I favor a teaching approach that combines both fundamental technical and musical aspects of playing. My goal is that each piece a student learns enables them to express their inner musician and advance their technical skills. 

I teach my beginner and intermediate students through the Rubank method book series. As my students advance, I incorporate etudes, solos, and orchestral excerpts into lessons. I also incorporate music written for other instruments, as this presents new challenges and allows low brass players to experience a greater variety of repertoire.

I strive to create a positive and motivational environment in which students feel comfortable to make mistakes, laugh, express frustration, and convey their own ideas without fear of ridicule. While preparing and performing music may initially be intimidating, with the right guidance and practice routine students learn to take pride in their musical ability.

As I previously mentioned, the development of fundamental techniques is an important aspect of my teaching. These techniques can be broken down as follows:

Buzzing: Playing on the mouthpiece while it is removed from the rest of the instrument allows students to ensure that their pitches are accurate.

Breathing: A deep, relaxed breath prepares a rich and beautiful sound

Long tones: Sustaining a note allows a student to perfect their control of pitch and tone

Extending high and low range: Daily high and low range exercises prepare students for advancing repertoire

Dynamics: Daily exercises using extreme dynamics builds control at all volumes

Lip slurs: Practicing moving between notes using only the lips improves flexibility and legato (smooth) playing

Articulations: Diverse styles of music require musicians to have excellent control of how they initiate each note

I believe that an important part of growing as a musician is learning to improve your practice sessions so you can begin to be your own teacher. I talk to my students about practice strategies, and I emphasize that meaningful, focused practice in manageable intervals is more important than practicing for any number of minutes. By instilling these techniques in students as regular habits, my style of teaching allows my students to continue to benefit from our time together long after our lessons conclude.