D'Niko E
Instruments: Piano, Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Drums, Bass Guitar, Double Bass, Piccolo, Oboe, Bassoon, Music, Keyboard
Styles: Jazz, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Spirituals, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, Bossa Nova, Soul, Marching Band, Avant-garde
D'Niko E
Instruments: Piano, Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Drums, Bass Guitar, Double Bass, Piccolo, Oboe, Bassoon, Music, Keyboard
Styles:
Jazz, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Spirituals, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, Bossa Nova, Soul, Marching Band, Avant-garde
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 7-11
* 2006 - High School Diploma
* 2018 - Biotechnical Institute of Maryland
Music is and has been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. I've never studied music on a college campus, but I do have over 16 years of experience learning from the greatest musicians ever; professionally recording and touring with some of them all over the united states. For most of my professional career I have performed with and sometimes composed music for the following groups: Winds of Praise; Deep Water; Joe Keys and the Late Bloomer Band; Frederick Douglass Alumni Dukes of Jazz Combo; Dunbar Alumni Big Band; Common Time Band; Rose Gold Experience; Milton Russell and the Promise; Brooks Long and the Mad Dog No Good; Charmaine Michelle Quintet; Funk Out The Trunk; The Pirates; Musicians Paradise; Sonic Trip Masters All Stars; The Upstarters; Irescent; The Kevin Ellis Project; Jeron White Polarity; Kim Poole Experience; and the New World Jazz Orchestra. Now that I'm a little older, married with a family, I mostly perform music part time. In December of 2018, I graduated from the Biotechnical Institue of Maryland, and I'm currently working towards becoming a certified educator for the state of Maryland. However, I look forward to the continued sharing of my love for music, with music students in my community and surrounding counties.
Most of my experience with teaching has taken place while traveling on the road and helping individuals prepare for recording sessions. However for more than 10 years now, I've rendered my services at neighborhood schools (elementary and high school); music workshops; private homes; and local churches; working with young people as an assistant teacher, private music teacher and/ or teaching artist. The greatest lessons I have ever taught and that I believe that I can ever teach, are the importance of observation, listening, proper application and the embracing of patience while enjoying the process. Observing and listening to a variety of different artist and styles of music pertaining to your respective instrument; helps you gain a great deal of insight of how the playing of your instrument can possibly look, as well as how the playing your instrument can possibly sound. Routine practice and the application of knowledge, as it pertains to proper posture, breathing techniques, embouchure formation, handling positions, and expression, helps you perform from your core and the depths of your soul. Furthermore, you have to have patience; embrace it, fall in love with it. Patience helps you to not rush, enjoy the process and internalize your learning. Learning an instrument and learning how to overcome all of the growing pains takes patience; a virtue of learning that never gets old.
I'm most comfortable working with beginner to intermediate students, ages 7-11. Initially, I will provide my students with an assessment to learn more about the student's interest and performance level. Subsequently, based upon the assessment results, I will provide my students with a series of warm-up exercises designed to support proper posture, breathing and the overall handling of their respective instrument for every session . Each session and lesson plans are customized for my students, and will be scheduled as followed: 5 minutes - Greeting and Warm-Up Exercise(s); 10 minutes - Modeling/ Recap and Collaborative Instruction of Core Skill(s); 10 minutes - Independent Application & Recording Assessment of Core Skill(s); 5 minutes - Critiquing of Core Skill(s) & Wrap-Up Activity. This schedule may be double up in each section for 1 hour scheduled sessions.
I'm a firm believer in transparent and respectful communication. I work diligently along side the parent(s)/guardian(s) and student(s) to develop a positive rapport with them. I will remind them that the process of learning an instrument, and engaging in performance is a collaborative effort; it can be a ton of fun; however, it still takes, a lot of patience, hard work and commitment. Each lesson is goal oriented and recorded. The recording of each lesson gives students something to look forward to at the end of our session. Whether they think that they've done really poorly or extremely well, I encourage them to listen to themselves critically and prepare to share genuine feedback. Then we discuss both their strengths and the areas of opportunity for growth. This practice helps students progress over time. Eventually, they become more expressive, creative, confident, engaged and excited about learning and sharing their talents with others. Teaching is truly a selfless and noble profession, filled with intangibly heartfelt rewards and I love it dearly.
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