The following testimonials are listed in order of the students’ last names. For more testimonials and other information about Eddie Lewis, please feel free to visit his Kudos page or read his online resume.
Julia Mason
I have so much to say about Eddie so would like to write just a few sentences first in case you would like a short version!
Eddie is a wonderful teacher. He is great at working with young children. He is consistent, kind, adaptive, creative, and experienced.
The Skype lessons have been very effective. We have thoroughly appreciated our time with Eddie!
My son, Riley, started working with Eddie at 6.5 years old. We were living in the Houston area at the time and Riley had asked for a trumpet for his 6th birthday. I started asking around but no one would take him because of his age, until I found Eddie 6 months later. Riley is now almost 11 and has been playing with Eddie for 4.5 years.
Eddie believes in tenants of the Suzuki method and Riley listens to a lot of music with him. Eddie will play all the music first so Riley has to rely on his ear as well as the notes on the page. It worked beautifully for a young child and now Riley can internalize a song that he hears and mimic the music in a very detailed way, paying attention to note-length, articulation, and dynamics.
Eddie consistently works with his students every week, only rarely missing a lesson for a gig, so Riley has consistently improved during his time with Eddie.
Riley played with Eddie through all his teeth falling out with no problem and worked with his opposite hand the time he broke his finger.
Eddie is kind and cares about his students beyond the trumpet lesson. He tells stories about life and teaches Riley to have priorities. He also helps us with requests. He wrote Riley music for school talent shows and Christmas recitals at his Grandma’s house. He helps him find joy in the trumpet.
Recently, we joined a Big Band group in our hometown and Eddie has been helping Riley work through some challenging music on the rehearsal list. Eddie can adjust to whatever is needed.
We moved to California three years ago and Skype lessons with Eddie have been just as great as the in-person lessons. During the pandemic when the kids were kept home, we added a second lesson to Riley’s week, so he could have something to work on when there was so much time with nothing to do.
I actually started trumpet lessons as well during this time at 38 years old! It has been really fun to share this experience with Riley. Eddie helped us get through a rough period and gave us something to focus on.
Eddie’s knowledge and experience with the trumpet has led to a unique education for Riley. I have not seen the likes of it before. Eddie’s method has given Riley a creative understanding of music. Riley cannot only play the trumpet because of Eddie but he can write music as well. He can improvise and he has been able to apply the lessons he has learned from Eddie to the piano and marimba. He sits down at the piano and just plays with no music. He creates, which is something I never learned in music lessons growing up.
We look forward to lessons each week because no matter how well we have learned the music, he meets us where we are and helps us progress forward.
He has given Riley and I an experience where we can be challenged, without feeling anxiety, because he is there to guide us through it. He practices with us if our practice was insufficient and that is ok with him. It makes the lesson less stressful and more about the enjoyment of it all.
We feel so lucky to have found Eddie. He has enriched our lives immeasurably!
Marcel Boily
Last year, with the pandemia and my retirement from work, I decided to learn to play the Trumpet.
I do not have any background in music ( exept a few lessons taken in the late nineties ) and could not meet with teachers in person because of the limitations brought by covid…
Luckily enough Youtube and the internet make it possible for anybody ( I live in the province of Québec, Canada) to look for teachers all over the world.
Watching videos on YouTube, I learned about Eddie Lewis and his approach. I listened to some of his music. I liked what I heard. I contacted Eddie, he answered my questions even if at that point I was not a pupil of his. After a few emails, I decided to start to take on-line classes with him, using the Skype platform.
A year later, I am still working on a weekly basis with him. I enjoy our sessions. He is always positive, encouraging. It shows that he has experience as much as a performer as a teacher.
Overtime, I realized that he understood my difficulties and cared about my progress. In addition , he has an impressive amount of teaching material developed over the years for students of any level, material well designed and tested.
Besides his capacities as a teacher and musician, he is a great human being with a good sense of humor and wonderful communicating skills. I am looking forward for more lessons with him, hoping that someday I will become comfortable to touch this beautiful but so difficult instrument.
