West Hartford Health & Wellness Lessons

ting as hosted a recording clinic at the end of each day.

Jason has host student showcases/charity benefits where his students were able to get on stage and show off their new talent and perform with other musicians. It wasn't mandatory though, if you were just looking to come out and support there was no pressure other than to come out and have fun.

Jason has been transcribing for guitar and bass since the age of 18 and since then has become a master of the craft including both 5 line staff and tablature, hand-crafted exercises and deconstructions to better enhance the students learning. Artists and genres that Jason has experience with range from Classic Rock, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Guns N' Roses, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Robert Johnson, Pierce the Veil, Paramore, All Time Low, Demi Lava to, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Pantera, Avenged Sevenfold, The White Stripes, Green Day, Old Crow Medicine Show, Taylor Swift, Mumford and Sons, Bruno Mars, Rob Zombie, John 5, Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, Van Morrison, the Beatles, AC/DC, ZZ-Top, Bullet For My Valentine, All That Remains, Ozzy, Black Label Society, Sublime, Aerosmith, At the Drive In, Type O Negative, the Black Keys, the Pixies, the Toadies, Black Sabbath, Jason Mraz, Lady GaGa, John Mayer and Journey.

Jason attended the University of Alaska, Anchorage where his degree is in Music and Business. He is constantly continuing his education with music theory courses as well as private guitar instruction. He attends guitar workshops and seminars by artists such as John5 and Kerry King who are known as some of the worlds finest guitar players. He reviews every day from a wide range of over 1000 sources working to become a better musician and instructor.

Another nice feature that you might enjoy from one on one sessions with Jason is learning the ability to craft and record your own songs using state of the art technology that caters to your own unique personality. There are no limits!

Jason teaches all experience levels from beginner to intermediate and advanced as well as artists that are signed to labels.

Local news outlet Fox 5 did a segment with one of his students who overcame issues with ADD and depression as a result of taking guitar lessons.

His students advance quickly, some have released albums, been in Guitar World Magazine as well as its online companion and won awards for their music websites.

*** Lesson Details ***
Lessons are scheduled to best fit to the student'€™s schedule when possible.
Students receive complimentary audio lessons and transcriptions of songs upon their first or second session. Jason is a very patient instructor and understands that students learn at a different pace, after all everyone is an individual.

*** Studio Equipment ***
ESP KH2 "skully" Kirk Hammett signature model Electric
Epiphone Zakk Wylde signature model Electric
Schecter SLS Blackjack Special Edition Avenger with ©Sustainiac
Schecter Blackjack ATX 7-string
Jackson Randy Rhodes V
Fender '51 Pawn Shop Series
Epiphone Banjo
Mahalo Ukulele
Savannah Ukulele
M. Acoustic
G&L S-500 custom Electric
ESP LTD AX-50 "banjo" Electric
ESP LTD AX-50 "guitar"
Fender Squire John 5 signature model
Epiphone 12-string
Nylon Classical
Yamaha Acoustic (left and right handed)
Voyage-Air Guitar Acoustic
Fender Squire Bass
Dean Vendetta Electric
Dean Dime Razorback
B.C. Rich Warlock
Yamaha Keyboard
ProTools LE
Guitar Pro 6
Tascam CD-GT2
KRK Rokits speakers
Line 6 AXSYS212 Amp
Scott Ian Randall Amp
Cry Baby Wah
Digitech Whammy/Bad Monkey/Death Metal/Grunge pedals
Ibanez Chorus/Flanger Delay/Echo
Line 6 Backtrack
Drum sticks and practice pad
Multi-angle cameras for online students

*** Travel Equipment ***
Voyage-Air Guitar (Acoustic)
Laptop with ProTools/Backtrack or Guitar Pro 6
Scott Ian Randall Amp
Various guitars depending on project or mood.

*** Specialties ***
piano, guitar, music theory, music, bass guitar, banjo, songwriting, electric guitar, acoustic guitar,

state).

I also have an extensive professional and personal background in meditation (10 years), astrology (5 years) and healing (particularly Reiki, 4 years). I am very interested in the intersection between a healing/mindfulness-awareness approach and singing/playing piano.

When drumming playing with music, learning improvisation, and playing by ear is important. I also focus on this, having students learn their favorite songs, and learn to play with new music as well. This keeps students interested, and adds a fun personal element to their lessons. I also have implemented use of a teaching app, so while practicing if students have a question they can ask me right then so to not forget, and I can give feedback. It also has a practice tracker tool. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

I look forward to meeting you, and helping you reach your music goals!

~ Zaky N.

