B.Mus (Humber College)
A recent graduate of Humber College, Matt has quickly established himself as a respected performer in the city’s music scene. While at Humber, Matt had the opportunity to study with some of Canada’s finest jazz and commercial musicians; Brian O’Kane, Alistar Kay, Shelly Berger and Andy Ballantyne, to name a few.
As an active member in the freelance community, Matt’s playing has taken him to such venues as Roy Thompson Hall, The Rex Hotel and the Jazz Bistro. You can find him leading his own trio in intimate venues around the city, or playing with many different jazz, funk or brass bands around the GTA and other Southern Ontario areas.
Get to know Matt…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Cooking, golf, & coffee making
Musical influences: Clifford Brown, Leroy Jones, Clark Terry, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Chicago
Favourite food: Fish burrito
Least favourite food: My mom’s rice – although, everything else she makes is excellent.
Favourite music: Jazz
Favourite song: It’s Always You
Favourite movie: Spirited Away
Favourite movie music: Indiana Jones Theme
Favourite musical theatre/opera: West Side Story
Best quote from your teacher: “BLOW!” – Alistar Kay
Favourite quote: “They teach you there’s a boundary line to music. But, man, there’s no boundary line to art.” – Charlie Parker
Favourite book: Last Wish – Andrzej Sapkowski
Best thing about teaching at ABC: Sharing my passion for music with youth
Latest Homework from Matt
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Homework for March 10th
Abi:
Continue to work on your 5 note slurs. Alternate between slurring and tonguing to get the feel for it. The C G C E G slur sounded great this week! Keep the air moving forward; take full breaths and remember to relax.
We had a good chat about learning different scales this week! Just a quick reminder of what we talked about… Major scale + note alteration(s) = New scale. for example you could take a Major scale, flatten the 3rd & 6th degree of the scale and you will get a harmonic minor scale; by doing these alterations you can practically get any new scale. I know this might seem pretty complex and I don’t expect you to have tons of new scales memorized a while. It would be great f0r next week, if you could play C & A harmonic minor (b3, b6). A harmonic minor is all over power ride so that shouldn’t be too bad. C might take a little bit of thinking though but I trust you should be able to figure it out!
Keep up the good work on Power Ride. Just take it slow to make sure you’re playing every note, dynamic and articulation properly. Take full breaths so you can get through those 4 bars without stopping.
Matt:
All those minor scales are coming along well! If you take them slower and refine the arpeggios you’ll see a lot more improvement. When you’re ascending remember to keep your chin stable, don’t push it in. As soon as it pushes in your tone changes and you struggle to reach the higher notes. Chin up and support from the core with lots of air.
Continue to work on all four of the RCM pieces – All Through The Night, German Dance, Etude in G & Etude in D. It might be worth it to practice all four of these in a row to see if you have the stamina to do them all efficiently & with a beautiful sound. All the little details are coming together nicely as well. One thing that I’ve noticed though is sometimes the articulation can be a little inconsistent; You want all the staccatos, accents & legatos to feel and sound the same. Continue to work on all of those pieces.
Homework for Jan 31st
I felt like we got a lot of good work done during this lesson!! Lots of concepts we can dig deeper into in the coming weeks.
Don’t stress out about the breathing. You’ve come a long way from where you started and your breathing has definitely improved. You’ll learn to be okay with taking bigger breaths as well as going to the edge of your breath… I don’t think you’ll pop a lung :) The more comfortable you get on the horn, the efficiency will come & you’ll be able to play longer and with more control.
You’re getting a good hold on the method of learning new scales! That’s all thanks to having a solid understanding of the major scale – which you love. For next week, try to do all harmonic minor scales, you can think of it as a major scale with a b3 & b6.
I know it might be scary, but take some time this week to play along with a Bb blues (our C) backing track!! It’s fun I swear. By just picking one note as we did, you free up the decision to change notes so you can just focus on rhythmic ideas. How does it feel to play a lot of notes vs. not many? Loud vs. soft? Experiment with the single note and when you feel comfortable add more. Listening to other musicians is your biggest asset here; You learn the most from imitating others!
Try to spend some time with Theme from New World Symphony again this week. Pay attention to the smaller things now! Dynamics, phrasing, all the good stuff we talk about. It’s 90% of the way there!
Preferred Books for Matt’s Students
Click to buy them here, and they’ll come right to your house! What could be easier?
Technical Studies
This work has been especially written to enable the cornet student to conquer any technical difficulties he or she might encounter in the literature for the instrument. By carefully following the instructions in this book, the student will build up strength and endurance without strain or injury to his embouchure. If this lips remain flexible and the tone is not forced, it will be possible to play easily any note, regardless of the register.
Arban Complete Conservatory Method
The New Authentic Edition of Arban’s Complete Conservatory Method contains the same tried and true comprehensive system of study that Arban developed over a century ago, and this completely re-engraved edition has been painstakingly edited by prominent trumpet performers and teachers Thomas Hooten and Jennifer Marotta, adding some of their own insights with respect to how trumpet is taught today. The Arban Complete Conservatory Method is the definitive must-have for all trumpet players.
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COMING SOON
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COMING SOON
