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Theresa Brooks - Bassoon Teacher
I teach out of my recording studio in Montgomery (in the far west suburbs of Chicago). My students come from the area such as Oswego, Aurora, Yorkville, Naperville and Bolingbrook.
Teaching bassoon is something I love, the chance to pass on knowledge and encourage others to express themselves via the bassoon. It is my goal to make bassooning fun for everyone at every level. My students vary in age from 10-50 years old (and counting) and from beginning bassoon through college level.
With my lessons I like to do more than just drill scales and etudes (though there's plenty of that too). In a typical lesson we do
- scales and/or warmup exercises,
- work on band/orchestra music for school or performing groups,
- work through etudes (I start with the Weissenborn Practical Method for Bassoon),
- work on solo repertoire through several weeks/months,
- practice ear training by hearing something and playing it back,
- play duets with the students to work on playing with other people
- and sometimes work on a little bit of creative composition
After working on a solo for a while and getting it to a performable level I will record my students on their solo. When a player gets to hear themselves back it is an entirely different experience for them and will improve their playing by leaps and bounds. They will notice elements of their playing they are not able to notice when playing. Also, having a recording will give them markers so they can hear their progress. When discouragement comes it's nice to listen to old recordings and hear how far you've really come.
I have my students bring notebooks to every lesson so I can write notes and fingerings for them to practice through the week.
If you would like to schedule lessons or if you have any questions please contact me at theresa@callthecow.com or call (630) 897-9023.
BIOGRAPHY:
Theresa Brooks has used the bassoon as an extension of her for 20+ years. She graduated from DePaul University where she studied with Chicago Symphony Orchestra member William Buchman. Theresa's full time job is composing music for film and television and running Apocalypse Cow, a recording studio where she records bands and solo artists of all genres. Theresa performs every summer and her bassoon playing has been on charting rock albums. |
