Silver Spring, MD Clarinet Lessons

Studied Clarinet at Gulf Coast College in Panama City, Florida and studied privately with Richard Potter, former Principle clarinetist with the Altoona Symphony and Charles Frahm, former clarinetist with the Indianapolis Symphony.

Clarinet is fun instrument to play, and I will help you get the most out of your learning. As a clarinet student, you will master the range, tone, and technique necessary to become a good clarinet player.

For beginner students, learning will start from opening your case for the first time and progress all the way to playing your first melodies. Beginning students are first taught how to blow across the reed to make a sound on the clarinet before moving on to other basics, including music reading, posture, and breath control.

For intermediate students, lessons will focus on breath control and support, posture, tonal quality, finger dexterity, articulation, hand position, sound production, and music theory as well as musicianship skills.

I teach students of all ages and abilities. I have a number of clarinet students, one of which went on to major in music education and is now a band director.

Clarinet is my primary instrument. I can help beginners get started or coach advanced students who are preparing for auditions.

I can teach what you need to know from band class, playing church to performing that big audition. Improvisation and Dixieland as well.

I have been playing clarinet professionally for over six years. My first performance was a production of "Guys and Dolls," and it opened up opportunities to play multiple woodwinds in all kinds of contexts. I am currently on-call to play with a number of symphony orchestras in town as well.
I am excited to share my passion for this beautiful instrument!

I meet my students where they are and am versatile in my teaching. I help students meet their performance expectations and achieve their potential.

My teaching technique combines methods from the canon of traditional pedagogy with music of today to help students develop musicianship. Lesson plans are individually tailored to each student’s ability with a focus on building fundamental skills on the instrument, and encouraging the development of total musicianship, to include aural skills, theory, and experience in a wide variety of musical genres.

I believe music is a gift. That gift can be the background music that gets you through a long work day, it can be that tune that reminds you someone else has felt the way you have, it can even be a composition so powerful it changes the way you see the world. The musician has the priveledge of creating these gifts for the world. I am willing to help begginers find what inspires them to play and improve, and I can help intermediate player create goals and polish their skills through proper practicing habits.