A focus based on the individual student
Each student is unique. They come to me with different backgrounds, different abilities, and different goals. Some students want to study music in college. Some students want to move up in their band program. Some are adults who played earlier in life and want to try it out again. Some students are complete beginners who don’t have any one goal in mind but learning to play an instrument.
I don’t try to make any of my students fit a certain mold. And I certainly don’t try to make their lesson curriculum fit any certain mold. I have a huge variety of materials, method books, and repertoire at my disposal. I also have a very diverse teaching background. I create a tailor-made program for every single student.
Technical proficiency
No matter what path a student wants to take with the trumpet, they need a strong background in the fundamentals. Each week, I assign a set of “daily fundamentals” that is designed to maintain and improve the basic aspects of trumpet playing: sound, high register, low register, articulation, scale studies, and flexibility. This ensures that each student is progressing in a well-rounded way.
Clear communication
In order to improve, a student must have a clear understanding of what they need to be working on. When I begin working with a student, we discuss their long term goals and make lists of their strengths and weaknesses. Throughout my time working with each student, we refer back to these lists to keep our lessons on track and discuss what has changed.
Each week, I write down the student’s assignments and lesson notes on a platform that can be accessed from any mobile device or computer. This means no lost lesson notes and no forgetting what needs to be worked on.
Modern resources
I often hear my colleagues say things like, "Well if it was good enough for me when I was a student, it's good enough for my students now!" I don't agree.
Students are busier today than ever before. They are expected to do more homework and to be involved in more activities than students in previous generations. I think it’s extremely important to stay up-to-date with modern technologies that can help my students save time and stay on track. I make sure their lesson notes are accessible online through Evernote. I often scan and upload music in PDF form so that they can print it out at home. I use my iPad to make example recordings in lessons so that they can refer to these examples during their practice sessions. I also maintain a current list of available apps and websites to help with things like music theory and ear training.
Fun
I think lessons should be fun. I enjoy getting to know my students and I love seeing them work on pieces of music that they enjoy. I encourage them to let me know if there’s a genre or artist that interests them so that we can use related materials in lessons.