Matthew M  
Instruments: Trombone
Styles: Classical

My experience dates back to my high school days, in which I had the opportunity to help the beginners prepare for ensemble playing. Throughout my undergraduate days, I was able to work with colleagues in master class, lesson and rehearsal settings that have now won positions in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, United States Naval Academy Band, Richmond Symphony Orchestra and the Pershing’s Own United States Army Band. Once I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree, I used a year in between that and my Master’s degree to teach on faculty at a middle school near my home. My responsibilities were to teach private lessons to trombonists in grades 5-8; my studio varied in size from 8 to 12 students.

One of the pillars of my teaching criteria is that I treat each student uniquely, I generally do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach. That being said, a second pillar of my criteria is that my students always strive to create their sound in the most efficient and tension free manner. For beginners, I pull information and exercises from the Remington and Bordogni books. In addition to that, especially for totally new beginners, I like to use a back and forth technique. For example, if I have a student that is struggling with sound production, I would sit facing the student and produce the most beautiful note I could, and the student would to their best to emulate it. This gives the student the opportunity to hear what they should be producing, and immediately trying to emulate it—in my experiences this helps the student learn in their own way, rather than me conveying my ideas in my own words. For intermediate and advanced players, I use exercises from the Edwards, Tyrell, Arbans and Bitsch books in order to build and/or create a strong fundamental base for the student, from there the student can work on their desired repertoire.