Dana Sloter, Music Lessons

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Dana Sloter, Music Lessons

Miss Dana to little students + Dr. Sloter to college students | Clarinet and piano lessons for students of all ages
(2)

10/16/2026

Use subdivision to help yourself be musical in the bottom third of the page 36 All-State etude!

10/14/2026

Notes build into measures, measures build into phrases, phrases build into sections, sections build into etudes. Check out the way I pace out the dynamics in the first part of the page 36 etude.

10/13/2026

For most students, consistent articulation is the hardest thing to get and the easiest thing to lose. Check out how I build tongue strength and consistency using measure 10 of the page 25 Iowa All-State etude. Never skip Tongue Day. 💪🏻 👅

10/12/2026

A strategy for building confidence, articulation endurance, and a consistent G6 in measure 9 of the Iowa All-State etude on page 25!

10/09/2026

The Drake clarinet studio showed out last night at the Drake Symphony Orchestra Fiesta Latinoamericana concert last night! I’m so proud and honored to share the stage with them. Go Bulldogs! 🐾

10/03/2026

Friday night practice/fun time to prepare for the Drake Symphony Orchestra concert on Thursday!

📆Thursday, October 8
⏰ 7:30 PM
📍Sheslow Auditorium

10/01/2026

So excited to play at Westminster Des Moines this Sunday with my Simpson College Music 🎶 colleagues!

📆 Sunday, October 4
⏰ 2:00 PM
Free admission!

09/28/2026

Very cool to spend the week playing E-flat clarinet with Des Moines Symphony on the season opener! Spent a lot of time vibing backstage at the Civic Center, too.

09/13/2026

I’ve taught a First Year Seminar at Drake for the past few years. A lot of colleges have a class like this (that emphasizes writing and bridges the gap between high school and college), but Drake’s version is cool because the topic of the class is decided by the professors themselves. I have colleagues who have taught FYSs about ghost stories, poisons, and Sherlock Holmes, to name a few. Mine have always been about film music, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe and more recently, Superman and Lois Lane.

Whatever the topic, I like to get to know my students by having them make a playlist of 8 tracks that describe who they are right now, at the beginning of their first year of college. Then, they write about why each song is important to them. They don’t have to use technical vocabulary (that comes later), but they get practice writing clearly about music that is emotionally important to them. I do it, too! So, here’s my playlist as an introduction to me.

09/10/2026

A lot of teachers will advocate for using Pennies as a practice tool to get their students to lock in and repeat specific passages. I am one of them! I do think it’s always important to ask this question while you’re repeating: What counts as success? Sometimes, perfection is the only thing that counts. Sometimes, it’s making it through without stopping or talking to yourself when you mess up. Sometimes, it’s being calm throughout the passage. Whatever the case may be, that’s the habit that I’m trying to establish for that section of music.

Address

Harmon Fine Arts Center, 2505 Carpenter Avenue #238
Des Moines, IA
50312

Website

https://soundcloud.com/dana-sloter

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