NOTE FROM LUCY As I adjust to a career change, regular private lesson offerings are suspended at this time. Inquiry regarding short-term instruction is welcome. Thank you!
All lessons account for the student's background, learning needs, musical goals.
Lucy provides the following services:
Flute lessons
Oboe lessons
Bassoon lessons
Clarinet lessons
Saxophone lessons
Multiple woodwind lessons
Clarinet/Saxophone reed adjustment consultation
Oboe/Bassoon reed making & adjustment consultation
Jazz improvisation lessons (saxophone-oriented, Cl. & Fl. encouraged)
Music Theory & Ear Training lessons (private or group)
Drum Major Training (private or group)
Rates (weekly):
30 minute lesson/consultation: $20
60 minute lesson/consultation: $40
No charge for lesson cancellation with 24-hour notice or extenuating circumstances, full charge otherwise.
If a student/family chooses to opt for more than 60 minutes of lesson time a week, a $5 deduction will be made per additional half hour (includes all single hour lessons in multiple student households).
Group session pricing: inquire directly
Reed pricing & availability: inquire directly
Acme Thunderer whistle (new): $10
Payment accepted by check or through PayPal, weekly or monthly.
For additional conditions, reach out to Lucy to set up a 1 hour trial lesson.
Lucy is willing to teach in person lessons in her own studio (Springfield) in the student's home, or in an alternative third location, depending on student preference. Parents are welcome and encouraged to observe any lessons.
Rates may be adjusted on an individual basis to accommodate family income.
Header photograph is owned by Springfield Public Schools District #186 (IL). Pictured: Lucy Yockey with a multiple woodwinds studio member, Chicago: Teen Edition, Springfield High School (2024).
Pictured: Lucy Yockey
Photograph by Cass Wulf, Cass Wulf Photo Co.
Having been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Lucy fully understands the critical need for sensitivity to chronic health conditions and their impact in performing arts instruction. She has coached students with physical disabilities to great success, including ILMEA All-State positions and admission into collegiate music performance degree programs. To ensure healthy and sustainable performance and practice techniques, students are encouraged to be open regarding their needs so that proper accommodations and modifications may be arranged.
Students of all levels including beginners, advancing musicians, and students preparing to attend music school are encouraged to inquire! Through her teaching, Lucy cultivates the musical development of her students with the central goal of empowering each student to grow comprehensively as a musician, emphasizing such aspects as expression, technique, stylistic interpretation, sustainable performance practice, theoretical analysis, and the application of aural skills, none of which require natural talent or aptitude, and all of which are accessible to everyone. Lucy's pedagogical methods for each instrument have been informed by her years as an educator, performer, and learner. A typical lesson experience may involve technical exercises, etude study, solo performance, sight reading, or duets/chamber music, but Lucy seeks to cater to the unique needs and desires of each student, and will not force students to play anything they do not want to, nor assign an unreasonable amount of practice material. Rather, she will individually tailor her instruction to help each student achieve own goals. Students will not be expected to purchase etude/method books or solo repertoire, though it is not discouraged.
Lucy does not currently organize studio recitals or hold instrumental studio group classes, but hopes to introduce these optinons, given sufficient interest and availability.
Lucy's greatest passion other than teaching music is honing her skills on musical instruments in the flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, tin whistle, and ocarina families, among others. A doubler primarily, with collegiate experience in oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, and flute, Lucy equips students with the conceptual framework necessary to distinguish the technical differences between any family of woodwind instruments, as well as the ability to succeed at navigating these various aspects.
For each instrument pursued, students are taught to internalize the relationship between the instrument and their body, understand the fundamental operating mechanics of each instrument, play with a characteristic tone in a sustainable manner, gain literacy of instrument-specific language, and acquire technical proficiency to the degree that they are able to perform repertoire on par with their developmental level as a musician. An essential area of focus for the Multiple Woodwinds artist is the study of various styles, which is crucial for musical theatre pit orchestra instrumentalists. Lucy has familiarity with jazz/blues and derivative styles, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazillian styles, Klezmer (clarinet), contemporary commercial styles, and more.
