Wesley W  
Instruments: Trumpet
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Blues, Marching Band

I began to teach privately in college, where I inherited a small studio of three students at varying degrees of proficiency from a graduating senior. When I they came to me they had many major issues in their technique and approach to the instrument, but through regular sessions and practice they surpassed their expectations. I have worked with several different marching band programs as a trumpet instructor, and I was also the brass instructor for a music shop near my college. I am a firm believer that anyone can be a phenomenal musician, all it takes is practice and a teacher who is passionate, caring, and understanding of the frustrations of learning an instrument. I pride myself in my ability to correct young musician's technical issues, I worked through the same issues myself. I encourage my students to go and listen to high quality live performances as well as give recommendations on recorded performances. I believe that without listening to great musicians you cannot become one.

I start each student with a diagnostic lesson where I assess the strong points of their playing, and I also identify the areas that could use work. After that initial lesson I formulate a customized curriculum that is aimed at improving the technical, musical, and theoretical aspects of the student to create a well-rounded musician. I believe that incorporating solo repertoire into lessons is important as well. Exercises are important, but I believe that the implementation of new skills with repertoire is key to solidifying the skills that the student is working on. I also assign listening assignments by great trumpeters, regardless of genre, to help find the student's "musical heroes". Listening to great musicians perform and hearing how they play is an important aspect of musical growth that I believe gets left behind in many private lesson curriculums. The most important thing for me is that the student finds a passion for music.