Ledama T  
Instruments: Trumpet
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Blues, R&B, Musical Theater, Latin, Hip Hop, Salsa, Showtunes, Merengue, Latin Jazz, Swing, Bossa Nova, Marching Band

I started teaching trumpet lessons as a senior in high school, and continued on through college and into my professional playing career. I have taught students interested in the genres of jazz, classical, and modern music, and value all 3 genres equally. I have found teaching students all 3 styles simultaneously is beneficial as all these styles present different challenges and techniques which ultimately provide students with a wide variety of opportunities whether they are beginning, intermediate, or advanced players. I have also taught students who wish to focus on one style only. Lessons are spent as much on expression, breathing, tuning, and balance, as technique.

For beginning students I usually start with the Standards of Excellence series of method books. Once the student has grasped the fundamentals of playing, I will introduce solo repertoire students can begin working on to explore aspects of playing such as expression, tuning, phrasing, and different articulations. I use chorales to work on breathing, phrasing, and dynamics. For intermediate and advanced students, I will ask what they feel they need to work on to help guide my instruction. In the classical genre this usually involves techniques such as double and triple tonguing, lip slurs, long tones, and other advanced techniques. For students who are interested in jazz or modern music, we will often work on stylistic technique, while also focusing on some of the same techniques employed in classical playing.