Only students with well-refined skills on at least one woodwind instrument and a consistent, devoted passion for music will be considered.
Pictured: Lucille Yockey (Woodwinds), Joe DeMaria (Woodwinds), George Siegle (Piano)
Multiple Woodwinds Recital, University of Illinois Music Building Auditorium (October 16th, 2022)Lucy makes and exclusively plays on her own oboe, English horn, and bassoon reeds, which are available for sale. Lucy recieved her earliest reedmaking instruction from renowned Springfield, IL area teachers Krista Steller and Shari Randall, and has elevated her abilities as a primary member of both the bassoon studio (Timothy McGovern) and the oboe studio (John Dee, Wesley Boehm) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Reedmaking is incorporated into oboe lessons, bassoon lessons, & multiple woodwind lessons involving double reed instruments. Students do not need to be enrolled in regular lessons to schedule a reedmaking consultation. Reeds are available at a discounted price to students enrolled in regular lessons.
Lucy adjusts clarinet and saxophone reeds with great attention to detail regarding timbre, intonation, response, dynamic range, and symmetry of contour. Having initially learned this skill from retired St. Louis Philharmonic clarinetist Greg Cohill, and garnering additional experience studying with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Professor Emeritus J. David Harris, Lucy refuses to allow her students to play reeds that she would not play herself. She does sell adjusted single reeds. Reed adjustment is incorporated into clarinet lessons, saxophone lessons, & multiple woodwind lessons involving single reed instruments. Students do not need to be enrolled in regular lessons to schedule a reed adjustment consultation.
Through jazz improvisation lessons, Lucy enables students to analyze chord changes, incorporate scales and motivic figures into solos in accordance with stylistic conventions, and play by ear. Although Lucy is most experienced with improvisation in the context of the saxophone, having studied at the collegiate level with Joe Longardner of the Chip McNeill studio, the principles of jazz theory and improvisation can be applied to any instrument, so all students will be considered. Styles covered include jazz (swing, boogie/stride, bebop, cool jazz, jazz ballad), blues, rock, funk, and Latin jazz (rumba, samba, bossa nova). Because audiation, aural skills, and stylistic fluency are crucial to fluid improvisation, ear training and critical listening strongly emphasized in jazz improvisation lessons.
In a class setting or through private tutoring, Lucy explains music theory concepts in a digestible, relevant way to ensure the success of each student. Throughout the course of study, Lucy prioritizes the practical application of theoretical concepts and the implementation of ear training exercises for the development of aural skills. Lessons may be structured specifically to prepare for core curriculum requirements for music majors, or for the AP Music Theory Exam, which is available to all high school students, whether they attend a school that offers an AP Music Theory course or not. Lucy has recieved a score of 5 on the AP Music Theory Exam and has completed the entire Music Theory and Musicianship (aural skills) course sequences with honors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Pictured: Lucy Yockey (Drum Major)
Springfield High School Marching Senators Color Guard, Veteran's Day Parade (2017)
Former head drum major of the Springfield High School Marching Senators and Smith-Walbridge Mace Band drum major, Lucy is well versed in the marching arts and student leadership. Typically facilitated in a group setting, her drum major training sessions instill in students a foundation in attitude, communication, problem solving, organization, leadership, drill teaching, carriage, marching, conducting, and mace, whistle, and vocal commands through skill-building activities. Marching-appropriate footwear and whistle required. Lucy holds new Acme Thunderer whistles for purchase ($10). Lucy also regularly serves on staff at local high school band camp, in areas such as color guard coaching, sectional rehearsing, visual showmanship, and marching fundamentals.
Lucy was a member of the Oboe and Bassoon Studios at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, under the tutelage of Professor of Oboe and Bill A. Nugent Endowed Professor of Performance Studies John Dee, Associate Professor of Bassoon Timothy McGovern, and teaching assistant Wesley Boehm.