Scotch Plains Music Lessons

rporates what you already know, with what you will need to learn in order to achieve your goals.

*** Lesson Details ***
Whether you want to play flute, clarinet, sing, act, or learn to play piano, I am here to help you become the best musician you can be. Classically trained, I also work with the styles of musical theatre, pop, rock, and jazz. I can teach you the proper techniques, posture, and breathing necessary to perform to the best of your ability and teach you how to utilize your full lung capacity to extend phrasing length and dynamic range. I will also help you learn to read and write music. Together, we will keep a log to track your progress lesson to lesson. This will also help you keep a record of the steps you are taking to obtain and achieve your goals and dreams.

*** Specialties ***
Young and beginner students.
Senior & Retired students
Students with special needs.
Performance techniques.
Audition preparation
Speech techniques (public speaking/voice-overs, etc.)
Bel Canto technique.
Performance anxiety
Life coaching!

"I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys of learning" ~Plato

**if you need a particular time slot or one not listed on my availability I will do my best to accommodate your needs**

**All lessons will be scheduled in advance with confirmation of both the student and instructor. If cancellation is necessary, a written notice 48 hour cancellation policy is in effect or you forfeit the lesson credit. For lessons scheduled outside of the areas provided, a surcharge for travel will be added.**

***BB Studio now has a base location! Studio lessons are now also available in addition to in-home and on-line lessons***

y together, or have mini concerts to display the finished product of students' labor and encourage them towards new musical heights!

*** Studio Equipment ***
Yamaha Grand Piano, Acoustic/Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar

*** Travel Equipment ***
Guitar and my jeep

*** Specialties ***
When teaching piano, because I specialize in classical, I emphasize sight-reading, theory and performance from the very first lesson. As soon as possible, I have student memorize pieces appropriate to their level. I begin each lesson with memory work, move into sight-reading and analysis of the new work, or exercise. This way a student has a multi-faceted approach to music they are learning, and once they have learned it, they are continually adding to their repertoire. I work this way because many students are overwhelmed at the beginning of the learning stage. Examining the theory behind the composition helps them understand it, and approach it with less apprehension. Also, having pieces they can play from memory every week reminds them of the finished product of their labor and encourages them towards the new work.

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.

ntanti Project NYC.
She joined DiCapo Opera Theater covering the role of Abigail Williams and performing the role of Sarah Good in Robert Ward’s The Crucible and repeated her performance for the award-winning European Premiere of the work in Szeged, Hungary in November, 2008. Other engagements have included Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Metro Lyric Opera New Jersey, and 2nd Lady in The Magic Flute with the Harrisburg Opera Association.

Active on the concert stage as well as in opera, Ms. Schneiderman has been a regular soloist with her home orchestras, the Burbank Philharmonic and the New West Symphony, performing works by Mahler, Stravinsky, Orff and Mozart. She has also performed at Carnegie Hall as soprano soloist in the world premiere of Ed Lojeski’s Missa Americana. Later, she premiered the soprano solos of Mike Garson’s Symphonic Suite for Healing at the new Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, CA.
Ms. Schneiderman made her operatic debut with Festival Opera Walnut Creek as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro to much critical acclaim and went on with the company to perform Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Sophie in Werther. Ms. Schneiderman attended the San Francisco Opera Merola Program, and immediately followed this with a year as a Resident Young Artist with Seattle Opera, where she specialized in the music of Mozart and Rossini. She is is also a recipient of many awards and recognitions, including 3rd place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions - Southwest Region, 5th Place in the Loren L. Zachary Society competition, Gari Foundation Encouragement Award winner, and Violetta DuPont Competition finalist.
In addition to her passion for classical music, Ms. Schneiderman has performed extensively in crossover music, having performed regularly with pop legend, David Foster, at various events. During this time, she shared the stage with Michael Crawford and spent several years as duet partner to Josh Groban.
Her first full-length album, Unlimited; is available for purchase on iTunes and CDBaby.com."

Whether you are just beginning your training, if you want to sing for fun, or if you're an established professional, I can help by giving you the tools that will have you singing well for years to come.

*** Lesson Details ***
A lesson with me will include a warm-up, where we discuss basic concepts of technique, vocal physiology and sound. You will learn the fundamentals of healthy singing and increase your vocal stamina. Next, we will work on the music of your choice and apply those technical concepts to the piece you're working. I will also advise you on elements of style and performance at this point as well.

*** Studio Equipment ***
I use studio space that always includes a piano.

*** Travel Equipment ***
Student must have piano or keyboard in home if I am traveling.

*** Specialties ***
Voice, Musical Theater, Opera, Jazz, Pop Music, Style, Presentation

ol, and have taught dozens of students of all ages, skill levels, and in all styles of music. In addition to private lessons, I have taught workshops and masterclasses in high schools and community centers throughout my years at New England Conservatory. I have also taught at the Outreach Summer Music Workshop in Austria for 2 years, where I instructed and coached ensembles of international students. Music is a powerful thing, and the ability to teach it is a great joy and learning experience.

ce in private studio and has given workshops at the middle school, high school, and college level including his recent outreach work with the Boston Philharmonic to underfunded schools. Drew approaches each student as an individual with their own goals, needs, experience level, and learning style to create a specialized curriculum that helps propel the student towards their best self and enjoy the process at the same time.

an instrument and want to work on singing while accompanying yourself, or if you want to work on songwriting, we can incorporate those things into lessons as well. Truly everything is fair game if it is going to make you feel awesome. I especially love working with pop/folk/rock/contemporary musical theatre genres.

I believe in building confidence through singing, no matter your experience level, and I am here to lend guidance, support, and an empathic ear. Singing should be fun, not anxiety-producing, and we can work on dropping bad habits, loosening up, and freeing your natural gifts!