LESSONS WITH JEFF

Jeff attended the Eastman School of Music (B.M., 2007) where he studied jazz saxophone with Walt Weiskopf and classical saxophone with Chien-Kwan Lin. After completing his degree, Jeff became a full time production assistant and stage manager at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Returning to academia, he received his master of music degree in jazz performance (M.M., 2011) from the elite Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. While in Miami he studied jazz saxophone with Gary Keller and jazz piano with Whit Sidner. Jeff has also studied with Jason Goldman and Russell Ferrante (Yellowjackets).

Jeff is currently working and living in Los Angeles and is available for Teaching (Private or Classroom), Saxophone Workshops, and Guest Lectures. Please fill out the form below, if you want to inquire about Jeff’s current availability.

Inherent in the accessible allure of music is the freedom for persons to cultivate mental processes that aid in the development of independent and creative thinking as well as autonomy. Utilized as a possible conception of reality, musical experiences can educate persons’ emotional intelligence and ways of knowing. Music educators must embrace this responsibility with the noblest intentions as music can become a personal narrative for life and influence as well as inform individuals’ inner dialogue inherent to the human condition. An ally in education of a more knowing citizen, music can serve as an invaluable experience for individuals as well as humanity.

Cultivating meaningful and collaborative relationships between students and teachers as well as instances that afford context and application transference will greatly enhance development of independent and creative minds within citizens. Mentorship, small group collaboration, and building strong vested interests in learning are just a few of the primary characteristics that should be emphasized in music educational learning experiences. Future contributors to a healthy, successful, and sustainable society outside the professional field of music will utilize and benefit from the same cognition building processes involved in the study of music.

It is possible that experiencing art is also able to strengthen cognitive processes that lead to innovative thinking as it builds convergent and divergent thinking. Innovation often drives economies. Technology serves as an advantageous platform for such efforts and should be utilized meaningfully and appropriately in musical practices as well as performances. Citizens may also become more capable of making creative and lasting contributions while pursing their life endeavors. We cannot just produce more artists; we need to produce an audience that wants to experience art. Art can become a way of life and contribute to the fulfillment of any citizen’s potential as well as aid in the pursuit of their endeavors.

© 2014 Jeff Pifher All Rights Reserved

- Sound/Tone Production and Development
- Effective Warm-Up Exercises 
- Bebop Vocabulary
- Modern Vocabulary 
- Chord Substitutions 
- Triad Pairs
- Chord Scale relationships
- Repertoire
- Active Listening
- Practice Strategies
- Developing Rhythm 
- Developing Technique