Name: Michael R.
Music Instrument(s) Taught: Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone
Location: SE Portland (23rd and Hawthorne)

Michael is a freelance musician based in the Portland metropolitan area. His diverse skill set allows him to perform in a variety of musical groups. Michael is hired regularly to perform for: jazz and cover bands, weddings, corporate events, musicals, and studio sessions. He also leads and writes music for his own band that performs regularly in the Portland metropolitan area. He attended Mount Hood Community College and Portland State University. Michael graduated with a B.S. in biology and minored in jazz studies.
Many describe Michael as genuine and passionate. He has a youthful, energetic teaching style that works well with most students. Michael’s creativity and patience have allowed him to be successful with teaching students with learning disabilities. He has no problem using “outside of the box” techniques to help explain a tough concept.
Michael’s practice philosophy is simple. Make practice enjoyable and efficient. He has experienced the common pitfall of practicing scales for many hours only to retain little or nothing. Michael shows his students techniques to focus, and get more done with less wasted time. He caters his lessons to maximize every student’s potential. Lessons are customized to meet the student’s goals and learning style. Michael ensures that every student will have the technique, theory, and musical knowledge to be a complete musician that is comfortable in any musical genre or setting.
Some of Michael’s specialties:
Tone production – Michael believes that the first thing anyone notices about your playing is how you sound. He provides exercises to put his students on the path to sounding as lyrical as possible.
Improvisation – Michael is comfortable in improvising in all styles including: funk, jazz, Latin, soul, hip-hop etc…. He believes improvising is one of the most natural things for a human to do and is essential for today’s musician.
Jazz theory – Michael is well versed in analyzing chords and music structure.
Audition/recital prep – Michael has participated in many solo competitions, honor bands, and auditions. He draws from these experiences to prepare his students to be relaxed and confident in these situations. Michael teaches saxophone, clarinet, and flute.

Michael is currently accepting new students.