Education

"Can you really teach jazz? In the space of three hours, Arriale laid my mind to rest. She possesses that rare gift of reducing complex and intangible issues to inspirational basics."   –The London Times

Lynne Arriale is currently Professor of Jazz Piano and Director of Small Ensembles at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville and a Yamaha Artist. She is dedicated to helping students discover and develop their unique musical gifts and learn the art of jazz improvisation.

Lynne also teaches privately, either in person, by phone or Skype and would be happy to discuss the possibility of your taking lessons with her.

Workshops & Clinics

Lynne Arriale has the unique ability to articulate the essential elements of the process of becoming a jazz musician.  Ms. Arriale has taught for over twenty years and is able to express ideas clearly and work with students in an engaging, compassionate manner.  These are some of the topics that have been addressed in past clinics ranging from one-hour presentations to three-day workshops. 


PRACTICE TECHNIQUES

Students will learn what to practice and how much time to spend on various areas of practice.  They will learn how to thoroughly prepare something until it is correct, mastering each step.  Additional topics will include:

  • Exploring ways to practice the instrument

  • Executing an exercise without stress or strain

  • Breaking the exercise down into manageable pieces

  • Organizing practice time effectively:  addressing technical practice, learning jazz scales, jazz harmony, improving time and swing feel

  • Internal practice—doing an exercise mentally before it is attempted on the instrument facilitating improved mental engagement during practice

  • Learning to play what we hear in our minds

  • The importance of singing to improve melodic playing

  • Improving note choice; solidifying the connection to the chord tones


AVOIDING INJURIES

Good physical technique and physical health are essential factors in avoiding injuries. Proper posture, tension release, movement and breathing will be discussed and demonstrated.


DEVELOPING A REPERTOIRE

  • The importance of developing a repertoire of standard tunes; preparing students for professional engagements

  • Speeding up the process of learning tunes


GROUP PRACTICE TECHNIQUES

Topics will include:  group interaction, arranging, group time feel, tempo considerations, effective rehearsal communication, accompanying of soloists, harmonic considerations, use of dynamics, balancing of group energy, improved focus of attention during rehearsals as well as performances and practicing for a performance.


MUSIC BUSINESS—STARTING A GROUP AND GETTING GIGS

  • Communicating effectively with a club owner or venue promoter

  • Projecting a professional manner at all times and organizing details of the engagement with members of the group

Testimonials

 

UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS

Lynne Arriale conducted a jazz workshop for our jazz theory class at the University of New Orleans.  In my opinion , it was one of the best workshops that we’ve presented at UNO.  Lynne was very organized in her approach and communicated easily to a variety of students with various levels of proficiency.  She was able to convey ideas and musical issues that are sometimes difficult to express in words.  I feel from the response of the students attending that they benefited greatly from the workshop.  Lynne also gave an outstanding performance with one of our jazz combos as part of our “Jazz at the Sandbar” concert series.

I believe that Lynne Arriale is not only a gifted performer, but a highly effective educator as well.

Steve Masakowski
Coca-Cola Endowed Chair of Jazz Studies
UNO Department of Music
New Orleans, Lousiana

DRAKE UNIVERSITY

In the masterclass presented the following morning for a student jazz combo, the audience was afforded a rare opportunity to learn firsthand about Professor Arriale’s approach to effective rehearsal, performance, and communication within the small ensemble setting. Professor Arriale possesses a rare gift for communicating elusive concepts through effective analogy and metaphor. Her thoughts on human communication and expression were enlightening and could well be applied to fields other than music; this aspect of her teaching is yet another indicator of the depth, range, and universal truth of her approach to pedagogy. Her comments to the student ensemble led to positive changes that were immediately apparent.

Professor Arriale’s visit to Drake University was positive in every respect. She is an artist and teacher of the highest order and I eagerly anticipate future visits by this admirable artist."

Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas Roth, DMA
Associate Professor of Piano
Department of Music

PALM BEACH STATE COLLEGE

“Over the last two years, our jazz students have had the privilege of having Lynne Arriale come to our school a couple of times and work with them in their combos.  We have a wide variety of ability levels and experience in the groups so getting them to enjoy success in this genre is quite the challenge.  What a masterful teacher!  She quickly diagnosed fundamental problems that all beginning jazz students face such as finding the “right” notes when improvising, time issues and ensemble playing (as well as a few others) and gave them some very simple insightful solutions.  Ms. Arriale patiently reinforced these solutions by having the students demonstrate each of the exercises or tips for the individual problem.  Not only that, but she managed to “cut to the chase” while smiling and staying very positive!    All-in-all we couldn’t have asked for anyone better than Lynne!"

David L. Gibble
Associate Professor of Music
Palm Beach State College
West Palm Beach, FL