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 24th
Abi:
Nice lesson today! It was great to hear you play something a little different. I like that Octopath Traveler song a lot. If you could play the first 25 seconds of it that would be great. Make it your goal to make every note beautiful, support the air with your core & take full breaths ( Hoo- Too!!!). Keep up those five note slurs too, those will help with sound and air constancy.
Write out two octaves of the F# Chromatic scale. Notate the note names and the fingerings underneath each!
Here’s the link to the music just in case you don’t have it.
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Adf4edf60-3404-4d1a-b50a-a179e372565f#pageNum=2
Matt:
Everything is sounding great! Im glad you were able to play through all the rep & scales for the RCM test. We’ll take a look at some new stuff for next week. Ear training, mouthpiece studies, sight reading etc.
Just adding some little details in the pieces now will make a big difference. All of them would benefit from more dynamics, but German Dance needs it the most; don’t be afraid to write/ notate on the music. Also be aware of the vibrato you use on All Through The Night. It sounds better the less one uses it. Otherwise, just be sure to keep the tempo steady on all of them.
Homework for feb 14th
Great lesson today. I feel like we’re always able to cover a large range of topics. Here’s a review of the exercises we worked on. Try to incorporate these into your practice.
- 5 note slurs – Move the air forward here & don’t get psyched out by the high G. You were killing it today and then you got into your head! Try different starting points/ fingerings to work your way up in a comfortable way. Feel free to just slur between individual notes to iron out the creases as well.
- Single note articulation – This is great for breathing, tonging and range. Be patient; take your time to breathe, set up and tongue one note as clearly as possible. Start on C and work your way up. You can do this in octaves as well for an extra challenge… low C, high C, low C#, high C#, etc…
- Major scales with varied articulation – Slur everything, legato tongue, and staccato tongue. Move the air forwards and crescendo to create momentum.
- Major scales with note variation/ patterns – The thirds & triads were sounding really nice today! Those are great for activating your mind and fingers. After playing through some major scales, pick one note to change (b7, b3, etc) and play around from there. Try to get comfortable playing and hearing these different scales.
Sonny moon for two! Nice job learning the melody by ear. Spend some time this week playing along with the recording to get everything solidified in the melody. Aim for rhythmic & phrasing accuracy. Listen to how sonny improvises using the melody and try to imitate that the best you can. The more you experiment at this stage the better!! You can also pick a simple motif of one or two notes and try to develop that in unique ways.
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
