Lessons for Sincere Musicians

Deep, conservatory-level work in a relaxed, respectful setting

• Saxophonists, improvisers, composers, and all musicians welcome.

• Ear training, phrasing, nuance, intentionality, and creativity are core focuses.

Recent students are at Berklee College of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Towson University, Baltimore School for the Arts, along with professional peformers and teachers on the Baltimore jazz scene and beyond.

“The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.”

―Mary Oliver

Common Topics

Liminality

Resonance

Melodic Improvisation

Playing Alone / Playing Together

How to Compellingly Play by Ear

Sound CONCEPT and Sound PRODUCTION

The Myth of “Control” in Our Pursuit of Mastery

Lyrical Phrasing vs. Mechanical Phrasing

How to Play with Clarity and Conviction

What is a Musical Idea?

Form, Function, Flow

Embodiment

Saxophonists

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY A $1500 MOUTHPIECE TO SOUND BEAUTIFUL!!!

enrich your sound production (physical) and sound conception (imagination)

dial in desirable resistance for a resonant, flexible, and supported tone

improve breath support / tongue position / embouchure / articulation

define and develop deeper “projection”, “presence”, and “power”

learn the role of our equipment in our search for beauty

explore colors, textures, and timbres

connect your ears to your horn

“SING!”

Improvisers

Whether STUDYING an established musical idiom or INNOVATING your own personal musical language, a visceral connection to musical resonance and creative flow is imperative.

Elevate your collaborative potential, bringing depth and sensitivity to any style or instrumentation

Develop the ability to sustain creative flow in a room alone with your instrument

explore the elements of form from an open and creative mindset

develop spontaneous ideas with clarity and intention

connect your ears with your instrument

embody your music

“PHRASE!”

"Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself."

—Miles Davis

It is a great honor to nuture musicians along their growing process

Recent teaching positions (2023-present) include:

• Adjunct employment at Towson as the jazz saxophone and jazz composition instructor (Spring 2025),

• Three consecutive semesters as a guest lecturer at Peabody Conservatory (subbing for Warren Wolf’s improvisation classes and advanced private students)

• 2023-present at Baltimore School for the Arts

A Few of My Recent Students

As crucial as the institutional work has been in connecting me with a scene of serious young music students…

I’ve also spent 15+ years helping musicians (beginners…advanced…professionals…artists…) plunge into the deep end of their creative and technical pursuits in my home teaching studio.

We have wonderful conversations on the creative process in motion:

what is swing? what is melody? what is phrasing? what is an idea?

The beautiful thing about ALL of these vast, eternal, formless and shapeless topics is that there's no singular method by which we can "figure it out" once and for all. There's no end in sight. No answer, no conclusion. It's alive and in perpetual flux.

You have to pick up your instrument and put sound in motion. Otherwise, what would be the point?

Your Teacher:

Baltimore-native Derrick Michaels is a tenor saxophonist and improviser with a deep sound and a bold, imaginative presence in the creative music community. With roots in both the lyrical and exploratory branches of the creative saxophone tradition, his wide expressive palette brings a soulful, melodic sincerity to a wide range of musical environments. 

He has been described by Jazz Weekly as a “thick-toned tenorist”, and by Downbeat magazine as wielding a “large sound and free flowing style”. The Baltimore Jazz Alliance says: “Derrick Michaels' saxophone playing comes right out of his soul; the instrument sounds like a human voice.”

(CLICK HERE TO READ PERFORMANCE BIO)

Rates:

Intensive sessions of 2+ hrs are $150 and have been the most popular option for 5+ years for good reason!

One-hour sessions are $100 and reserved for recurring students

“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet