Welcome to Dave McKeown Music!
I am a highly qualified and experienced musician, teacher and composer living in Otterton, in beautiful East Devon, UK. Born and brought up in Ireland, I have also lived in London, the Midlands and Yorkshire.
Music is the only job I’ve ever had, from busking all over the UK and Europe, performing professionally just as widely, studying Music and Education at the University of Leeds, teaching in Devon, recording with artists from all around the world, and composing and arranging thousands of music scores that have sold to over 100 hundred countries.
Saxophone, clarinet and flute are my first instruments, which I play and teach to a high level. When it comes to different genres of music, I see connections, not barriers. Folk, Blues, Soul, Funk, Rock, Pop, Klezmer and Jazz all seem branches of the same tree to me. Classical music has the incredible power to move and inspire us centuries after it was written. All these kinds of music resound with the voices of the people who make them.
That’s my starting point as a musician and a teacher. I feel music as an extension of our voice, and nowhere is this more true than with wind instruments, connecting directly to the same parts of our body that do the talking and the singing.
In the beginning of course, students need to get to grips with the mechanical business of playing the instrument. But even in the early stages there are opportunities to find your own voice, to develop your own distinct musical personality. Most people have more musical ability tucked away inside them than they realise. My aim is to help you tease that out at as you build your technical skills.
Face to face lessons are the best way to achieve this. Otterton is around 15 minutes from Exmouth, less than 20 from Sidmouth or the M5 motorway, and less than 10 minutes from Budleigh Salterton. I live and teach at the edge of a gorgeous village in a stunning rural location with easy parking and spectacular walks in all directions.
What People Say
At 39, I began to learn clarinet with Dave. I had never read music properly before and woodwind was new to me. Reaching Grade 6 level and being able to read music has been the best gift of my adult life. There is so much that has become accessible to me. Many people say, “I wish I had learned something!” and I feel like saying, “It is never too late!” It’s very scary to be an “adult learner” – you have to overcome your own critical voice and tolerate making mistakes! But this has been a musical journey with an instrument, and a helpful life lesson. Dave has always been kind and clear and seems to know the best way to bring out my inner musician!
Hannah
Otter Valley
I also offer support lessons for A level and GCSE, both in the Listening/Analysis and Composition parts of the curriculum, as well as Performance. I teach Music Theory up to grade 8 and can help with music technology. In particular I am a very regular user of notation software such as Dorico and DAW software such as Propellerhead Reason. I have the facilities and expertise to make high quality recordings to showcase your creativity.
Ready to Play?
There has never been a better time than right now. Start your musical journey with Dave McKeown Music today.
Dave McKeown Music 