Private Guitar tutoring lessons Brooklyn, NY.

, training is applicable to any new skill.
Last and definitely not least, playing music is fun.

*** Lesson Details ***

I plan my lessons around getting students to enjoy playing music as soon as possible, whether that means learning how to strum a chord rhythmically, playing their favorite song, or how to take a blues solo.
There are steps that have to be climbed to do more complex things and I encourage students to practice a little every day rather than for a long time once or twice a week. Developing a love of music and steady practice habits are more beneficial over the long term than practicing until your limit.

*** Studio Equipment ***
I currently have a living room space where I can teach, but it's small so it might be preferable to travel to you.

*** Travel Equipment ***
If necessary I can provide amplification, cables, and a microphone.

*** Specialties ***
Jazz, Folk, Blues, Rock, Hip-hop, Funk, Reggae.

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.

either of those styles.

My purpose as a teacher: help people have a fun experience, learning in an organized way, adapted to your learning style and goals, while learning to do exactly what you wanted to do when you decided you wanted to play the guitar.

In 1994, I was let go from my job at a music store because I was sick. Which sounds awful, but was the best thing to ever happen to me- it was then I got over my fears and became a full-time musician, teaching and writing and performing. I have never looked back! I may not be a household name, but I am living the dream.

Whether you want to sing to your kids or play for an audience of 50,000, or just play guitar for yourself, you first have to get started.

Wait no longer! The guitar is calling!

ter completed her studies in music performance, composition, and foreign language at the University of New Mexico. In addition to her classical studies, Diana sang in a variety of traveling choral groups throughout high school and took small roles in the Broadway musicals ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and ‘Rent’.

In the course of her studies, Diana was honored with awards of excellence from the National Honors Society of Guitar and recognized for her performances with the critically acclaimed woman’s guitar ensemble, ‘Presti Quartet.’ She was selected two years in a row to perform 1st chair in the New Mexico ALLSTATE Guitar Orchestra - the first-ever young woman to earn that position. The following year she was chosen as one of twelve guitarists to represent music in education in the United States.

In the time since her studies, Diana has called many places home. She lived in New Orleans for several years and in that time her music interests broadened to embrace traditional American forms, such as jazz and the blues. During that time she ran a private music practice, teaching children and young adults to become proficient with music. She continued her travels, her studies and her teachings during the summer of 2017 in Spain. She has been living, studying and teaching in New York City since the fall of 2017, always carrying with her the belief that music should never feel like a chore and that learning music should be curiosity-driven, active, enjoyable, and emphasize self-expression. Diana believes in building a strong foundation of musical knowledge with her students by providing the tools to create good habits from the beginning and encouraging effective, deliberate practice. It is her mission to inspire aspiring musicians as a music educator and bring a life-long love of music to her students.

ed the Royal Schools of Music Grade 8 Theory certification, and Cambridge AS Level Music.