Matt L. music, music theory, home recording, saxophone, clarinet, flute Brooklyn, NY

Matt, 31 years old, has enjoyed working and teaching as a professional musician for at least 12 years. He began studying music and playing the saxophone at age 11. He currently lives and works in the New York City area after moving there from Philadelphia in early 2001 after graduating from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 1999 with a Bachelors in Music.

Throughout his musical career, Matt has performed and worked in a variety of capacities including as a composer and recording studio engineer. His main area of expertise is performing as a jazz saxophonist on alto, tenor, and soprano saxophones, and he regularly plays throughout New York City in restaurants and jazz clubs.

Matt's area of expertise in teaching is beginner to advanced studies on the saxophone, beginner to intermediate studies on the flute and the clarinet, music theory, and jazz improvisation for any instrument. Whether he is teaching saxophone, flute, or clarinet, his teaching approach places emphasis on giving the student an in depth understanding of his or her instrument. He puts the utmost importance on explaining advanced concepts in the simplest of terms in order to insure that the student fully comprehends the objectives of each lesson. Such concepts that he covers regularly and places importance on are sight-reading, ear-training, and creativity.

In addition to teaching woodwind instruments and jazz improvisation, Matt also has experience teaching Sibelius music writing software, and audio engineering with Pro-tools LE. 

Matt believes that any student, regardless of age or experience level, learns best when engaged in an activity that he or she understands and enjoys. Part of his success as a teacher can be attributed to his willingness to take into account every student's particular musical interests and strengths, and in tern, he teaches directly to those areas. For instance, in the initial stages of developing a student and teacher relationship, Matt requests that the student compile a "wish list" of approximately ten pieces of music that he or she would like to be able to play. This list may include pieces in such genres as classical, jazz, and popular music, just to name a few. It is through this list that the student can begin almost immediately learning exactly what he or she likes, and by default, Matt can then teach the student all of the technical components needed to perform on his or her instrument, as well as determine the specific areas where the student needs to receive more focused instruction. More importantly, this "thinking outside of the box," customized approach provides a fun atmosphere and enables the student to enjoy learning the art of playing music by not being solely dependent on instructional booklets which many students, regardless of age and experience, find boring and tedious.

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music, music theory, home recording, saxophone, clarinet, flute