EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

As I developed my music performing career in Seattle I also dug deeply into teaching private students (bass, piano, ukulele, guitar, songwriting, music theory) and teaching group classes and workshops (from Dusty Strings Music Store and Westside Music Academy to Billings Middle School).

Elementary School (and all ages schools) Show and Tell: On many of our tours we’ve done morning outreach before or after our evenings gigs at elementary or all ages schools. We run an interactive show and tell showcasing all the different instruments and styles of music we play, do repeat after me sing along and percussive games, Q&A with students and dance offs!

Middle/High School: I love teaching middle school and high school aged students about the history of American Roots music and I have designed a masterclass around teaching them to play and arrange jazz, Americana and blues merging both the traditional and modern approaches. Within this context, there is the opportunity to talk about the business of running a band, touring and other realities a musician faces when making a career out of their art.

College: While the Gin Joints tour we can stop by colleges and university music programs to teach masterclasses covering topics like songwriting and music publishing, music theory, improvisation approaches from jazz to blues to roots music, and the ins and outs of the music business.