Five Questions With Music Generalist Thomas West

Thomas West, Lessonface Online Music Teacher

Thomas West teaches 17 instruments on Lessonface, as well as voice, beatboxing, and theory lessons. That’s right, he teaches over 20 categories. Thomas is an experienced director of marching bands, concert bands, choral groups, and orchestras, a jazz improvisation and private instructor, as well as a marching drill writer. He has taught a variety of groups, from small to large and beginner to advanced, and currently teaches at the Center for Performing and Fine Arts in Pennsylvania. He’s also quite tech savvy, and integrates social media and music technology into the classroom and private settings.

Lessonface: How did you first get introduced to playing music, and what kind of music were you listening to at the time/growing up? How did you come to be able to not only play but teach so many instruments?

Thomas West: My parents were not professional musicians, but music was in our house all the time. My dad sang in barbershop quartets and both my parents were actors in the Pittsburgh Savoyards, so Gilbert and Sullivan and the music of the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s were in the house all the time. I took piano lessons in first and second grade and made the monumental mistake of discontinuing them when my teacher moved away.

I started on the clarinet in fourth grade and played clarinet and saxophone exclusively through high school. I first saw DCI drum corps perform my junior year of high school and knew that I needed to march a junior corps someday before I aged out at 21. When I got to college, I borrowed a baritone horn and started teaching myself. I ended up marching tuba for The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps in 1993 and ‘94, winning a world championship with them.

It wasn't until after that, however, that I got my first taste of being a teacher when I started working summers with the Warren Junior Military Band of Youngstown, Ohio. I discovered that not only did I love performing music, but I was good at guiding students to having their own significant experiences with music performance. As a music education major, I took lab courses in each major instrument family. This gave me enough knowledge to at least start beginners on all the major band and orchestra instruments.

It wasn't until I got my first full-time teaching job, however, that I became proficient on all the other instruments. The best way to teach students how to play is to pick up a horn and play along with them. There is more in common between the instruments than there are differences - you really just have to learn the mechanics and best practices of each. This is why I consider myself a "generalist" when it comes to teaching music - I can teach all of the band and orchestra instruments, voice, and piano at a beginner to intermediate level, and I can coach advanced students to get them ready for auditions or competitions. There are few instruments that I consider myself studied enough in to offer advanced technique instruction.

LF: Did you have any particularly influential mentors early on, or later as you progressed?

TW: My dad was an early influence and continues to be one to this day. He always kept music as an avocation because he didn't want it to "become work." That is a valuable reminder for me as a professional musician. I also admire the director of the Penn State Blue Band, Dr. O. Richard Bundy, for showing me how to lead a large group of people with gentle authority, Penn State Director of Bands Dennis Glocke for showing me what true artistry on the podium is, and Paul Brizzi for acting as my one-on-one mentor for my ten summers with the Warren Junior Military Band.

LF: What got you interested in teaching online? How long have you been teaching?

TW: This is my fifteenth year as a public school teacher and my fifth year working for a cyber charter school. I still teach students live on-site as my primary teaching duty, but I also helped the school develop an online-only version of instrumental and vocal music. This was accomplished using Adobe Connect for the webcam sessions and Smart Music as the content delivery and assessment system. As I developed these programs, I thought, "I could be doing this privately at home!" I was one of the early players in that game, beginning my private webcam lessons service in 2008.

LF: If you had to recommend one video or performance for prospective students to check out in order to understand you and your style, what would it be?

TW: Interesting question. One of the reasons I'm a generalist when it comes to music is because I find value and enjoyment in performing music of all kinds. There's something beautiful about playing the clarinet, powerful about playing the tuba, elegant about playing the violin, and visceral about singing. My teaching duties have centered around band and orchestra primarily, but I have also directed choral groups and currently sing in a professional contemporary a cappella group. Because of my love of all of these kinds of music, I find myself inspired by musicians who bring forth that inner, spiritual connection to music in everything they do. The one performer who embodies this for me is Bobby McFerrin. He is as easily at home on the conductor's podium and as a vocal soloist - and when I say "soloist" I mean him with a microphone and no instrumental accompaniment. Just watch any Bobby McFerrin video on YouTube and witness someone who exudes music from every pore of his body. What McFerrin does with his music is what I aspire to do with my own performing, composing, and teaching.

Here’s Thomas’s favorite McFerrin performance.

LF: Can you tell us a bit about what's going on with any musical projects you're working on, and any latest news about them?

TW: I've got a lot going on! I am currently editing a new warm-up book for The Fun Music Company of Australia. It is a crowd-sourced book of warm-ups and techniques compiled from band directors from all over the world. I am also currently the Executive Producer of VoCALnation, a national festival of contemporary a cappella music which will take place this summer in Philadelphia on July 19-21. I continue to write original music for student ensembles of all types and abilities, and I am working on designing some online courses on learning music composition that will be hosted on my fellow music teacher Barbara Friedman's website. I am performing regularly with KeyStone A Cappella and am also about to begin my work on a master’s degree in music education with a music technology emphasis. Oh, and I'm a husband and father of two boys in there somewhere, too!

Have questions or comments for us or Thomas? Tweet us @lessonface and Thomas @thomasjwest or sign in to comment below.

Click here to book an online lesson with Thomas or here to learn more about how Lessonface works. You can also check out our blog here to read more about Lessonface and our teachers.

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