Maxwell Casazza
About
Hi, I'm Max! I'm a multi-instrumentalist composer, educator, performer, and recording artist. Originally from New Jersey, I studied piano and world music at UCLA, and collaborated with musicians of the area, including songwriter KOLE, Temme Scott, and members of the Remote Control Productions team. I am currently working with Andy Wasserman, the last student of George Russell, who is certified to teach his Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. I reside in Washington DC where he teaches guitar, piano, and composition.
I mentor because I love facilitating the enjoyment of music. Its not inherently obvious how to enjoy the learning process of music, so I aim to make the process as smooth and intuitive as possible for my students.
I teach principles of music through a combination of recommended repertoire along with music suggested by the student. I create a custom curriculum for each student.
UCLA '17 / First Degree Black Belt - American Budo Kai Association / Mindfulness ( Vipassana) meditation expert / 8 years of teaching experience / Student of Andy Wasserman and George Russell.
My mentoring primarily involves facilitating the artistry and musicianship of my students through a learning style-specific curriculum. I don't use one particular method, though I incorporate principles from the Suzuki Method, Pace Method, my studies with 8 high-level teachers, my coursework at UCLA, as well as teachings from the direct lineage composers such as Frédéric Chopin and George Russell. Each student gets a custom curriculum. I do this because I recognize people learn differently, and it seems to be much more effective.
To conceptualize music in an intuitive way, students must develop their listening abilities beyond the process of learning repertoire. So that they can not only read sheet music, but also understand it well enough to create their own compositions. I feel this is as crucial as learning the famous works of history, and ultimately allows a student to develop their ability to self-teach.