Information About Anna - Sutton Coldfield teacher -

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Personal Description:

ONLINE LESSONS AVAILABLE. I am alto saxophonist and vocalist with Jools Holland’s 19-piece ‘Rhythm And Blues Orchestra’ and tenor saxophonist & vocalist with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials. I graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with a first class honours degree in 1996. I am a multi-saxophonist (soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxes). I hold ABRSM grade 8 on Saxophone, Piano and Violin.

With Brooklyn Funk Essentials I have recorded two albums - ‘Funk Ain’t Ova’ (2015) and ’Stay Good’ (2019) and toured worldwide. My last tour with Jools Holland was in Europe with his six-piece band with guests KT Tunstall, Ruby Turner and Louise Marshall. I released my first solo jazz album ‘My Time’ in 2003 and an EP in 2007 - both featured my original compositions and arrangements. As well as being active in the music industry as a touring and recording artist, I have been a music tutor for nearly 30 years, teaching classical music, jazz, funk and pop.

I teach face to face in my purpose-built music studio and remotely via zoom or skype.

Tutoring Experience:

I have been a Visiting Tutor in the Saxophone department at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire since 2003, where I teach one-to-one lessons and deliver ensemble coaching and saxophone improvisation workshops. I have worked in further and higher education for over 15 years, having been course leader of the BMus Honors Professional Musicianship course BIMM Birmingham and a member of the leadership team at ACM Birmingham. I have been teaching privately for almost 30 years.

I teach across many styles, from classical to jazz, pop and funk. My specialist areas include teaching improvisation & jazz theory, especially to students who are interested in non-classical styles but who may be anxious about where to start or how to go about it.

I hold an up-to-date enhanced DBS check certificate.

Tutoring Approach:

My approach to tuition is that it should be enjoyable, engaging and sufficiently challenging for the learner and that they should be able to measure their progress and have a sense of achievement as they acquire new skills and develop existing ones.

Whether the learner's goal is to progress through music exams, to master a specific musical style, to learn how to improvise, to prepare for an audition at a music college, or to play just for fun, I am happy to help them work towards any of these goals and I welcome students of all levels and ages from beginner to advanced, child, adult and neurodiverse learners. I believe there is always a way to unlock a student’s learning potential and to help them work towards their personal goals.

I am a believer in simultaneous learning and I take a holistic approach to music tuition.Through learning to play repertoire, students will develop and discover more about:

Theory (including reading music)
Rhythm
Aural work (listening, clapping, singing, internalising)
Posture, warm-ups and technical work
Scales and arpeggios
Music notation
Sight-reading
Improvisation
How to practise effectively
How to evaluate their work