Charles Young
Where to start.
I have been taking lessons with Eddie for about 2 years now and I am more than pleased with the progress I have made under his tutelage.
I have studied both classical and jazz styles with him and he has an amazing knowledge of both areas. To further the learning in either he has a vast array or original exercises and method books that he tailors to your skill level.
I am currently studying jazz with him and after forays into improvisation and composition I am now concentrating on learning and recording the jazz etudes he has composed for the Texas High School Allstate Jazz Band tryouts. They were initially beyond my abilities but he has helped me improve my skills to successfully play them.
One other factor is that I live in Tucson, AZ so all of our lessons have been over Skype. It has worked very well. The connection is good enough for me to play or for him to demonstrate live. Much of the time though is spent reviewing recordings that I have made during the week. I would highly recommend Eddie as a teacher for all levels of players from beginners to aspiring professionals.
Dr. Robert Zapf
D.M. Organizational Development; USAF (Retired); Associate Professor (Retired); Freelance Trumpet Musician
As a comeback trumpet musician who studied with some great performers and teachers while serving in an Air Force Band years ago (e. g. Vincent Cichowicz, David Hickman, et al.), I can credibly attest to the efficacy of Mr. Lewis’ observations, philosophies, methods, and approaches regarding how to develop trumpet playing skills and musicianship.
Mr. Lewis is a highly respected performer, great teacher, and all-around fine person. I have been studying with him for more than a year to regain my chops and abilities after many years of not playing, and I plan to continue studying with him for quite some time to come. Accordingly, I harbor no reservations recommending Mr. Lewis to any individual keenly interested in developing their trumpet playing skills and musicianship.
Randal Zapata
Eddie is great with my son and working with him on improving his trumpet skills. I recommend Eddie!
Milton Cousins
“I took lessons with Mr. Lewis for 6 years, and he has greatly enriched the enjoyment I take in playing my trumpet. I would recommend him to players of any level looking to improve. I started taking lessons with him after a poor experience with a school-sanctioned private lesson teacher, and I immediately liked him a lot. Mr. Lewis tailors the lessons based on the strengths and weaknesses of the student, as well as the student’s personal goals. I found him to be very philosophical in the way he approaches trumpet playing; he has a vast knowledge of just about every aspect of the instrument, and shares his knowledge and methods in the lessons, instead of just having student blindly follow instructions. Mr. Lewis prepared me for not only competitions like region band and solo contest, but also for what playing trumpet in the “real world” would be like. I’m currently in college (non-music major), and I still play on a weekly basis, which I owe in part to the appreciation of playing I gleaned from my lessons.”
John Goode
“I am an adult trumpet player recently retired from a 25 year career teaching public school bands. I know students need organized, age appropriate lessons tailored to their individual strengths and weaknesses presented by a knowlegeable, enthusiastic teacher. This is exactly why I am studying with Eddie Lewis.”
“I have taken trumpet lessons with professional players and many university teachers. While I gained from each teacher I consider my lessons with Eddie Lewis to be superior in several ways. Mr. Lewis develops the student as an individual. While stressing good trumpet playing basics he has always encouraged me to take my sound, my interests and develop them without trying to make me sound like someone else. Eddie performs classical, contemporary, jazz, latin, R&B, improvisation, and more. He is also a skilled composer and arranger. Using his diverse background Mr. Lewis has been able to address, often from personal experience, every question I posed with a clear and relevant answer that frequently was exactly what I needed to further advance my playing. One of the most important things I have gained from my lessons with Eddie was adopting his practice system. I believe any student who faithfully follows his practice advice will make greater progress in shorter time then with any other method. Quite frankly it is the most time-efficient system I have ever encountered. I wish I had studied with Eddie twenty years earlier!”
Jerry Hebble
“Eddie Lewis is a virtuoso trumpet player and a virtuoso trumpet teacher. His students benefit from his years of experience at both.”
