Find Out More About Mark and Benefits of Study
Everything from Mark's credentials to what you will get out of studying with him.
About Mark
Mark Thompson is a passionate music educator dedicated to promoting growth in individual artistic endeavours. Achieving communication with students and facilitating artistic growth in the individual are his lifelong goals.
He holds Bachelor and Masters Degrees in performance from The University of Toronto as well as a professional studies certificate from
The Mannes College of Music in New York City.
His performance credentials are vast- from being the only Canadian clarinetist to perform a solo recital at Carnegie Hall to performing and touring internationally with Quartetto Gelato and the Penderecki String Quartet to performing with many of Canada’s orchestras including The Toronto Symphony. He has been heard on CBC and National Public Radio as well as the Disney Channel.
As a senior woodwind examiner for the Royal Conservatory, he has had the privilege of conducting hundreds of examinations in every province in Canada as well as in The United States. As a music festival clinician, he has adjudicated over 100 festivals in the past 15 years. His private students greatly benefit from his continual perspective of our national music community.
Mark Thompson has been teaching clarinet, saxophone and flute for the past 25 years. He has worked with all levels of students as well as all ages-from 5 to 90 years old! He has a vast knowledge of woodwind pedagogy which he is able to share effectively according to the needs of each individual student.
He has prepared many students for examinations, festivals, auditions and recitals. His students have achieved high results in Royal Conservatory examinations as well as completing successful auditions for youth orchestras and jazz bands. Some of his students have earned Gold medals from the Royal Conservatory. In addition to this, he has given instruction to professional doublers who work at festivals like Shaw and Stratford. For students needing rudimentary theory, harmony and history Mark is able to help students achieve the best result they can while keeping it fun and interesting!
Every student is different and not all take part in competitive activities and Mark enjoys working with enthusiastic amateurs who want to learn the love of music through playing a woodwind instrument!
Benefits of Study
1. Strengthen Breathing
This one is probably the most obvious (although it’s not necessarily the most important for everyone), but playing on a wind instrument for several sessions a week forces you to be more conscious of just about every aspect of breathing!
From a relaxed and open inhalation to a controlled and precise exhale, woodwind instruments can give your lungs a great respiratory workout!
Woodwinds use their full lung capacity, but must also blow the air at a much higher speed (think of blowing cold air vs. warm air on your hand), and so they must create more pressure in their oral cavity and engage muscles in their abdomen and lower back.
No matter which instrument you play, breathing for a wind instrument is a practiced skill – you must be relaxed (to breath as deeply as possible and not introduce excess tension) and yet very decisive (sometimes you only have a small amount of time to breath).
3. Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
Woodwind instruments don’t just require a lot of air – they require both finger dexterity and coordination with the eyes, tongue, and breath. This kind of dexterity forces you to focus on motions (and muscles) that you probably have never thought of, and require lots of attentive, slow repetitions to reliably build these new neural pathways. Developing fine motor skills isn’t just for video games anymore!
5. Develop Confidence and Calmness Under Pressure
Nothing can strike fear in the heart of beginning wind players than that dreaded word: solo.
Learning how to be calm and function well under pressure is yet another health benefit of learning a wind instrument. The reason is simple – since wind instruments are powered by your air, you must be able to relax and take deep breaths even if you are nervous or under pressure.
Paying attention to the signs of nervousness and adrenalin and combating those physical and mental “cures” is a useful skill for staying relaxed under pressure.
This type of awareness can help with other stressful personal and professional situations, and awareness of your breathing in this manner is very similar in some respects to the kind of inward attention that is practiced during meditation.
2. Strengthen Core Muscles and Improve Posture
The constant inhalation and exhalation of playing a wind instrument will give not only your lungs and diaphragm a workout, but it will also force you to use your abdominal and core muscles in a much more active way than watching TV.
Wind instruments that require a high airspeed on exhalation ,
force you to engage these muscles, even more, to properly “support” your sound.
This gives your core muscles an extra bit of a workout.
In order to do all this breathing and hold up 2-10 pound instrument (sometimes in a very awkward way), it’s also important that wind musicians pay close attention to their posture.
While it is possible to play just about any wind instrument slouching, it’s very uncomfortable and will make breathing quite difficult!
Wind instrumentalists generally spend a few minutes each time they practice going through a quick checklist of things like breathing and posture, to make sure that they are second nature.
These self-checks commonly bleed over into “real life”, and can help those that sit at a desk or are on their feet for many hours a day to maintain good posture.
4. Refine Goal Setting Skills
Sometimes it’s easy to get in a rut – just following a mindless routine day in and day out, without really moving forward.
Picking up a wind instrument
(especially if you’ve never played one before) forces you to focus on both small things (lip position, finger motion) and big things (how do I hold the instrument, how do I breath in a lot of air?).
Learning any instrument is really learning the art of practice – and once you learn how to break down a problem (even one that seems insurmountable) into small parts, it’s easy to apply that skill to all sorts of things in your life.
Contrary to what you may see in movies, practicing a musical instrument isn’t being locked away alone for 8 hours a day, it is simply learning the art of setting (and achieving) small goals – make one note sound good, now make two notes sound good, now move between those two notes, etc. over many weeks, months, and years.
6. Relieve Stress
When all is said, and done, though, making music and playing an instrument is just FUN!
Whether you’re a very accomplished clarinet, flute or saxophone player
or just starting out, you can still have fun when you’re playing – and having fun is a great health benefit on top of all the others that have been mentioned.
