About Sean
I moved to Philadelphia to study music at University of the Arts where I graduated with a Bachelors of Music in Instrumental Performance (Guitar) as well as a Masters of Arts in Teaching. While at Uarts I was lucky to be able to study all of the specific fields of music which initially drew me to the school; performance, writing, recording, and teaching. I am truly happy to say that all 4 of those are still present in my day-to-day life. I write and perform music with my band, The Phonies as well as solo music and various collaborations with other Philadelphia songwriters. I’ve been lucky to perform music in a wide variety of styles. I have been teaching private lessons (originally only guitar and piano) for 8 years. My goal in teaching music is to help each student reach their musical goal, no matter what they may be. If you aren’t quite sure, that’s ok too! I’ll help to figure it out. No matter what goals my student may have I always try to approach the material in a way that empowers the student to learn more information on their own.
"No matter what goals my student may have I always try to approach the material in a way that empowers the student to learn more information on their own."
Sean performing with The Chris Paterno Band
When did you start playing music, what brought you to it?
At the age of 10 I first started playing percussion in my elementary school concert band in Hightstown, New Jersey. Shortly after, my parents signed me up for drum lessons at a local music store where I transitioned to learning drum set. At the age of 12 I started a band with my neighbor and brother, we covered rock songs we all listened to a lot. We ended up gigging and staying together for about 6 years. Throughout this time I became more and more interested in music, I loved playing it, listening to it, and especially loved playing live shows. In an effort to be able to play more music I started teaching myself guitar with the help of YouTube and my younger brother who played bass in our band. As high school began I had significantly improved on guitar and started playing guitar instead of drums on some songs in my band. I had also started teaching myself piano and bass. Around this time I discovered that I could record myself using a recording program, Mixcraft, on my home computer. I began recording songs that I loved to play, I would record the guitar, then bass, drums, keyboard, and vocals. All throughout the process of recording a song I’d constantly have to practice the instrument to be able to record the part so I found myself in a constant cycle of learning, practicing, then recording songs that I liked. I continued to do this throughout most of high school. When I was a Junior in high school I had decided what I had always known, I wanted to study music in college. This prompted me to join the high school music program for the first time. I joined the jazz band on guitar, this was my first exposure to jazz and I grew to love it. As a senior in high school, I decided to take as much music as possible so I took up trumpet and joined the concert band and Double Bass for the Wind Ensemble. I took AP music theory and continued playing in the jazz band. Outside of school, my band was still playing cover gigs, I became the lead singer of the group, and I started to write original music for us to play. There were so many different and new styles of music at this time in my life, I tried to learn from and understand each different musical situation I found myself in.
What other instruments, aside from the ones you teach, have you played before?
Instruments I play in addition to the ones mentioned in my previous response: Banjo, Melodica, Ukulele, Mandolin, Saxophone (Alto, Tenor, Bari), Clarinet, French Horn, Trombone, and Cello. I have only performed on the Banjo and Mandolin, the rest of the instruments I picked up in college while studying music education. I have an understanding of the necessary techniques to create a good and consistent sound but lack the technical ability of a professional player.
What advice could you give to someone who has just begun learning music?
Playing and practicing music alone is important but playing music with others is where the fun really starts and the learning truly begins.
What is a musical obstacle that you remember overcoming? How did you overcome it?
When I began learning jazz guitar I found many of the chord shapes very difficult to play. A combination of practicing a lot and varying the situations where I tried to use the difficult chords led me to be able to use them fluidly in most musical situations.
What are some musical goals you hope to achieve in the future?
My goal as a musician is create music that makes people feel an emotional connection to what they’re hearing. I want people to feel a connection to me and my ideas through my music.
What are some of your favorite teaching moments?
My favorite moments teaching are when a student makes a break through with something they’ve been working hard at. Breaking down musical barriers taught me to see life differently. When a challenge comes up in my life, I approach it the same way I approach practicing a difficult bit of music. First, I try it, then if I'm unsuccessful, I examine exactly what prevented me from reaching success and I work at that aspect of what I'm trying to accomplish. Then I try again, and keep repeating the process until I've overcome that difficulty. Sometimes it may take failing 100 times before I finally get it. I've learned, through music, to never give up and to approach problems logically, with the confidence that I can overcome them.
What style(s) of music do you like to play the most? Why?
I enjoy playing Funk, Jazz, Rock, Folk/Indie, and World music the most. I enjoy playing music that has a strong pulse and interesting rhythms because that music tends to draw people in, makes people want to dance. When I'm playing to a room of people and the energy in the room is high, I can feel it. The band feeds off of that energy and it results in the performance being a bit even more fun.