I have more than 30 years of experience playing music in hundreds of different settings, with a focus on improvisation as a partial or total component of performance. With a specialty in guitar and reed instruments (but all instruments and skill levels welcome), as an instructor I will cover elements from a wide variety of musical approaches as potential reservoirs of inspiration or influence, including blues, country, classical, jazz, rock, hip hop, noise, experimental, songwriting, and a range of international music.
A lesson might move between practicing intervals or scales, exploring extended techniques, focusing on tone, trying out rhythmic figures, addressing listening habits, reading charts, investigating improvisational and compositional strategies, and reviewing basic playing habits, while stressing play and discovery rather than prescribed exercises, in order to inform a perspective that prioritizes creativity, intensity, interaction, flexibility, and momentum over technical skill as an end in itself.
As part of our interaction, I will draw on many aspects of the history of recorded music and investigate how they interact with each other and with your own perspective and listening tastes. I have a detailed knowledge of the history of "improvised music" as it developed throughout the 20th century into the 21st, as well as many other styles and approaches. I hope to also be able to situate our place in musical history in terms of the culture at large by exploring the relationship of music to other art forms, movements, and social and political milieus.
Get in touch and we can schedule a free sample lesson
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