the point where I wanted to give up. 2. Start slow. You are obviously practicing for a reason - to learn and perfect a given assignment or task. Take a chunk of the music, even if it is only a measure at a time and work slowly through it, first establish correct pitches and rhythms. If you are not able to play correct pitches and rhythms at a slow tempo, why would you attempt at a faster tempo? Once you have these two factors down, increase the tempo moderately until you reach desired tempo with correct pitches, rhythms, articulation and dynamics. SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE. 3. The 3x Rule - When you are having problems with a measure/section/rhythm/establishing pitches, DO NOT move on to the next measure/section until you are able to play the problem spot 3x without messing up! 4. Warm Up - Warm-ups are super important and are needed before practicing your music. It is essential to getting your muscles moving. Warm-ups do not have to be 15-20 minutes of scales - work on long tones, slip slurs, scales, arpeggios, technical studies or even sight reading. Make warming up fun!! 5. Listening - Listen to your piece! Youtube or google the piece performed by different musicians and even different instrumentation of the piece. Trust me it will do wonders.

If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
I have a Bachelors of Music in Music Education from LIU Post. I chose this particular degree over any other music degree because although I love trombone, I love the idea of music education a little bit more.

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
As you may have gathered from previous questions, my primary instrument is Trombone. My secondary instrument is Euphonium/Baritone Horn. I chose to start learning this instrument mainly because I loved the timbre, or the musical sound of it. The Euphonium possess this mellow yet beautiful sound that is just so wonderful to ear. It also has the same embouchure as trombone so it was a very easy transition for me, I just had to dominate fingerings. I play very minimal tuba, fingers are similar to baritone and euphonium. I also play a little bit of trumpet and clarinet and took 4 years of piano in college.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
No, surprisingly, music does not run in my family. I mean, my mom took piano lessons as a child and can play the instrument very well, but she was definitely forced into doing it by her mother. Although my family is not what one would define as "musical," they have stood by me throughout my musical journey and have not only supported me, but also encouraged me endlessly. To this date, they have attended every audition, every NYSSMA, every recital, and every concert, including, but not limited to, Wind Symphony, Wind Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Chorus, Symphonic Orchestra, Brass Ensemble, Marching Band, Trombone Choir, and Wind Quartet.

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
If I am playing for the first time that day I ALWAYS start with a warmup. Long tones first, followed by lip slurs and then I run through all major scales in thirds, followed by arpeggios. Next comes minor scales- natural, harmonic and melodic. After all of this, I pick a technical exercise from the Arbans book. I work on that for a little while until my muscles feel good and I am happy with the work I have accomplished, making sure that I played through the exercise correctly using appropriate articulation and dynamic. Next I choose to work on either an etude, orchestral excerpt or a solo piece. I spend the majority of my practice on one or two of these options.

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