Trombone Lessons in Russell, IL

Instruments: Trombone

Teaching a student a standard of excellence in fundamentals, listening, self analysis and musical logic is at the core of our journey together. Rather than simply copy my demonstrations, I engage students to make decisions at every step of their study, regardless of their age and ability. There is no one size fits all methodology to teaching and mastery does not happen overnight. Students come to me at different levels and absorb information differently, I believe in coaching my students towards discovering their own personal connection to the music. Read More

Instruments: Trombone

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 itin my experiences this helps the student learn in their own way, rather than me conveying my ideas in my own words. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Euphonium Music Keyboard

This is important because students will need to work in a group setting, make judgment calls, self-evaluate, evaluate the group, and strive towards improvement. As an educator, my goal is to foster an environment of community, leadership, integrity, trust, and mutual respect. Through the use of section leaders, student conductors, and assigned responsibilities, I hope to provide students with opportunities to assert themselves as leaders and make decisions that will affect the group in a positive way. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Clarinet Bass Guitar Synthesizer French Horn

From the very beginning of my work, I believe in positive reinforcement because I find that we all need our hopes and beliefs in our ability to accomplish something to be nurtured before we take on any challenge, objective or goal. This is very important because I also believe that presenting students with challenges and goals allows them to experience adventure, fun, and rewards- particularly in the context of music. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Trombone Ukulele Euphonium Tuba

I play in a wide variety of diverse musical groups on various instruments. I have performed with orchestras, big bands, and jazz combos as well as funk, hip hop, and even metal bands, all at a professional level. Although trombone is my main instrument, it has given me the solid foundation to play euphonium and tuba at a high level as well. My strong background in guitar also gave me the skills to learn ukulele, which now make up almost half of my lessons taught. Read More

Instruments: Trombone Euphonium Tuba

The most important thing that I can teach a student is good habits. One of my first teachers always said "I'm not here to teach you to play the trombone, I'm here to teach you how to practice the trombone." That has esentially been my teaching philosophy since then. The half hour to an hour that I would be spending with a student each week is not enough time to turn them into a great trombone player, so the most important thing to do in lessons is to teach them how to practice the instrument when I am not in the room with them. Read More