Hello everyone! I’m Matt Howard, Principal Percussionist with the LA Philharmonic and I wanted to share with you the methods and techniques I’ve incorporated into my process to help me perform at the highest possible level, with the most consistency and ease. 

While at the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL, I developed a method and plan to help me reach my peak when I needed to execute. I found that it was always a guessing game and that there were way too many variables in auditioning/performing, so I decided to turn as many of those variables into constants. I dove deep into the world of sports psychology and saw a phenomenal number of parallels to what musicians have to do, and decided to use that as my base. With my process, not only was I able to win an amazing job with my hometown orchestra, but I am still using these methods for other aspects of the job as well.

We will be focusing a majority of our time on identifying technical frustrations and laying out a very clear plan on how to work your way to total confidence. Besides the technical aspect of playing, we will also focus on the mind and how to build your mental endurance and strength. Lessons will also include sight-reading, mock auditions, playing duets, and chopping out. There are no skipping any steps in the process and I will be right there to help you out along the way. Not only will you get to the highest level of confidence, but you will also have a ton of fun and find new ways to rediscover and love playing percussion!