Michael P  
Instruments: Piano, Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Bass Guitar, Recorder, Piccolo, Oboe, Keyboard
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Musical Theater, Latin, Funk, Salsa, Showtunes, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, Bossa Nova, Soul, Marching Band, Punk

I started teaching when I was in college just a few private lessons here and there, which eventually landed my first job at a private school teaching clarinet. I have had students from 5th-9th grade primary at this studio with skill levels ranging from complete beginner to pre-college advanced. I have also taught many other instruments in smaller studios and can teach advanced students in any woodwind, and beginners on any other instrument in my profile. It is a privileged for me to help students work toward goals that they are passionate about on a musical instrument. I love motivating them to succeed by keeping them engaged and the lessons fun, but productive. My approach to teaching woodwinds could be described as fun and energetic, but also very disciplined through technique and musicality. I am very meticulous and often do not let subtleties of opportunities sneak by. Every student has potential and my approach helps them unlock that potential by building self confidence in their own musical abilities.

This is a very tricky topic, because every student learns differently on every ability level therefore, I like to use a combination of various tools. The Essential Elements works great for younger beginners, where the Rubank books are more suited for older or very disciplined students. I like to supplement this with music they might be working on in a school ensemble, or if they have a favorite song they would like to learn, as well as with scale studies and long tones. My intermediate students I like to pull form either the Klose for clarinet students, the Trevor Wye books for flute, and Ferling for saxophone. My advanced students I like to introduce solo repitoire as well as more advance studies on their respective instruments, as well as more comprehensive scale and tone exercises. I love to focus on technique and musicality, and with that musical reading ability falls right into place. It's all about finding the correct approach, I have taught well over a hundred students and no two have been the same.