According to Larry Teal, the best method of learning to play the saxophone is to study with a competent teacher. Teal's studies were mostly of instruments other than the saxophone, but as a student at a Chautauqua summer session, he came under the influence of Georges Barr#65533;re, the eminent French flutist. He played bass clarinet with the Detroit Symphony, but he continued to be absorbed by the saxophone. As a result of his acquired expertise and growing reputation, he was appointed to a full-time faculty position as a saxophone teacher by the University of Michigan -- the first ever to receive such an appointment from a major university. During his 21-year tenure, he attracted students from all over, thus exerting an ever widening influence on saxophone teaching and performing.