Teaching
Music Lessons with Matty Stecks!
Now available via video conferencing (Skype, Facetime, Zoom)
About me:
I have over 20 years in music instruction in K-12 and college classrooms, private lessons for all ages, ensembles, clinics and masterclasses. I’m a conservatory-trained musician with graduate degrees in jazz performance and composition, have performed internationally, and have several original recordings and reviews available. I am collaborative in nature and have a knack for communicating music holistically in fun, informal settings. Emphases include sound habits of mind, techniques and practice routines - but also creativity and learning how to learn, through a wide variety of repertoire that we can choose together. I can work via most editions of method books (Accent on Achievement, Standard of Excellence, Essential Elements, Rubank, etc.) for beginning and intermediate students, as well as concert repertoire for school performance programs. Advanced students have more breadth and flexibility in choice. We work in equal parts on hearing & feeling music and music literacy. The bigger your imagination, the more we can unlock your potential!
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Types of instruction offered:
Instrumental:
Woodwinds - saxophone, flute, clarinet (beg/int/adv)
Piano (beg/int)
Voice (all levels)
Other instruments at beginner level: Brass (trumpet/trombone), Guitar, Ukelele, Percussion
Other:
Composition, Arranging, Theory, Ear Training (all levels)
(note: all instrumental instruction touches on theory and ear training on some level; these lessons would take that more in-depth)
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Rates (as of July 2020):
$75/60 min.
$40/30 min.
(30 min. recommended for beginners; but families of 2+ can get the hourly rate)
Paypal (paypal.me/mattystecks) and Venmo (@mattystecks) accepted. Payments are due at conclusion of the lesson. Typically lessons are weekly, and a schedule is agreed to in advance. A limited number of risk-free postponements are permitted with enough notice, pursuant to a lesson policy.
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Remote Learning Considerations:
Remote learning can be very effective, despite coming with obvious challenges. Teacher and student tend to work in a “taking turns” format, since high latency over Wifi can compromise synchronizing our performances. I also frequently record accompaniments for students to practice over, and at times ask them to record their own performances with a mobile device. At times sheet music files or screenshots will need to be shared (a Dropbox or Google shared folder recommended). Students will be responsible to have their own instrument, supplies, music stand and a well-lit room for each lesson.
For those with tech savvy, motivation and resources, an option to “jam” in real-time remotely is available. This usually requires a wired/ethernet high speed connection & basic recording setup (mic, interface, headphones), using software such as Jamkazam, Jamulus, etc.
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You can check out my artist website to see/hear more of what I do as a musician.
Feel free to contact me at matthewsteckler@gmail.com for more info! :)
