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Retired college professor, 20+ years experience
Brian R.

5.0 (2 ratings)

2 hours tutoring

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Hourly Rate: $60
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Response time: 13 hours

About Brian

Bio

All my degrees (Penn State BMus '86, Cornell MFA '91 and DMA '99) are in music composition and theory. My background combines experience in classical and popular styles, and I've published articles on the music of Harrison Birtwistle and King Crimson. I've taught music theory part-time at Ithaca College, Cornell University, and the College of the Holy Cross, and I've taught it full-time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, and Northeastern University. (In a weird...

All my degrees (Penn State BMus '86, Cornell MFA '91 and DMA '99) are in music composition and theory. My background combines experience in classical and popular styles, and I've published articles on the music of Harrison Birtwistle and King Crimson. I've taught music theory part-time at Ithaca College, Cornell University, and the College of the Holy Cross, and I've taught it full-time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, and Northeastern University. (In a weird twist of the job market, I taught music history for eight years at Northeastern, so I can help you with that as well.)
While my teaching load has been primarily classroom teaching, over the years I've worked with dozens of students one-on-one. I always strive to connect a student's prior experience of music with the course material, and to help them recognize the ways that the classical tradition still influences the choices of songwriters today.
Most of my experience has been working with undergraduate students of traditional age, but I'm always happy to help people of any age who want to understand how music is organized, and how (and how much) traditional music theory applies to their favorite music. Textbooks tend to present music theory as if it's a stable, logical, scientific system, but in reality it's a hodgepodge of different ideas from different regions, different eras, different cultures ... so don't feel bad if it seems confusing! I'm here to help you sort it out.

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Education

The Pennsylvania State University
Music Composition
Cornell University
Masters
Cornell University
PhD

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Approved Subjects

Composition (Music)

Composition (Music)

All my degrees (Penn State BMus '86, Cornell University MFA '91 and DMA '99) are in Music Composition and Theory. I've taught composition lessons at classes Cornell University (2000–2002), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2002–2006), Middlebury College (2007–2009), and Northeastern University (2009–2017). Before college, my performing activity was equally divided between classical and popular music, and I'm always happy to help students find their own personal style that reflects their own musical values. My works have been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, Boston Musica Viva, the New England Philharmonic, the Quartetto Paul Klee (Venezia), the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Chamber Players of the League/ISCM, and Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble. The MIT Wind Ensemble's performance, led by Fred Harris, recorded my work *The Congress of the Insomniacs*, which you can hear on Spotify.
Ear Training

Ear Training

All my degrees (Penn State BMus '86, Cornell University MFA '91 and DMA '99) are in Music Composition and Theory. I taught music theory part time at Ithaca College (1999–2000), Cornell University (2000–2002) and at College of the Holy Cross (2006–2007), and full-time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2002–2006), Middlebury College (2007–2009), and Northeastern University (2017–2025). Most of my classroom teaching experience centers on the European classical tradition, but I've also taught songwriting (at Middlebury and Northeastern), so I'm also happy to talk about the ways that contemporary songwriting sometimes diverges from that classical tradition.
Music History

Music History

Although my specialized training is in music composition and theory, through a weird fluke of the job market I wound up teaching music history courses at Northeastern University for seven years (2009–2016), including the European Classical tradition, American music from 1600 to 1945, and American popular music since 1945 (and even one semester teaching World Music). Additionally, a good knowledge of music history is essential to understanding the evolution of musical styles, and so it's been a continuing interest even after my classroom teaching assignments shifted to music theory (because the latter can seem maddeningly arbitrary if you don't understand the various shifts in musical style at different times in different places).
Songwriting

Songwriting

For the past eight years (2017–2025), I've taught an Introduction to Songwriting course at Northeastern University. As much as possible, I take a style-agnostic approach, to help students discover the songwriting tools and techniques most relevant to their own interests. Although I'm fluent in conventional staff notation, I know full well that it's not really a prerequisite to writing great songs, so I specialize in teaching as much music theory as possible *without* staff notation. I've developed dozens of diagrams to illustrate ideas about melodic architecture, different kinds of syncopation, and how these interact with chord progressions. In the classroom, I try to draw examples from as wide a range of styles and decades as I can; working one-on-one, I'm happy to tailor the examples to a student's preferences.
Music Theory
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Knowledgeable, super professional and patient tutor.

As an international DMA student preparing for my DMA theory oral exam, I am not a theory major but a violin performance major. Although I received a high grade in Advanced Music Analysis of Contemporary Music, I still felt uncertain and overwhelmed by the broad scope of the oral exam, and I didn’t know where to begin my preparation. Brian explained everything in a highly professional yet easy-to-understand way, which helped clear up my confusion. Before each lesson, he also thoughtfully prepared materials, which I believe is crucial for efficient discussions. Thanks to this, we were able to dive right into the subject matter from the very first hour of our lesson.

Yu, 2 lessons with Brian
Hourly Rate: $60
Response time: 13 hours
Contact Brian