Piscataway, NJ Guitar Lessons

eaching for 14+ years of teaching, I have developed a teaching style that is unique in that I approach each student’s progress on an individual basis. Musically speaking, I am able to identify what is holding the student back and take necessary steps to move forward in a constructive and supportive way that will inspire you to continually grow as a musician.
The first thing I want to accomplish in my lessons is to get the student excited about playing music in general. That means understanding what kind of music the student likes to listen to and incorporate it into the lessons. I find that relating ear training, theory, reading, technique, and rhythmic study to the music that they are interested in is a great way to do that.

CLASSICAL GUITAR INSTRUCTION:
We will focus on a variety of topics including right and left hand technique, proper body position, sound production and tone, reading, repertoire, and finding your own personal musical voice with regards to playing classical music.

JAZZ GUITAR INSTRUCTION:
We will cover jazz theory, chord shapes, scales, repertoire, and transcription. Jazz is an oral tradition and I am a firm believer that the best way to learn it is through listening/transcribing and applying those concepts on your instrument. We will draw inspiration and knowledge from great jazz musicians of the past in addition to finding your own personal voice as an improviser in jazz music.

TEACHING YOUNG CHILDREN:
I have lot of experience teaching young children (as young as 5 years old). For these children, I like to focus on the basic foundations of music (e.g. rhythm, melody, etc.). We will use a variety of tools (rhythm sticks, guitar books for children, singing) to enrich these early foundations in music, in addition to learning to get over the physical demands of learning to play the guitar.

*** Frequency Requirement ***
Students are required to take lessons at least once per week in order to insure consistent progress and ongoing assessment. Lessons given every other week are not offered.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Living room set up. Chairs. Music stands. Guitars. Music. Seating for parents. *** Please note, there is no piano in studio. If you are interested in piano lessons, only in home lessons are available.

*** Travel Equipment ***
I usually provide guitar picks if needed, photocopies of materials (mel bay, chord charts, etc.). I require my students to have the instruments that they will be taking lessons on and a notebook to write in.

*** Specialties ***
Piano lessons are in students' homes only! I cover music theory, application of music theory, technique, ear training, sight reading, and repertoire building.
I teach a variety of styles including classical, jazz, rock, folk and blues.

d to do so will have the opportunity to perform at spring and winter recitals.

I graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston with degrees in Performance and Audio Engineering. I have studied with extraordinary musicians and teachers such as Ray Santisi, Jennifer Elowsky-Fox, Doug Johnson, Yakov Gubanov, Tibor Putszai and Suzanna Sifter.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions or if you don't see a time slot available that works for you! My schedule changes frequently and is often flexible, so we can likely work something out.

eds. We'll be doing a lot of learning, playing, listening, and hopefully a bit of laughing, if you enjoy awkward and sometimes bizarre humor.

*** Home Studio Equipment ***
Home Studio: guitar amp, bass amp, cables

*** Travel Equipment ***
I will come with my guitar, a metronome, and a cable if my student is studying electric guitar. My student should have a guitar, paper, a pencil, a metronome, and an amplifier (for electric guitarists & bassists.)

*** Lesson Details ***
I teach musical fundamentals and basic technique to all of beginner students, as well as discuss practice methodology, listening practice, and musical style. We will be delving into rudiments quite a bit, but using riffs, melodies, and applicable chord progressions to learn. Learning to read musical notation is not necessary for many musical goals, but we can pursue that route if desired, and it is highly encouraged for a comprehensive musical understanding.

For intermediate students will likely want or need to work on specific things, ie technique, learning specific songs, music theory, learning the ins and outs of specific genres, composition, improvisation. My specialties include pop, rock, metal, funk, jazz, and classical guitar.

I am very open to regular communication with my students to answer questions, share recommended listening or reading, and of course, be on top of scheduling and logistics. I try my best to make our time together a rewarding and fun experience, and to pass forward the great fortune of learning music.

New York City in Midtown Manhattan on the West Side. I began performing professionally at age 16, doing session work, teaching and performing. I attended the National Guitar Summer Workshop, New Milford, Connecticut, to diversify my skills, participating in master classes with guitar icons Vinnie Moore, Stanley Jordan and Mick Goodrick.

I started college at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, and completed a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude, studying jazz guitar and composition/arranging, as well as completd the Honors program at Temple University's Esther Boyer College of Music. My studies included jazz guitar with Tom Giacobetti and Ed Flanagan; jazz composition/arranging with Don Glanden, Ben Schacter and Larry McKenna; and classical composition with Matthew Greenbaum, Ph.D., Maurice Wright, D.M.A., Richard Brodhead, Ph.D., and Mark Rimple, D.M.A. I also conducted/arranged the School's Jazz Vocal Ensemble and was awarded membership in the Golden Key Honor Society. I also studied guitar privately with Shrapnel/Tone Center recording artist Greg Howe, Lasers Edge recording artist Scott McGill and Jazz icons Pat Martino (Blue Note) and Jimmy Bruno (Mel Bay).

I earned a Masters of Arts degree in music composition at Rutgers University, studying with world renowned, Pulitzer Prize winning composer Charles Wuorinen. In my first year, he was awarded a Teaching Assistantship in Music Composition and Theory.

I pursued additional studies (and master classes) in composition with celebrated composers Aaron Jay Kernis, Harvey Sollberger, Jukka Tiensuu, David Felder, Mario Davidovsky, Charles Fussell, Austin Clarkson and George Russell; film score orchestration with Scott Smalley (Film Music Institute) and film scoring with Rick Baitz (The Manhattan Producer's Alliance), as well as performance studies with Wynton Marsalis, Max Roach, Billy Taylor, Bill Shindling, Magmus Andersson, Stu Hamm, Terry Bozzio, Frank Gambale, Larry Mitchell, Andy Timmons, Adrian Legg and Blues Saraceno.

