Common questions
What do lessons cost?
$50 for 30 minutes, $75 for 45 and $100 for an hour, for saxophone, flute or clarinet, in person or online. Materials are included, and you bring the instrument. Most music schools in the Cincinnati area don't publish a rate at all, so if you're comparing, you'll usually have to call them to find out.
Do you teach beginners, or only advanced players?
Both. I teach school students working towards competitions and auditions, adults picking an instrument back up, and gigging players who want to sound better on a Friday night. Lessons start from the music you want to play rather than from a fixed syllabus.
Where do you teach?
In person around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, at the Toedtman School of Music in West Chester, and online. Online lessons work better than most people expect for theory, improvisation and arranging.
How much does a band cost for a wedding?
It's quoted, because the number depends on the date, the venue, how long you need the band and how big the band should be for the room. Tell me those four things and you'll get a number quickly. For a frame, The Knot's 2025 survey put the average live wedding band at $4,500 nationally and $3,500 in the Midwest, with weddings under fifty guests averaging closer to $1,600, so the size of the day moves the number more than anything else.
How far do you travel?
My regular work is within two to three hours of Cincinnati, which covers the whole tristate. I've played as far north as Pennsylvania and as far south as Mississippi, so further is possible. Travel outside the Cincinnati area is quoted with the booking.
What does a book of horn charts cost?
Charts are priced at $15 per horn per tune and sold as a book of 40, so a wedding band pays $1,800 for three horns, $2,400 for four, $3,000 for five and $3,600 for six. Every other kind of band is 20% less: $1,440, $1,920, $2,400 and $2,880 for the same books. Tunes up to five minutes are covered by the book rate, and anything longer costs more, and I'll tell you before I start.
Can you write charts for songs that aren't standards?
That's most of the work. If your band plays it, I can chart it, voiced for the horns you have rather than for the section on the record. I play these gigs myself, so the parts are written to be read on a Saturday night by somebody who got them on Wednesday.
What's Fast Travel?
A three to seven piece band playing video game music live, with the game footage projected behind the band. Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Sonic, Kirby, Pokemon and a long list besides, arranged for a live band. It suits conventions, breweries, private parties and weddings that want something nobody else in the room has seen.
Can I hire more than one of your groups for the same day?
Yes, and it's common. The small group covers dinner and cocktails, the big band covers the dancing, and it's one booking and one point of contact rather than two.
Do you play regularly anywhere I can come hear you?
Every Thursday at Sis' on Monmouth in Newport, from 7 PM to 10 PM, with Rick Kinman and Friends. That's the easiest way to hear how I play before you book anything.