Woodwindlessons.ca :: Braxton Hicks

I teach private students, both in my home studio located in Aurora, at the St. Andrew's Shopping Center, (Yonge St. & Orchard Heights Blvd.), and also in students own homes anywhere in the GTA. I offer lessons rich in content, but at the same time, fun and positive!

As part of a term of lessons, I record each student (at my studio during lessons) to create a CD to help mark their playing progress! This is a great tool for learning, makes a great present for family and friends, and is included, free of charge, with 3 months of lessons! And students feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when they have their very own CD in their hands!

Lessons in your own home available. I come to you!
Also available in my studio, in Aurora's St. Andrew's Shopping Centre
Lessons for Saxophones (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone), Clarinet, Flute
All Styles, including Jazz, Classical (RCM Exam), Pop, Rock, R&B, as well as Concert and School Band Material
Ear Training and Sight Reading
Learn to Improvise and Jam!
All Ages! Children, Adults, Seniors all welcome!
From Absolute Beginner to Advanced Students
College Audition Preparation

Personalization. Students learn at different speeds, and have different musical experience, and goals, so lessons are individually tailored to the student’s needs.
Music Appreciation. Not listening to music while learning to play is akin to a child never hearing conversation while learning to speak! My instrument specific “listening curriculum” will include listening to recordings of world’s greatest musicians to inspire, and give students an aural picture of what to imitate and strive for. Most other music students are never exposed to this essential aspect of learning the art!
Fun and Positive! Lessons are relaxed and light, to promote faster learning and a love of music. With learning broken down into short and long term goals, students are encouraged in all steps of their progress, and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment! And it’s FUN!

I offer clinics and masterclasses to schools, bands, or any group interested. Prices are negotiable, depending on time, distance, number of students, and other factors. If you're interested, read on, or give me a call!

My clinics are presented in a flexible format, and can be tailored to the level of the students, and to what the teacher feels may be most beneficial to their students. My clinics can be condensed into a quick overview, to be done all in one session, or can be spread out over the course of a few classes to cover more details, and can be focused more or less on improvisation, or ensemble playing. All playing exercises can be scaled in difficulty to suit more or less advanced students or ensembles. Please visit my contact page for phone and e-mail information.

I will give an overview of jazz history, and talk about the lineage of styles, and of players of each instrument, and how it relates to today's players, and the students' progression as players. I will distribute a hand out, illustrating the material presented.

I will discuss the necessary skills to acquire to become a jazz player, and what it means to improvise. I will discuss the importance of building technique, developing a personal sound, learning jazz vocabulary, developing a strong ear, the importance of listening, the necessity of learning the tradition, developing an attitude conducive to progressing as a player, and how to organize practice time.

"The Blues" is the root of jazz. The blues came from a fusion of African rhythm and melody with European harmony, and jazz developed as an offshoot from it. All of the past's great jazz musicians could play the blues, and it's spirit and melody are still alive in the playing of today's great players. To learn to play jazz, the blues is where to start! I once asked Wynton Marsalis what he thought was the most important thing for young players to study, and he immediately said, "The Blues, man!" I will give listening examples, and discuss the blues scale and it's function in the blues and in other jazz forms, as well as it's spirit and meaning to the music. And we'll play it!

If "The Blues" is the root of jazz, then rhythm is the soil in which it grows. Rhythm is one of the most important parts of jazz. Musicians can play the most harmonically and melodically beautiful lines they can conceive of, but if it don't mean a thing if ain't got that swing! However, a player could make the "wrong" notes sound "right" if it "swings". We we also look at the meaning of swing, and how to develop a sense of swing. I will give listening examples and then the students will take part in a playing exercise that can teach even the most novice improvisor how to start developing a sense of rhythm and swing.

I will discuss jazz harmony and chord nomenclature, as well as common progressions. In addition to this I'll talk about how to learn to play changes, and give handouts of standard jazz lines, and we'll play them!

In this section, I talk about the "three L's". To become a better player, you must listen actively. Many of us don't REALLY LISTEN when the music is playing, and I'll discuss the difference between active and passive listening. Learning new tunes is a part of growing as a jazz player, and the best way to do this is to learn them straight off recordings, rather than relying on fake books or lead sheets. The final level is listening in such detail that you learn to play (this is called lifting or transcribing) melodies from a great player's solo, or their entire solo! I'll hand out a list of recommended recordings, and even recommended solos to learn for particular instruments.

The remainder of time can be spent in Q&A, working with the ensemble, or jamming!