Matthew B  
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Double Bass
Styles: Jazz, Pop, Rock

After graduating Whitman, I interned as a music teacher at the Spring Street International School in Friday Harbor, WA. I was mentored by a great teacher, Grisha Krivchenia and learned how to be a compassionate teacher. I helped teach composition, music theory,  small groups, bass and guitar. During the second half of the year, Grisha took a sabbatical and I  took over his duties. While in Friday Harbor, I also taught upright bass, electric bass and piano privately.  I currently lead a after school music club in Bellevue. I work with five to seven students helping them gain skills on their instruments (bass, guitar, piano, drums, vocals) and learn to play together in a group setting.

My method is to help students play the music they want to play, whether it's Miles Davis or the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I like to start my lessons by working on a song of the students choice to spark their interest. From there, I move to focusing on the students needs technically, rhythmically and theoretically. Additionally, I have my students practice improvisation, in some capacity, at each lesson. I want my students to feel comfortably making music on the fly and I set up low stakes environments for them to hone this skill. My lessons are rather free form and adapt easily to what is interesting my students at the time. However, at the end of every lesson, the student and myself set practice goals as well as goals for the next lesson. I strongly believe in short and long term goals to help keep students focused.