Embedded Files
ash teacher reel - Made with Clipchamp.mp4Teaching + Academics
I started teaching private music lessons in 2006 while studying Music Theory and Composition at the College of Charleston. Along with music, I have many academic passions: I studied Philosophy at the College of Charleston before graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Pure Mathematics from UNC Asheville. I went on to teach AP classes (math and history) in rigorous classical settings, in addition to launching and leading school-wide music programs:
bluegrass orchestra
praise band
ear training electives
high school choir
Music is my life.
It started with my father's guitar and a Beatles songbook. I spent my middle and high school years obsessing over chord voicings, recording techniques, and the constant hustle to start bands, collect microphones, and write songs that would, I imagined, blow the minds of the Corner Cafe open mic night crowd. I'm not sure how successful open mic night was, but I was playing in national touring bands by the time I was 18, opened my first recording studio at 21, and started teaching at 23. In the intervening years I've taught hundreds of students, made a few successful albums, graced the stages of music festivals all over the world, broken a few priceless instruments, and had plenty of good times doing it.
These days, I'm a morning person who is more inclined to play weddings than bachelor parties. With four kids of my own, my life is dedicated to the next generation - instilling in them a love of music language and a passion for playing. Children, after all, are the ideal bandmates- they have all of their creative spontaneity, and few prejudices. They'll try anything, and they know when it works.
Above all, I love to have fun. My classroom is a cross between creative workstation and and international salon- a flexible space where theoretical physics, medieval theology, and Beach Boys a capella groups spontaneously interweave; fun abounds, yet standards are high. I believe that trust and respect as a teacher must be earned, that young people deserve to be shown respect, and that all students regardless of capability, diagnosis, or neurostyle can flourish as long as they have someone willing to listen to their way of thinking, and willing to speak their language.
Google Sites
Report abuse