Matthew W
Instruments: Trumpet
Styles: Classical, Marching Band
Matthew W
Instruments: Trumpet
Styles:
Classical, Marching Band
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
MA, Wright State University, Trumpet
A musician from a musical family, I have been involved with music in one form or another since birth. Having taken piano lessons for several years beforehand, I finally started to play trumpet in middle school and have been playing ever since. In high school, I acted in school musicals, played in the band, directed the marching band as drum major, and was a member of the choir (of which my own mother was director, something that she swears wasn't on purpose). Having participated in mid- and all-state since middle school for both singing and trumpet, a career in music was always an obvious choice for me. I attended the University of Cincinnati and later Wright State University as a trumpet major. Since then, I have attended the Conductors Institute at Bard College and will be attending the Ohio State University for a Masters degree.
I have been teaching trumpet and conducting on and off since graduating from high school. I have also taught marching technique and drum major conducting in my summers between school. My teaching style reflects methods that did and did not work on me as I grew up learning the trumpet. Regular practice times and a variety of learning material help to keep lessons fresh and dynamic and allow me to assign new materials faster. This keeps the trumpet interesting and keeps the student excited about what they'll get to play next.
Like most trumpet teachers, I introduce the Arban's Complete Conservatory Method for Trumpet, an everything-you-need-to-know book that the student will use throughout their trumpet playing career. However, I also incorporate a variety of other method, solo, and duet books throughout lessons with an intent of maintaining variety, both of material and the methods that the material presents. Each lesson begins with reviews of fundamentals (long tones, breathing, lip slurs, etc.), sight-reading practice and instruction, and instruction on the solo piece that the student had been assigned the week before. I also incorporate some light pitch recognition/sight singing and simple piano skills, as a musician with a grasp on how tones are related to each other, both on the piano and in that abstract area of their mind, fare far better as a skilled instrumentalist than those that do not.
Again, my teaching style reflects my own experience. I learned the most from the teachers that recognized that the trumpet is an incredibly phisical instrument and each player brings a different physique to the instrument. A recognition of each player's strengths and weaknesses, both physically and mentally, allows me to be the most effective by targeting techniques that work and finding new approaches to those that do not. A student who is comfortable and confident as they learn to play the trumpet is one who will continue to do so throughout their entire life, and will enjoy themselves while doing it. Students that leave lessons from me confident and passionate about what music can do for them are the students that I find the most rewarding. I work hard to reach each and every one of my students!
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