Clarinet Lessons
I offer clarinet lessons in Lynnwood, Washington and in the greater Seattle area. I also offer online clarinet lessons using Google Meet. Any age and skill level is welcome. I have experience with beginners as young as 5 years old, college undergraduates, adult students, and everyone in between.
Contact me for more information on clarinet lessons in Lynnwood or clarinet lessons online!
Contact me for more information on clarinet lessons in Lynnwood or clarinet lessons online!
Current and Former Clarinet Student Achievements Include:
- Winner of Washington State Solo and Ensemble Competition in the Clarinet Solo Division
- Winner of Washington State Regional Solo and Ensemble Competition in the Clarinet Solo Division
- Attendee at Interlochen Arts Academy
- East Texas Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition Finalist
- High Chair Placements in Washington and Texas all-state bands
- Pacific Lutheran University Honor Band Participants
- Western International Band Clinic (WIBC) Participants
- Winner of Washington State Regional Solo and Ensemble Competition in the Clarinet Solo Division
- Attendee at Interlochen Arts Academy
- East Texas Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition Finalist
- High Chair Placements in Washington and Texas all-state bands
- Pacific Lutheran University Honor Band Participants
- Western International Band Clinic (WIBC) Participants
"The best quality instruction I've had!"
"My son is at the top of his class and has made great strides in his playing thanks to Brian's instruction."
"[My son] loved his lessons with [Brian]."
Education Philosophy
A healthy learning environment is a space in which I warmly welcome my students, challenge them to strive for excellence and listen to their concerns with an open mind. It is a space where I give their questions dignity, refine their strengths and show grace in their mistakes. These qualities contribute to my teaching style, in which I hone my students’ growth in a positive manner. The best learning and teaching happens when the student and teacher engage in a relationship based upon encouragement, patience and listening.
My mantra is, “a student is never too advanced for fundamental practice or too novice for learning the subtleties of expression.” I approach clarinet pedagogy from both technical and expressive perspectives. Without technical facility, we cannot control how we perform. Without musical expression, what we play is meaningless. The best musicians exude mastery over both aspects, therefore I encourage my students to learn the same way. Even when I spend more time in my lessons working over the technical aspects of playing the clarinet, the emphasis on musical expression is never lost. Often, I incorporate both aspects into what I ask of the student such as, “support this note with warmer air so we maintain the beauty of the phrase” or “notice how smooth this passage sounds when we keep our fingers closer to the instrument.” Because of this emphasis, I teach through solo repertoire more than etudes or exercises. Clarinetists are fortunate to have a large canon. Since this canon represents a wide range of difficulty levels, there is great music for students at every level. I choose solo repertoire based off the pedagogical intent I wish to show my students, such as a slow piece for tone production or a scherzo-type piece for articulation studies. Since the end goal is to perform music, teaching from music meant to be performed, as opposed to studying it in a vacuum, is a necessity.
In lessons, it is more important to hear the student play than to offer excessive feedback. The benefits are endless: they have more experience performing in front of people, it allows me to guide them in new practice techniques, I can assess their comprehension of concepts in the moment and so much more. I only offer the student one or two suggestions for improvement for each series of repetitions. It is important that I do not give a student an overwhelming amount to think about or their attention will split and none of these concepts will effectively become habit. In clarinet playing, creating effective practice habits is the most important concept to learn. To achieve this, I give my students various strategies for practicing difficult passages of music and show them how they can apply it to other sections of the music. In preparation for our next lesson, I ask them to utilize the new techniques on specific passages.
My ultimate goal is to teach students how to learn. My most successful students are the ones who can tackle a problem and come up with a solution on their own. This is a skill I cultivate in them from day one. With my clarinet students, I consistently demonstrate two or more ways of playing and ask the student to choose which was more effective. They are usually able to find the answer, but then I ask them for an explanation. This is where their refinement into, as a former teacher described, a “self-cleaning oven” happens. I ask the student to define what happens with the expression in technical terms. For example, when I ask why was phrase #1 was more successful than phrase #2, I hope for an answer such as: “the airstream was more consistent” or “you began to crescendo sooner.” The knowledge of technique and ability to show expression is what brings music to life. Allowing the students to define expression in their own words equips them with the necessary abilities to evaluate their own playing outside of lessons. Once they approach everything with this problem-solving mindset, my job is complete.
My mantra is, “a student is never too advanced for fundamental practice or too novice for learning the subtleties of expression.” I approach clarinet pedagogy from both technical and expressive perspectives. Without technical facility, we cannot control how we perform. Without musical expression, what we play is meaningless. The best musicians exude mastery over both aspects, therefore I encourage my students to learn the same way. Even when I spend more time in my lessons working over the technical aspects of playing the clarinet, the emphasis on musical expression is never lost. Often, I incorporate both aspects into what I ask of the student such as, “support this note with warmer air so we maintain the beauty of the phrase” or “notice how smooth this passage sounds when we keep our fingers closer to the instrument.” Because of this emphasis, I teach through solo repertoire more than etudes or exercises. Clarinetists are fortunate to have a large canon. Since this canon represents a wide range of difficulty levels, there is great music for students at every level. I choose solo repertoire based off the pedagogical intent I wish to show my students, such as a slow piece for tone production or a scherzo-type piece for articulation studies. Since the end goal is to perform music, teaching from music meant to be performed, as opposed to studying it in a vacuum, is a necessity.
In lessons, it is more important to hear the student play than to offer excessive feedback. The benefits are endless: they have more experience performing in front of people, it allows me to guide them in new practice techniques, I can assess their comprehension of concepts in the moment and so much more. I only offer the student one or two suggestions for improvement for each series of repetitions. It is important that I do not give a student an overwhelming amount to think about or their attention will split and none of these concepts will effectively become habit. In clarinet playing, creating effective practice habits is the most important concept to learn. To achieve this, I give my students various strategies for practicing difficult passages of music and show them how they can apply it to other sections of the music. In preparation for our next lesson, I ask them to utilize the new techniques on specific passages.
My ultimate goal is to teach students how to learn. My most successful students are the ones who can tackle a problem and come up with a solution on their own. This is a skill I cultivate in them from day one. With my clarinet students, I consistently demonstrate two or more ways of playing and ask the student to choose which was more effective. They are usually able to find the answer, but then I ask them for an explanation. This is where their refinement into, as a former teacher described, a “self-cleaning oven” happens. I ask the student to define what happens with the expression in technical terms. For example, when I ask why was phrase #1 was more successful than phrase #2, I hope for an answer such as: “the airstream was more consistent” or “you began to crescendo sooner.” The knowledge of technique and ability to show expression is what brings music to life. Allowing the students to define expression in their own words equips them with the necessary abilities to evaluate their own playing outside of lessons. Once they approach everything with this problem-solving mindset, my job is complete.
