Teaching Philosophy

            My teaching prepares clarinet students for portfolio careers in music through mastery of fundamental performance skills alongside engagement in pedagogy, chamber music, peer learning frameworks, and clarinet repair/maintenance skills. Students participate in practice-based learning tailored to their performance goals and individual needs to develop into confident, self-directed professionals.

            My PhD study of learning cultures in higher level clarinet study across the US and Europe has given me a framework for understanding and influencing the culture of learning in my clarinet class. My research has also established a clear connection between teacher priorities and student values. My own priorities as a teacher are consistent growth, openness (to learning from peers or from professionals through conferences/masterclasses), and building peer learning/support networks. I also strongly believe that an applied music teacher is their student’s first point of access to the professional musical world, and as such is a mentor for many skillsets outside of performance. This includes mentorship around professional and ensemble comportment, collegiality, giving/receiving peer feedback, applying for jobs, building a portfolio career, and learning to approach problems critically from the perspective of a future educator.

            Lessons are structured in three parts: 1) fundamentals; 2) etudes; 3) repertoire. First year students spend much of their lesson on fundamentals and etudes. I teach the Robert Spring clarinet warmup and modify it to fit each student’s needs. This daily warmup (including long tones, scales, arpeggios, scales in thirds, and articulation) is a foundation that facilitates the development of consistent technique, embouchure, air support, and voicing capabilities. From this foundation we begin incorporating tuning exercises through the addition of a drone, we work on expanding the student’s working range (first in long tones, then through extended scales/arpeggios), and begin learning extended techniques including glissandi, multiple articulation, multiphonics, and circular breathing. As students progress through their first year and show a mastery of fundamental concepts less time is spent checking in on fundamentals and etudes, and much more time is spent on repertoire. We explore standard repertoire and contemporary works, curriculum is adapted to each student’s career aspirations (teaching, military band, orchestral playing, etcetera.)

            Student lessons are tracked in a shared OneDrive document. Each week they receive written feedback and a new assignment they can access anytime during the week. This document provides a record of their progress and the repertoire they have studied throughout the year. If multiple students are playing the same piece, I make a note of this in their lesson document and encourage them to practice together. Because they are all learning the same basic warmup students often share a practice room and warm up together. Many of my students come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and they cannot always afford regular instrument maintenance by a repair technician. Because I have a background in instrumental repair, I do any necessary small repairs during their lessons for free while explaining the repair process. Instruction on instrumental repair and maintenance is an important practical aspect of their study, not only for themselves, but for their future students as well.

            The primary goal of my clarinet instruction is to facilitate student development into confident and self-directed professionals entering jobs in their career of choice. However, music learning is a lifelong process, this does not stop when a student graduates, nor do I stop being a resource for them. The best teachers I have had are the ones that continue to be available to give advice after graduation, serve as a reference, and inform former students of jobs that fit their skillsets.