Spending a few hours a week – whether you’re alone or in a band or orchestra– just making music and enjoying the comradery that comes with ensemble playing can be a great respite from the constant stress of daily life.
While playing a wind instrument may seem a great way to make music – it really is so much more!
Making music and learning an instrument has long been known to have many neurological and social benefits, and playing a wind instrument gives you those benefits plus cardiovascular and respiratory benefits as well!
1. Strengthen Breathing
This one is probably the most obvious (although it’s not necessarily the most important for everyone), but playing on a wind instrument for several sessions a week forces you to be more conscious of just about every aspect of breathing!
From a relaxed and open inhalation to a controlled and precise exhale, woodwind instruments can give your lungs a great respiratory workout!
Woodwinds use their full lung capacity, but must also blow the air at a much higher speed (think of blowing cold air vs. warm air on your hand), and so they must create more pressure in their oral cavity and engage muscles in their abdomen and lower back.
No matter which instrument you play, breathing for a wind instrument is a practiced skill – you must be relaxed (to breath as deeply as possible and not introduce excess tension) and yet very decisive (sometimes you only have a small amount of time to breath).
2. Strengthen Core Muscles and Improve Posture
The constant inhalation and exhalation of playing a wind instrument will give not only your lungs and diaphragm a workout, but it will also force you to use your abdominal and core muscles in a much more active way than watching TV.
Wind instruments that require a high airspeed on exhalation ,
force you to engage these muscles, even more, to properly “support” your sound.
This gives your core muscles an extra bit of a workout.
In order to do all this breathing and hold up 2-10 pound instrument (sometimes in a very awkward way), it’s also important that wind musicians pay close attention to their posture.
While it is possible to play just about any wind instrument slouching, it’s very uncomfortable and will make breathing quite difficult!
Wind instrumentalists generally spend a few minutes each time they practice going through a quick checklist of things like breathing and posture, to make sure that they are second nature.
These self-checks commonly bleed over into “real life”, and can help those that sit at a desk or are on their feet for many hours a day to maintain good posture.
3. Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
Woodwind instruments don’t just require a lot of air – they require both finger dexterity and coordination with the eyes, tongue, and breath. This kind of dexterity forces you to focus on motions (and muscles) that you probably have never thought of, and require lots of attentive, slow repetitions to reliably build these new neural pathways. Developing fine motor skills isn’t just for video games anymore!
4. Refine Goal Setting Skills
Sometimes it’s easy to get in a rut – just following a mindless routine day in and day out, without really moving forward.
Picking up a wind instrument
(especially if you’ve never played one before) forces you to focus on both small things (lip position, finger motion) and big things (how do I hold the instrument, how do I breath in a lot of air?).
Learning any instrument is really learning the art of practice – and once you learn how to break down a problem (even one that seems insurmountable) into small parts, it’s easy to apply that skill to all sorts of things in your life.
Contrary to what you may see in movies, practicing a musical instrument isn’t being locked away alone for 8 hours a day, it is simply learning the art of setting (and achieving) small goals – make one note sound good, now make two notes sound good, now move between those two notes, etc. over many weeks, months, and years.
5. Develop Confidence and Calmness Under Pressure
Nothing can strike fear in the heart of beginning wind players than that dreaded word: solo.
Learning how to be calm and function well under pressure is yet another health benefit of learning a wind instrument. The reason is simple – since wind instruments are powered by your air, you must be able to relax and take deep breaths even if you are nervous or under pressure.
Paying attention to the signs of nervousness and adrenalin and combating those physical and mental “cures” is a useful skill for staying relaxed under pressure.
This type of awareness can help with other stressful personal and professional situations, and awareness of your breathing in this manner is very similar in some respects to the kind of inward attention that is practiced during meditation.
6. Relieve Stress
When all is said, and done, though, making music and playing an instrument is just FUN!
Whether you’re a very accomplished clarinet, flute or saxophone player
or just starting out, you can still have fun when you’re playing – and having fun is a great health benefit on top of all the others that have been mentioned.
Spending a few hours a week – whether you’re alone or in a band or orchestra– just making music and enjoying the comradery that comes with ensemble playing can be a great respite from the constant stress of daily life.
While playing a wind instrument may seem a great way to make music – it really is so much more!
Making music and learning an instrument has long been known to have many neurological and social benefits, and playing a wind instrument gives you those benefits plus cardiovascular and respiratory benefits as well!
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers To Commonly Questions
How long are lessons?
It depends on the students age and level. Younger students sometimes need shorter lessons, but this can be determined by evaluating the student at the interview.Lessons range from 30 minutes up to 90 minutes.
How long should i practice for?
Recommended practice amount is 5 days a week. For beginners, 20-30 minutes per day is sufficient, while more advanced students practice up to 2 hours daily.
Will I need my own instrument to practice at home?
Yes. For beginners, sometimes a rental is sufficient and if deciding to purchase, a lot of rental places give credit towards that purchase.
Will I need to purchase books?
Yes, especially for rudiments, harmony and history. Instrumental books can be purchased for the student depending on the teachers recommendation. Supplementary exercises for instrumental lessons are sometimes provided by the teacher.
How is payment provided?
Lessons are paid in quarterly, or by the term in instalments. Cost of the lessons is determined by level and length of lesson.
What do you do about a student lacking enthusiasm and direction?
As a lifelong educator, it is my responsibility and great pleasure to encourage and introduce material to students that helps them to improve and experience the joy of music making.We are all different, and the individual is the most important part of this vital process!