I was the Music Director and conductor for the Mondfleck Orchestra, Music Director and Composer-In-Residence for the Trash Can Society Theater Company and composer for improv theater group, The Glass Metropolis Project.

I released my critically acclaimed debut CD, a collection of virtuosic instrumental guitar music and have been interviewed and featured in many publications and websites worldwide, including Guitar Player, Guitar World, 20th Century Guitar, Guitar Chef (Italy), Guitar Mania (Canada), among many others. I was selected as a Top 5 Finalist in the 2006 North American Rock Guitar Competition, presented by Guitar Player magazine and Gibson guitars and was inducted as a new member into the 2007 Independent Artist Registry.

I was selected to be a part of the June in Buffalo Festival for Emerging Composers in Buffalo, New York, where celebrated pianist Marilyn Nonken performed my solo piano piece, Aerial Surveying. I was commissioned to compose, conduct and perform the music for Sirens, a modern dance presentation in collaboration with celebrated choreographer Julia Ritter. I was also commissioned to write a modern composition for Renaissance lute titled A Mosaic of Cement and Barbed Wire, performed at the Sarah Lawrence Summer Guitar Institute. My piece, Like Giants Through a Keyhole, trio for flute, cello and piano performed as part of the Network for New Music's Cross-Currents in Jazz and New Music: The Schooling and School of Stefan Wolpe series. My orchestra composition, Ideological Explosions of the Absurd Hero, was performed in Milan, Italy.

My music has been featured throughout film and television. I have composed the scores for many feature films, television, web and ad campaigns, and my music has been featured on MTV, VH1, NBC, CBS, ABC, Discovery, History Channel, PBS, etc.

I was a featured speaker at the Music for My Web Series Panel as part of the BlogWorld & New Media Expo held at the Javits Center in NYC on June 7, 2012.

I am a proud endorsee of Seymour Duncan pickups, Morley pedals, Madison Amps, Curt Mangan strings and Neck Sock.

*ASCAP affiliated composer and publisher

*International Alliance Of Composer's member

*Independent Film Project (IFP) member

*** Lesson Details ***
Guitar, Music Theory, Composition/Arranging, Songwriting, Improvisation and Home Recording.

Instruction in any style - Rock, Jazz, Blues, Funk, Metal, Shred, Progressive, Classical, Folk, R&B, etc.,

*20 Years of Teaching experience, privately, in music schools and in universities. *

ALL LEVELS
For all ages. From beginner to advanced!

I am also a University Faculty and hold both a Bachelors of Music and Masters in Music

I am located in Midtown Manhattan on the West Side in a relaxed comfortable environment.

Learn the kind of music you want to learn. We will always focus on the music you want to play and use examples of the music and performers that you want to play to teach each new technique. That way it’s always FUN! The way it should be.

Learn the techniques to reach your fullest potential in speed, dexterity, strength and musicality. My technique, derived from classical, jazz, fusion, rock, blues, metal and shred players, includes specific exercises to help develop proficiency in both hands for the best results.

Music Theory: Musical concepts and terminologies, presented in the simplest and clearest way, unlock musicians’ secrets and help you understand and apply theoretical ideas to achieve your greatest potential and musical competence.

Improvisation: Learn soloing, melodic phrasing, rhythmic analysis and how to apply various musical styles and articulations, along with scales for all types of chords and key structures, including major/minor, pentatonic, blues, modes, harmonic and melodic minor modes, as well as exotic and synthetic scales - all skills for lead guitarists. Practice diverse approaches to various musical genres and proficiencies.

Soloing: Master advanced techniques including legato, alternate, economy and hybrid picking, sweep picking, arpeggios, double stops and much more. Become an accomplished melodic guitarist, know how to play whatever you want and reach your optimum level of proficiency.

Chord Structures: Learn modulation, transposition, inversions, voicings and the use of extended and advanced chords from basic triads to sevenths and compound extensions, as well as songwriting, accompaniment and creating chord progressions. You will explore the essential vocabulary and exercises for writing guitar parts, songs and chord-based harmonies.

Composition: Cover all aspects of composition and songwriting for any genre including analysis, harmonic/chord structures and progressions, approaches to melody, counter melody and counterpoint and how to apply these to various styles of music and composition, including arranging and orchestration from rock and pop to jazz and full orchestrations.

Lessons are developed to meet your individual needs and ensure your progress.

*** Studio Equipment ***
I have guitars available that students are welcome to use in their lessons, as well as amplifiers, etc.

*** Specialties ***
I am an experienced teacher of guitar, composition, arranging, orchestration, music theory and have developed my own personal teaching concepts and methods for improving technique, chord/scale theory and counterpoint for various styles and genres of music including advanced techniques for Jazz, Pop, Rock, Metal, Shred, Fusion, Blues, others. I have developed teaching methods to improve a students speed, accuracy and facility on the instrument. I am a professional freelance, live, studio and session guitarist, composer, arranger and producer.

enter Out of Doors, among many others. As a composer, my work has received support from the ASCAP Foundation, Roulette Intermedium, and the Jerome Fund for New Music, and been performed on four continents. My teachers and mentors have included Mark Stewart (Paul Simon's musical director), Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, and guitarist Jack Sanders (winner of the American Guitar Society's lifetime achievement award).