Eric Jackson – Spain Colored Orange
“Mr. Lewis is hands down the best teacher I’ve ever had…in any subject. In high school he prepared me for college and I received not only a scholarship but a full ride, something I could never have achieved on my own. I have used the “Physical Trumpet Pyramid” and “Daily Routines” since 1990 and swear by the results. I owe all of my success to these books. His methods have prepared me for a career as an award winning Trumpet player here in Houston and on a national scale. I personally cannot think of a better opportunity for your sons or daughters to get the instruction they need to take their playing to the next level, whether its just for fun or more academic study Mr. Lewis helps his students develop goals and gives them the tools to get there. Quit wasting your time and sign up for lessons now!”
Cameron Kade Kubos
“Eddie Lewis was the first private trumpet teacher I ever had for both jazz and classical. The things I learned from him have followed me from those first days as a freshmen in high school until today. I use concepts and exercises that I got from him on a daily basis, and I totally believe in them. I attribute much of the success I have had from jazz performances to all state bands to college auditions to those first lessons I had with Eddie. On top of his phenomenal musicianship, Eddie is an amazing person. I could not have asked for a better teacher or role model than Eddie to be an influence for both my playing and me personally.”
Randy Snider – San Jacinto College North
“Eddie – I wish to express admiration for and appreciation of your method and your teaching. You are a tremendous teacher and your method is exemplary! Thanks for all you have done for me my playing. Truly, truly remarkable.”
Kyle Taylor
“Eddie Lewis offers exceptional trumpet lessons as well as decades of professional experience to his students. During lessons, I was given numerous musical tools to use throughout my trumpet career to aid in my success as a player, which I still continue to this day, as well as simple, but impactful life lessons specific to the student’s situation.”
“Before taking lessons with Mr. Lewis, I was taking lessons with a local private lesson teacher offered by the school and was told to perform the same routines and was told the same comments on how to improve, with little success. Upon finding Mr. Lewis and beginning to take lessons from him, I noticed a vast improvement in my tone and technique as well as my appreciation for our lessons. Mr. Lewis offered me numerous positive life lessons as well as offering care for his students. This is something that I never experienced before with my previous lesson teacher, as with him, I was just another paycheck. I went from being last chair (7th) in my junior high second band to becoming 2nd chair in the top band in the span of a summer break. After continuing lessons with Mr. Lewis for several years, I became a Texas 5A area level player as well as a proficient jazz player in the Houston area with the help of Mr. Lewis, while also using Mr. Lewis’ suggestions to help overcome my stage fright. As I continue my college career as a student and a lead trumpet player in the Million Dollar Band at The University of Alabama, I still use Mr. Lewis’ techniques offered to me in lessons to continue to improve myself as well as my trumpet playing. I truly could not have asked for a better life mentor or trumpet teacher than Mr. Lewis.”
Joan Thomson
“My children have been taking trumpet lessons from Eddie for over 5 years. They admire him and feel fortunate to be able to learn from him since he is not only a respected professional musician but also an award winning composer. Several years ago we moved to the Cypress area but have continued to travel every week to Pasadena for trumpet lessons because it is definitely worth the effort.”
“When my children first started playing with Eddie they were part of a group of beginner trumpet players that he had put together. Eddie composed the music for the group himself, so that the children could practice playing different parts together. His motivation to compose for them was his inability to find any interesting arrangements available for a group of beginner trumpet players. I will always be grateful to Eddie for this because my children were able to play recognizable tunes and Christmas carols for their great-grandmother. Listening to the children play together in harmony gave her great pleasure as she was nearing the end of her life.”
“Over the years Eddie has also given my children the opportunity to perform in various concerts (one with professional musicians), attend an exciting jazz camp he put on, and be a part of a student CD he produced.”
“Eddie and his wife are wonderful to work with. They are fair and good natured. They have clear, reasonable written policies in place, and have always been willing to work with me. They are the best!”