Roslyn Heights, NY Music Theory Lessons

365 Track Pro recording studio
Demos to completed CD's.

GUITAR & PIANO

*** Travel Equipment ***
Guitar & Keyboard

*** Specialties ***
All styles from blues to classical

ng programs such as Paper Mill Playhouse and AMDA Summer Conservatories

Both voice and piano lessons are based on a foundation of healthy technique while incorporating musicianship skills and encouraging the student to develop their own creativity. I am experienced in teaching many genres and styles including Broadway/musical theater, classical/opera, pop, rock, R&B, country, and folk. I encourage my students to explore new styles and apply good technique to any style they may choose to sing or play.

I love helping my students prepare for auditions. As an active performer myself I have auditioned many, MANY times for different organizations, and I have also been on "the other side of the table" and I know what qualities audition panels are looking for. Let me help you show your best qualities at your audition!

As a member of both NATS (National Association for Teachers of Singing) and ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) I am constantly working to improve my teaching skills by keeping up with the latest pedagogical research. I love sharing new tips and techniques with my students!

I strive to create a lesson environment that is open and honest, where my students are never afraid to ask questions or try something new. I am always happy to explain concepts in a different way and I encourage improvisation and creativity in addition to healthy technique and strong musicianship.

If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to send me a message by clicking “Ask Barbee a Question” at the top of the page.

In-studio equipment: Yamaha P-115 digital piano with 3-pedal unit and bench, music stands, large library of scores and anthologies for repertoire exploration

Please note that you MUST have an acoustic or digital piano with weighted keys for in-home piano lessons. You MUST have a piano or keyboard for in-home voice lessons. If you are looking to purchase an instrument I am happy to provide recommendations.

Please note that students are expected to purchase all music, curriculum, and other materials as appropriate.

elPriora, chair of the Guitar Department at the Manhattan School of Music, where he earned a master degree in composition. His mentors include composers Susan Botti, Reiko Fueting, and electronic music pioneer Joel Chadabe. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Florida, where he studied jazz guitar with Tom Lippincott, and composition with Susan Epstein-Garcia.

Juan is also an avid cartoonist, collector of rare books and little cars, food adventurer and runner.

*** Lesson Details ***
Guitar teaching encompasses many disciplines. One has to be a bit of a psychologist in order to gauge a potential student needs and musical sensibilities. The mathematical aspect of musical notation and rhythm makes us part mathematicians. In the end, there is also a self-actualizing aspect to guitar teaching in the sense that we are always witness to those moments that made us decide a career on music.
During my years of guitar teaching I have encountered many types of students, and I have learned from them as much as they have learned from me as they make me question aspects of music that I would have never thought about. I have learned to not take for granted the definition of concepts such as rhythm and harmony, and to look at guitar technique from different perspectives as I find ways to accommodate to a student’s capabilities. Ultimately, it is also a job that requires a lot of planning and structure. My first step, generally, is to assess the student’s ability and interest to find material suitable for them. Then, I proceed to familiarize with the student’s musical tastes and sensibilities to assign practice material accordingly. For example, if the student is interested in rock or pop music, we will work on a particular song that fits his level and also solves a particular technical problem. During that process I will answer any of the student’s questions, and provide insight into musical terminology. We will also work on basic concepts of rhythm, melody, and harmony. My training as a composer and jazz guitarists also enables me to tap into the student’s creative side. In that case, we would start with a basic blues progression and blues scales, and work on the basics of improvisation or songwriting.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Basement studio w/ small keyboard, amp, acoustic guitar, 3 electric guitars, music books w/ seating for parents and lots of magazines!

*** Travel Equipment ***
I provide music sheets, students should have an instrument, tuner, paper, pencil, and a metronome.

*** Specialties ***
I teach fundamentals of music theory, principles of jazz improvisation, classical guitar technique and repertoire, song writing, pop songs, sight reading, and overall musicianship, as well as Jazz, Rock, Blues, