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Teaching Philosophy

As a teacher and professional musician, my philosophy toward instruction has been influenced by many mentors who I am forever grateful to for their guidance. Personally, it is important for me to give back to the music community, which is why I focus on creating resources and publishing materials in order to fill pedagogical gaps in our profession. After ten years of teaching privately and nearly four years of university academic advising, my teaching style has evolved in many different ways throughout that time and continues to do so. Working with my students is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my profession, and I consistently seek to improve the tools I can offer them. My teaching philosophy falls into four categories:

 

  1. Individualized instruction: There is no “one size fits all” method to teaching, and it is important to know each individual in order to provide the best tools for success. I have had students in the past who want to win a job as a professional trumpeter, and students who are coming back to playing the trumpet after 20 years with the goal of playing in their community band. Both of these are equally valuable goals, but require different tools for success. 

  2. Independent Learning: For my students, I aspire to provide them with the skills to eventually teach themselves. This leads to effective practicing, and allows students to eventually address their own concerns. My process for reaching this goal focuses on establishing a deep understanding of “why?” for each concept I teach. For example:

“Why teach students to subdivide?”: Impeccable rhythm and subdivision allows my students to use their mental focus on musical phrasing during performances, and not if they are playing the correct rhythm. 

“Why teach students how to practice?”: Practice sessions look different for different goals. If you are preparing for a recital, your preparation will look far different from someone preparing for a professional orchestral audition, or someone who just came back from 3 months of basic training.

    3. Self expression: One of the most important aspects of music is expression. This is why audiences travel to listen to a specific ensemble, or even just one musician perform. Music is an avenue for expression, and I value that element when working with each of my students. As I individualize my instruction for each student, I also work with them to find and facilitate their own expression in the music they perform.

     4. Perseverance: While everyone has failed at some point in their life, it is important to learn from each failure and use it as an opportunity to further your growth, both musically and personally. We are all students in life, and how we respond to our failures will determine how we move forward in our individual path. I encourage each of my students to take risks (within reason), and guide them when faced with adversity. 

 

As a studio teacher, I create a group connection between all of my students. This connection is something I have worked to establish during my own time as a student in my undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs, and I have found great success with scheduling mock auditions and fostering an inclusive environment for healthy competition. Competition is an effective tool for growth when used appropriately. In individual lessons, I may use elements of competition to encourage growth. This may be a competition of who can play an excerpt softer or even who can articulate more evenly, which I find to be useful with some students. 

 

As an academic, a fundamental understanding of trumpet literature and pedagogy are fundamental to my students’ success. We all become our own teachers, and many will go on to teach in K-12 or higher education institutions themselves. I teach my students to master the standard repertoire of our instrument while exploring music from living and underrepresented composers; I commit myself as a teacher and performer to provide my students with the resources and connections they need in order to do so.

 

Ultimately, the skills developed by studying music such as time management, accountability, communication, and perseverance are an asset that are essential for success in every facet of life. No matter what field my students ultimately pursue, I will provide them with the tools necessary to reach their goals.

© 2024 by Brennan Rudy 

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