Teaching Philosophy

1. Always make music and always produce your most beautiful tone.

2. You are what you hear.
Clearly define the sound you want and reinforce it daily. 

3.  Invest yourself in the air flow.
Feed the music with a constant steady flow of air.

4. To good musicians, musical incentives are more compelling than technical ones.
Any mention of technique should be framed in a musical context.  For example, if one has smeary articulations, appealing to the objective of musical clarity is central to any discussion of improvement. 

5. Set accurate, reasonable goals and stick with them.

6. There are two kinds of practicing and both are necessary for success.  Mix up practice sessions to include both areas regularly:

1. Global
This kind of practice session encompasses work on fundamentals such as tone, flexibility, articulation, intonation, rhythm and range. A daily routine as well as etude books, scales and other basics are included in this kind of practicing. 

2. Specific
These sessions involve preparation of solos, excerpts and other specific musical tasks.  This is where one applies the fundamentals from above in order to achieve a musical result. 

7. An accurate understanding of how the body moves is imperative to success.
Develop global awareness of your body, your surroundings and the music.  Become aware of the quality of your effort and how and where that effort is being applied.

8. Key Words:

• Responsibility

The teacher is responsible for providing the knowledge. The student is responsible for applying that knowledge and, ultimately, attaining his or her goals.

• Honesty

One must be clear about both strengths and weaknesses.  While it is important to identify areas needing improvement, it is equally important to acknowledge successes.

• Trust

Trust yourself, trust your teacher, trust your air.

• Balance

Balance your body, balance your instrument, and balance your air and embouchure.