Information About Nicola - Stanford-le-Hope teacher -

(11 reviews)

Personal Description:

I started playing clarinet in senior school, however this was short lived due to a
change of school. It was not until I was in my mid 20's that I got the opportunity
to purchase my own clarinet and I began my musical journey properly. When I
got to 30, life changed, the clarinet took a back seat for a number of years.
They say life begins in your 40's and it truly does! At the age of 44 I bought
myself a Sax, got myself an amazing tutor and joined an Amateur Jazz Band.
I passed my Grade 8 Classical Clarinet Exam in Dec 2023 and am now working towards a Diploma. I am also working on my Grade 7 Jazz Sax, with the hope of taking it in Dec 2024.
As well as working on my exams, I play Saxophone & Clarinet with the
John Seeley Jazz Band, Clarinet in the Essex Yeomanry Military Band and also the Maldon Orchestra. I perform regularly in concerts with all of these bands and as well as this I perform at some local open mic nights when I find the time. I also run a Beginner Jazz and Blues Band for my aspiring beginner students.
My motto is - Age is a Number, so Live in the Now
I'm a big advocate of continued personal development, so I still attend lessons with my own tutor, I attend relevant courses, wind band play weekends and I have even started learning the Flute.

Tutoring Experience:

Teaching is something that I ventured into in 2021 so currently my teaching career is in its first stages. However we all have to start somewhere and this is why I have set my level at beginner/intermediate students.
I currently have 10 beginner students whom I teach at my home and until April 2022 I was also teaching in a local up and coming music studio at weekends, unfortunately the studio relocated to outside of my area, so the students I had with the school decided to transfer to me directly with the consent of the school. I still have a close working relationship with Kaleo Music Studio's and the small beginner jazz and blues club I run perform at some of the events run by the studio, including the regular monthly open mic. All of which are progressing very well with their chosen instrument and 2 of my students passed their Grade 1 Exam in the summer of this year 2022, a year after never picking up an instrument or reading a note of music before.

Tutoring Approach:

Everyone is different and people learn at different speeds, what works for one student may not work for another; so I don't have a regimented teaching method because one size does not fit all. Also many of my students are Adults whom have chosen to learn later in life, so there are times when life gets in the way. I base each student as an individual and offer flexible learning, especially as it's not all about grades, some people simply just prefer to learn without the pressure of exams. Learning an instrument should be fun and I prefer to take things at the pace of the student rather than rush through things. I try to separate the different elements of learning music so my students are not trying to put themselves under the pressure of learning it all at the same time and feeling overwhelmed by it all. I currently teach the Trinity Exam Syllabus purely because they offer up to grade 8 in Jazz Exams and offer technical work tests such as improvisation. However examination boards are a choice and these days there are a few alternative options so as a teacher I'm very flexible on this especially if a student wishes to follow a different exam board syllabus.