Once again, I'm getting close to capacity; I have no remaining spots at this moment besides the classes that meet between 11:00 a.m. and 1 p.m. on "A" days, and those have already been proposed to a middle school. It's possible that I'll have a few openings in the spring, but I won't know until the semester starts at the college in mid-January.

(The only way to guarantee a spot with me is to start over the summer. If you'd like a copy of my summer lesson letter [which comes out in April or May each year], send me an email and I'll get you one.)

I teach for three entities: The Garland Independent School District, Collin College (Spring Creek Campus in Plano) and my home studio in Garland. During the year, the GISD schools in which I teach are Coyle, Hudson and Schrade middle schools and Rowlett, Sachse and Naaman Forest high schools. (I have also taught at Garland, Lakeview Centennial and North Garland high schools and Webb Middle School in the recent past, and may do so again in the future, though not likely this year.)

How much are lessons?

The current rates are as follows: Garland ISD and home studio--$16.00 per half-hour; former Brook Mays students--$20 per half-hour. Collin--tuition depends on in-county or out-of-county tuition and whether or not 1-credit lessons or 2-credit lessons are selected.

How long are lessons?

Lessons are thirty minutes at the home studio (unless an hour is arranged) and either 25 or 50 minutes at Collin, depending on the number of credit hours selected. In the GISD, lessons go as follows: During-school lessons at all high schools except Rowlett/Sachse are 1/3 of the class period (approximately 30 minutes) and 30 minutes at Rowlett/Sachse; in the middle schools, they are for half the class period except for the Honor Band period (fourth period, or fifth at Coyle), when they are for either one-third or one-fourth of the class period, depending on whether that period encompasses three or four lunch periods. All before- or after-school lessons at all levels are thirty minutes, as are summer lessons, unless you request an hour. (Are you confused yet? You should try putting my schedule together every year!)

Do we have to take lessons every week?

I will occasionally take students on an every-other-week basis, but only if it fits my schedule and does not cause me to have to sit around at a school during that alternate week. If another student can be found to alternate with you, or if I am at a completely different school every other week due to high school block scheduling, I will certainly accept such an arrangement.

However, during the summer, I am well aware that people will miss some weeks due to camps, family vacations, etc.; as long as I know about the absence in advance, you will not be charged for that lesson.

Won't the student get behind from missing part of band class every week?

Not at all; unlike most academic classes, where new information is taught nearly every day, music is taught by repetition of many similar concepts until they are perfected. If anything, students in lessons tend to be ahead of the class because they receive individualized attention and work at their own pace. This is especially true at the beginner level, where most of the students in lessons get to advance far ahead of the class.

What happens in case of a family emergency, or if the student wakes up sick on a lesson day?

I am aware that these things will sometimes happen; if so, you may simply call my cell phone (the number of which will be provided to you) and leave me a voice mail, which will alert me to your absence and will result in your not being charged for that lesson. If you are the first lesson of the day at your particular location, you may also call me at home to make sure I don't get there early for no reason.

How can you possibly be full by the first week of school each year?

Well, it works like this: My top priority is given to the students who've taken lessons over the summer; they keep me in food during the lean parts of the year, and they usually tend to just continue from summer to fall with minimal interruption. Second priority goes to those students who took from me last spring; I'm usually able to have a spot saved for them even if they aren't able to take over the summer, though I have run out a few times. By the time I get done scheduling those two groups of people, there's not much room left for anyone else, especially when you consider that I teach at eight schools and the college and have to deal with all those differing class schedules, which never quite fit together. So again, if you'd like to have a spot with me in the fall, the only guaranteed way to do so is to start in the summer.

So how long have you been doing this, anyway?

I've been teaching saxophone in the Garland ISD for longer than I want to remember. ;-) I've been on faculty at Collin since Fall 1993 (I started teaching saxophone there at that time, and began directing Jazz Combo Too in Fall 1997 and Jazz Combo PM when it was created in Spring 2003), I taught at Brook Mays in Plano from Summer 1995 until the store's closing in November, 2006, and I opened up my home studio in 1997, when I first moved into a house.