Taylor G
Instruments: Piano, Mallet Percussion, Orchestral Percussion, Keyboard, Djembe
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Folk, Musical Theater, Latin, Latin Jazz, Marching Band, Avant-garde
Taylor G
Instruments: Piano, Mallet Percussion, Orchestral Percussion, Keyboard, Djembe
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Folk, Musical Theater, Latin, Latin Jazz, Marching Band, Avant-garde
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
BM, Appalachian State University, Percussion Performance
2016 - Steely Pan Steel Band Scholarship 2018 - Recorded for an upcoming Stuart Saunders Smith album
I'm a teacher very invested in helping students find their musical voice and express themselves. Being involved with music from a young age has had a great impact on how I view myself and interact with the world. I believe that self expression is an important aspect for a fulfilling life, and I hope to help students discover or expand their own methods of expression. I believe that participating in musical activity can help students be more in touch with themselves and their peers. The enjoyment of the process, growth, and results of musical pursuit is highly important to me.
I have been involved with music since starting piano lessons at age 8. I switched to playing percussion when I was 12, and stayed in school band programs through middle and high school, and played in the wind ensemble, percussion ensemble, jazz band, and marching band. At Appalachian State University, I majored in percussion performance, and was active in the symphony orchestra, wind ensemble, percussion ensemble, percussion quartet, Afro-Cuban ensemble, jazz combo, steel pan band, and tabla ensemble. I focused on solo repertoire throughout my schooling as well. I studied Alexander Technique throughout college, which has helped me better express my own voice through music as well as learn to move effectively, mindfully, and observantly. After college, I started to learn the hammered dulcimer, and now play with the Irish folk music duo Baile na Ragaire around the Asheville area.
I have experience for the past 7 years teaching in a marching band setting. This includes planning and maintaining a rehearsal schedule, working with individual students in a private lesson style, and working with all students as a group to ensure an efficient learning speed in which no one is left behind or bored by a slow pace. Most of all, it requires being flexible with the needs of each student and the band as a whole. I have used this approach working with others in my own ensembles as well as when coaching pieces. I think that working in groups is great for building musicianship and interpersonal skills, while working one-on-one is instrumental in developing a personal style and musical tastes. I love to see students' develop their own unique style, musical voice, and connection with themselves. I encourage all students to become keen observers of themselves in order to become their own best teacher.
I tailor each lesson plan to each individual student's wants and needs. I like to start with having a mutual understanding of the student's goals, desires, and expectations. If a student does not have any concrete goals, I can help them narrow their interests down so that we both have a clear direction in mind. For example, a student's goal could be to work on music for their band class, to prepare for a college audition, to learn a new style, to become more comfortable with a particular grip, to learn specific works of music, or simply to become better acquainted with percussion instruments as a whole. Once this has been established, I work with the student to select ability appropriate literature and exercises that they can enjoy while still being challenged. The most important element of these teaching methods is that a student feels engaged, heard, valued, and is able to move in a direction that they choose. I want all students to have the opportunity to find joy through their own music.
All lessons will be tailored to the individual student, and I am happy to remain in contact with students between lessons if they have any questions. I want to help students set their own goals and move at a comfortable pace while still making noticeable progress. I want students to feel successful as they grow in their musical ability. I encourage keeping a practice journal, checklist, or notes of some kind so that progress can be more easily seen and promote encouragement to the student. I place an emphasis on many aspects I have learned in Alexander Technique training, and I can help students learn natural, efficient, and effective ways to move to produce their desired sound. Younger students can learn healthy mind-body habits of playing and practice before any less healthy habits set in, and older students can address things about their own playing that they dislike or does not serve them well. I strive to explain or demonstrate musical concepts, techniques, and feelings, and I encourage students to share their own experience so that we may find a common ground in communication.
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