*** In Studio or Online ***
Of course it is more enjoyable if you can have lessons in person. But with modern technology, live online lessons come in a close second. I've been teaching for 40 years and I've been doing online lessons for about 7 years. I'm located in West Hills, which is a suburb of Los Angeles. If you are not local, using skype with a webcam works out surprisingly well. I have students in Sydney, London, Hong Kong and many cities throughout the US.

*** Use a Piano or a Keyboard for Practicing ***
I am not fussy if you use a keyboard but it needs to be a "weighted action" keyboard, so that it feels similar to a real piano. Ideally, you should also have a pedal and a stand if you are using an electronic keyboard.

*** Unconventional Approach ***
Each student is taught with a customized approach. You get to tell me what areas you want to focus on. Sometimes there may be a block or something that is a weakness that you need to bolster. Sometimes it is a narrow niche within music that you want to give your attention to. One way that I'm unconventional is that I actually have found that it is NOT better if you practice every day. I recommend that you build in about three days of rest per week. Just like people who work out at the gym learn that the off days are when the muscles regenerate, the same is true for your brain. This allows your subconscious mind to do its job and your progress will actually be faster, not slower. Another example of my unique approach is how I treat beginners. Even though you may not yet read music very well or at all, it doesn't mean that you can't start working concurrently on a more advanced piece. This is because READING notation is a comparatively slow process, but why should we restrict your ability to play something that you love to your rate of reading music? Usually, our FINGER TECHNIQUE develops much faster than our READING so I'm happy to guide you on one or two more difficult pieces and help spoon-feed it to you, bit by bit, "by rote."

*** Areas of Focus ***
-Finger Technique. How to play fast with ultimate control.
-Sight-Reading How to Read Music at Sight
-Rhythm Training
-Music Theory
-Interpretation
-Injury-Retraining
-Relaxation, Removing Unnecessary Tension
-Pain-Reduction
-Practice-Optimization - How to learn more in less time. -How to memorize music.
-Biomechanical Efficiency - Maximum power with minimum effort.
-Time-Management
-Improvisation and creativity development techniques
-Composition & Songwriting.
-How to create melodies for your poems and lyrics.
-How to put chords on your melodies.
-How to create “song sheets,” lead sheets and how to write music down on paper.
-How to notate your song so others can play it, without knowing how to read music!
-Chord-Reading and How to Play Lead Sheets & Fake Book
-Musical Styles and Piano Arrangements (Pop, Country, Gospel, Blues, R&B, Rock, Reggae, Hip Hop, Worship, Church, Hymns, Techno, 50s, Jazz, New Age, Folk, Broadway, Pop Ballade, etc.)
-Ear-Training (How to Play by Ear, Playing by Ear)
-Singers’ Tools
-Pitch Control Training
-Self-Accompanying
-How to Sing Harmony
-Sight-Singing (How to Hear the Notes in Your Mind)
-Self-Accompanying techniques in every style - Learn how to accompany yourself or learn how to accompany singers. (see “Musical Styles” above.)
-Audition Preparation - I will record the melody of the song for you so you can learn it.
-How to put melody to lyrics
-College Preparation
-Performance Anxiety, Stage Fright, Fear
-Releasing Emotional Obstacles to Playing Emotional Blocks, Healing Piano Trauma and Previous Performance Disasters, Piano Therapy
-Learning Disabilities including ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Dyscalculea, Sensory Integration Disorder
-Motiviation Issues - Solving your procrastination and avoidance of your musical growth issues.
-How to Look Like You’ve Played Piano for Years (for Actors, Singers and Celebrities Who Have A Role Deadline and Need a Crash Course.)

*** Celebrity Piano Teacher ***
Over the years, I've taught many pro musicians and celebrities. These include: Vonda Shepard, David E. Kelley, Dick Gautier, Michelle Pfeiffer, Pray Harper, Peter Horton, Michael Goodrich, Brianna Haynes, Starr Parodi, Briana Evigan, Stuart Ross, Roger Burnley, Chris Hardin, Stu Simone and Ben Bram.

*** Howard's Teachers Go Back To Beethoven ***
I feel grateful that my own training included top teachers of both the “German School” and “Russian School” of piano technique. Generally, the German School teaches how to play with close-to-the-key hand placement preparation and fingering efficiency, and is known for great speed and accuracy. The Russian School teaches how to play with gravity and relaxation and is known for beautiful tone production. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses. In my own playing and teaching, I have incorporated the good aspects of each and have discarded the bad. The result is a blueprint for biomechanical efficiency and beautiful sound, making it the best of both worlds. Please see the photo of the "piano lineage chart."

sy-going person and I know how to make classes efficient and interesting.