“I believe in the power of music - I am enamoured with the feeling, quality and experience to be had when we listen to songs, hear a live performance or discover a new creative path.”
Bio
Juno-nominated and Award-Winning Bassist
Based in Montreal, Canada, bassist Clinton Ryder uses a solid musical and creative foundation in his work as a professional musician, music teacher and creative coach. Proficient on both acoustic (double) bass and bass guitar, he is energized by many genres of music, particularly American music. A graduate of Vancouver Island University’s Jazz Studies program, he believes that Jazz and Blues are essential elements of the most popular styles of the 20th century. His resume embraces many musical styles including jazz, folk, rock, R&B, musical theatre, country and pop and experimental/free music.
He loves making great music!
A passion for learning, creating, collaborating, and supporting musical performance has led to thousands of live performances and numerous studio recordings reflecting his diverse musical interests. These include performances and projects with Hugh Fraser, Nikki Yanofsky, The Dears, The Irish Rovers, Holly Arntzen, Félix Stüssi, Tania Gill, Dawn Tyler Watson, Jim Byrnes, Petru Guelfucci, and Yourgi Loeffler.
Inspired to help others learn and discover music
Clinton considers music a universal language that everyone can learn or access. For this reason, he teaches private students ranging in age from 5 - 85 years of age. He finds supporting and guiding each student towards their specific goals invigorating, fun and inspiring. Mentors taught him to listen, feel and intellectualize music in a simple and enlightening fashion. He communicates these ideas in his teaching, helping others to focus on their needs, investigate concepts and connect to music in a personal way while focusing on fundamentals as well. His approach is simple, varying his methods according to the needs and personalities of each student. Understanding the value of working closely with a teacher, Clinton helps create accountability on our developmental path, facilitating improvement and joy in the process.
Enhancing creative projects with objective feedback and mindful support
Exchanging ideas with colleagues and mentors has led to new creative paths, closer personal relationships and networks, and endless nourishment for Clinton’s creative soul. Having discovered firsthand the value of obtaining an outside perspective on his work has led to personal and professional breakthroughs. This guidance has helped break his learning into small and simple objectives, and also helped clarify his vision, face obstacles and fears, and get to the next step in his development. Through his creative coaching practice, he provides that same support to artists as they navigate projects at any stage of their process.