Lessons - Saxophone, Guitar, Flute, Clarinet
Jon Thompson has been teaching saxophone, guitar, flute and clarinet professionally since 2001. He has taught for the Westminster Conservatory, The Musical Arts Academy of Bucks County, Princeton Montessori and West Cape May Elementary. He currently teaches at the Lawrenceville School, the Chapin School and the Pennington School. Many of Jon’s students have gone on to do regional and all-state band and some have become professional musicians with impressive careers. Jon teaches every level of student from beginner to advanced, from the very young to the very old!
Jon’s Teaching Philosophy
Jon bases his lessons on the needs of each individual student and what their goals are. He has a relaxed style which incorporates each individual student’s musical interests and teaches with those interests in mind. He does not just teach from a book — that is just a small part of Jon’s lessons. Jon believes that you can learn through all styles of music — rock, pop, blues, jazz, r&b, etc. One of Jon’s main goals as a teacher is to inspire and to spark the student’s interest in music — if that happens to be through a Nirvana song, then that’s what he’ll do. Jon feels that once the student gets inspired, most often they become more open-minded and want to learn all different kinds of music. Most importantly, Jon wants all his students to have fun in his classes because when his students are having fun and feel inspired, they ultimately learn more and on a deeper level.
Jon teaches technique, reading, rhythm and theory to all of his students, but the level of each is determined by the age, maturity and the ability of each student. Jon plays with all of his students and encourages them to improvise in each lesson. He feels that reading music is only one small part of music making and tries to show each of students how much fun improvisation can be.
Jon feels that music is such an important thing for kids and adults alike. He feels it helps with communication, expression and helps people get in touch with their emotions. Jon believes music teaches people how to listen to one another, be more confident, how to be a team player and most importantly how to have fun in a unique way.
Along with schools, Jon teaches privately in the Princeton and the Cape May County areas and offers tutoring through Zoom or Skype conference calls.
photo by: Adrianna Palmer