About Austin
Austin Haag is a Portland, OR based private music instructor and composer for media.
Austin has been performing as a freelance bassist in musicals, bands, and community orchestras for 14 years. After earning B.A. and M.Mus in Music Education from the University of Oregon School of Music, he is a trained instructor of all basic band and orchestra instruments, has a broad knowledge of western and world music, and has been composing music for his students and media ever since.
Teaching Philosophy
Austin’s approach to music education combines tried and true methods with a new focus on each student’s needs. One-size-fits-all lesson plans can’t be expected to cater to each students needs, so when a problem arises, or the traditional methods lack, a new piece of music or exercise will be composed for that student.
If the student has expectations to perform (ie. Band, Orchestra, Choir students), Austin uses a repertoire based lesson plan, where the student learns music theory relevant to the next performance. That way, more time is spent developing skills with the instrument - and the theory discussed is the most pertinent.