Trombone & Jazz Lessons in Miami
Private instruction for trombonists and jazz musicians in the South Miami area and online—from middle schoolers and high schoolers preparing for auditions to college students and adults who just want to play better.
I'm Gabriel Herrera, a trombonist and educator pursuing my Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Trombone Performance at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music (go Canes!) where I'm a Henry Mancini Institute Fellow and Jazz Trombone Graduate Assistant. My teaching style is centered on clear goals, real repertoire, and feedback you can act on in the practice room that week.
Why study with me?
I've sat on both sides of the audition. As a two-time All-State jazz musician and, more recently, a jazz festival adjudicator and college audition evaluator, I know what panels actually reward—and what quietly costs you points. My audition prep is targeted and puts the music first.
I'm a working arranger, composer, and bandleader, not just a performer. I've written dozens of works for big band, jazz ensemble, and chamber groups performed across the U.S. and, in the summer of 2026, Latvia for the International Trombone Festival. That means I can teach students to understand music—harmony, rhythm, melody, form—not just play the notes on the page.
I perform at the level I teach toward. I've played the Montreux Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center, and the Arsht Center and shared the stage with artists including Maria Schneider, Emmet Cohen, and Ravi Coltrane, and I recently won first place at the International Trombone Association and American Trombone Workshop jazz ensemble competitions with the Frost Jazz Trombone Ensemble. I was previously the principal trombone of the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra.
My teaching approach
I teach people first, music second, and trombone third. Every student arrives with a different background and different goals—a future music major, an adult returning to the horn, a middle schooler chasing a chair—so I meet you where you are and build from there.
That starts with curiosity. Rather than drilling for the sake of robotic perfection, I use questions to help you understand why something works, so you leave each lesson able to keep improving on your own—and actually wanting to. My students don't just play their parts; they sing, count, and listen through them, and they learn the story behind the music. My former teacher Mark Lusk called this "knowing what's on the postcard:" the same way "Paris" brings the Eiffel Tower to mind, every piece carries a specific context and style that should shape how you play it.
On the technical side, we work from clear, measurable lenses (rhythm, pitch, sound, and style) so progress is concrete rather than vague. I'm a firm believer in self-recording: audio and video give you an honest look at everything from your time and tone to your slide technique, breathing, and posture. Expression matters, but it's built on discipline—and discipline is a skill anyone can develop.
What I teach
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Applied Trombone: Tone, technique, style, and musicianship across jazz, classical, and pop, from beginner to collegiate
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Jazz Improvisation: Building vocabulary through transcription, learning tunes, and navigating chord changes (open to all instruments, not just trombone)
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Audition and All-State Preparation: See below
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Arranging and Composition: Learning to write for your own ensemble
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Musicianship and Theory: Sight-reading, musical analysis, and ear training—the foundation that makes everything above faster to learn
I work with students at every level, from beginners and middle schoolers to advanced collegiate and adult musicians.
Audition & All-State preparation
If you're preparing for All-State, All-County, district, or college auditions, this is where my experience pays off directly. We'll build a focused plan around the actual requirements—scales, etudes, prepared excerpts, sight-reading—and rehearse under audition conditions so the real thing feels familiar. As someone who has earned All-State chairs and judged collegiate ensemble auditions, I can tell you where points are won and lost before you walk into the room.
Format and logistics
I teach in-person lessons in the South Miami area (South Miami, Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Dadeland, Kendall, and other neighborhoods nearby) and online for students anywhere. I offer flexible scheduling around the academic calendar in addition to special summer packages.