Maxwell Music Instruction

I always start by figuring out what the student likes: I want them to enjoy what we're working on, so I use music they're familiar with to introduce new concepts they might not understand yet.

I've also developed a graduated curriculum to work from, which covers essential technical, critical thinking, and performance skills for everyone from absolute beginners music majors in college.

I do this thing for real!

On paper, I attended OSU's Jazz Studies program, but I consider my real alma matter to be the stage, which I've been very fortunate to share with bandmates of legends such as Miles Davis, Prince, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Merle Haggard, and many more, as well as contemporary artists including Taylor Swift, Drake, Kirk Franklin, and Justin Bieber.

I charge monthly for a weekly lesson. If a student has different needs we can work together to accomodate them.

I kind of fell into it- I come from a family of professors so I've always been very curious and quick to figure out processes for learning new things. Once I got serious about music I became the bandmember who coached people along and helped them figure out their parts.

In high school I ended up being a counselor at a music camp I had attended in middle school, which got me into directly teaching younger kids rather than just guiding my contemporaries.

First, make sure they sound good: compare their playing to the records you like. Is the teacher as skilled as the people you admire? Do they know anything about the music you like? This is important because if your teacher can't perform at a high level, how do you expect them to help you get there?

Second, make sure you enjoy their company. You'll be spending a decent amount of time around them and they'll be giving you feedback, so it won't be fun if you don't get along on a personal level.

Third, ask them: "If we're in the key of Ab, what would the chords be in this progression: 3 6 2 5 1 4, with a minor 2 5 to dominant 6?" If they don't respond with something along the lines of: "Cmi Fmi Bbmi Eb7 Ab Db, then Gmi7b5 and C7alt to F7." in about the amount of time it took to read this paragraph, they're PROBABLY not an expert or worth your time or anyone else's for that matter, as that's actually quite an elementary question/answer for any literate musician.

Really consider the music you like and what elements attract you- it's important to understand why you like what you like and have an idea of what you want to learn.

It's also important to remember that there's a ton of free information readily available to anyone- you and your potential teacher both have limited, valuable time, so consider whether it's a wise investment and if it is, make sure you utilize it to its fullest.