Category: Lessons and Classes

Ed is pleased to offer Private Lessons, Lesson Packages and Masterclasses in person or via Zoom.

Private Lessons

I offer private lessons and lesson packages on saxophone, clarinet, flute, and woodwind doubling. These lessons are designed to offer solutions to instrumental problems that aspiring and full-time professionals might be experiencing. Repertoire representing a multitude of styles including classical, jazz, and commercial music will be incorporated within these lessons.

My years working as a freelancer in Broadway pit bands; symphonic orchestras; show bands; studio work; performing recitals; presenting clinics and masterclasses; teaching woodwinds, chamber music, and jazz at universities; have given me a perspective that I enjoy sharing. My teaching has been greatly influenced by my studies with the legendary saxophonist/clarinetist Joe Allard and master flutist, Tom Nyfenger. Their insightful approaches to artistic woodwind playing while viewing each individual as a unique personality had a profound effect on me as a performer and as a teacher. Additional studies with Eddie Daniels, Ron Reuben, Joe Rabbai, Michael Parloff, Peter Simenauer, Paul Dunkel, Keith Underwood, Bob Mover, Bob Porcelli and Charles McPherson were also very insightful and inspiring. I look forward to working with you.

Each Private Lesson is 90 minutes and the cost is $110.
A Four-Lesson Package is available for $350.
—Packages must be completed within 4 months.

Private Lessons are purchased through PayPal.

Please contact Ed to set up your lesson time after purchase.

Woodwind Doublers & Broadway Masterclass Series

Class I: Preparing for Work in Musical Theater
Class II: Subbing and Breaking into Theater Work
Class III: Day-to-Day Survival Tips When Doing a Show
Class IV: A Broadway Musician’s Guide for Long-Term Success

Dates TBA

Over the past decades, musical theater has become the major employer of woodwind multi-instrumentalists. Whether on Broadway, off-Broadway, regional/ community/dinner theaters, high school/college shows, summer-stock/cruise productions, or as part of a touring company, doublers have the greatest opportunity to gain employment by performing in the orchestra of a musical theater production. Gaining an understanding of how to go about preparing to successfully enter this sector of the music industry and maintain employment throughout one’s career requires more than just playing one’s instruments capably. Having worked on Broadway musicals for over 40 years, I am prepared to share my insights in this area via an extensive look at this discipline in four masterclasses. Each class will be 90 minutes long and offer musical examples from Broadway shows. The total cost for the series of four classes is $100.

This Masterclass Series is presented in real time via Zoom and purchased through PayPal.

Please contact Ed to inform him that you will be joining this masterclass series.

Woodwind Concepts of Joe Allard Masterclass Series

Class I: Embouchure Considerations
Class II: Tongue Position and Articulation
Class III: How to Improve the Breathing Process
Class IV: Overtones, Undertones & Other Warmups

Dates TBA

Joe Allard was one of the most important woodwind performers and teachers during his lifetime. As a saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet instructor at some of the most prestigious music conservatories in the U.S., he literally influenced generations of woodwind artists who were important voices in the classical, jazz, commercial, and recording industries. These classes will offer an insight into Mr. Allard’s saxophone/clarinet pedagogy and provide many exercises and musical examples that saxophonists and clarinetists of any level will benefit from.

Mr. Allard himself was a student of a cross-section of some of the major artists/performers of the first half of the twentieth century: Gaston Hamelin, Daniel Bonade, Ralph McLane, Chester Hazlitt, Augustin Duques, Edmond Allegra, Lyle Bowen and Rudy Wiedoeft. His performances as a clarinetist and saxophonist with every major freelance orchestra in New York as well as the NBC Symphony, Symphony of the Air, The Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra, The Band of America, The Voice of Firestone Orchestra, The Dupont Cavalcade Orchestra, and The Red Nichols and Red Norvo Orchestras allowed him to interact with a variety of instrumentalists and singers. This helped cement his philosophies regarding music and woodwind pedagogy. His students have included such notable players as Michael Brecker, Eddie Daniels, Lawrence Feldman, Steve Grossman, Dave Liebman, Harvey Pittel, Roger Rosenberg, Dave Tofani, Joe Viola, John Bruce Yeh and Pete Yellin. Each class is 90 minutes and the total cost for the series of four classes is $100.

This Masterclass Series is presented in real time via Zoom and purchased through PayPal.

Please contact Ed to inform him that you will be joining this masterclass series.

Art of Woodwind Doubling Masterclass Series

Class I: The Saxophone & How to Become a Chameleon of Styles
Class II: Flute and Clarinet
Class III: The Doubles of the Doubles
Soprano Sax, Bass Clarinet/Eb Clarinet & Piccolo/Alto Flute
Class IV: Mouthpiece & Reed Solutions

Dates TBA

This package of four classes will focus on the single-reed family of instruments: saxophones, clarinets, and flutes. Mastery of any one instrument requires a lifetime of study, practice, and performance. Therefore, developing a level of proficiency on multiple instruments necessitates a profound understanding of the fundamentals that are associated with performing on each of the various instruments. I will explain and demonstrate these underlying differences and provide exercises to enable the multi-reed player to achieve a higher level of performance. Each class is 90 minutes and the total cost for the series of four classes is $100.

This Masterclass Series is presented in real time via Zoom and purchased through PayPal.

Please contact Ed to inform him that you will be joining this masterclass series.

Woodwind Doublers Boot Camp

with Ed Joffe

Special Guest: Yamaha Repair Technician Tomoji Hirakata

Sunday, June 9 – Tuesday, June 11
~ 2024 ~

An intense three-day masterclass totaling 15 hours of instruction covering all aspects of multiple woodwind performance involving saxophones, clarinets, and flutes. This event will be limited to six multiple woodwind participants who are working professionals or college-level students with professional performance aspiration. All participants are expected to attend every session. The classes will be presented at Ed’s home located in Oxford, CT—90 minutes by car from NYC. The topics will include:

Fundamental Concepts for Effective Woodwind Doubling
Warmup Routines
Essential Repertoire—Classical, Commercial & Jazz
The Contemporary Doubler—A Chameleon of Many Styles
Equipment Choices & Maintenance
Reeds—Selection, Preparation & Preservation
Musical Theater—Tips & Survival Techniques
Selected Artists/Recordings to Study

CLASS SCHEDULE

Sunday, 6/9

11am–1pm
Lunch Break
3pm–6pm

Monday, 6/10

*10am–1pm
Lunch Break
4pm–6pm

Tuesday, 6/11

*10am–1pm
**Barbecue Lunch
4pm–6pm

The fee for this three-day intensive class is $200 payable through PayPal at www.Joffewoodwinds.com by 6/1/24.

If hotel accommodations are needed, there are several options close to Oxford, CT, that are reasonable. Please contact Ed directly through the website immediately after registering to discuss lodging, instrumentation, and music to be performed at the class.

*Bagels, muffins, coffee & juice will be offered prior to the class.

**A barbecue lunch will be provided on 6/11.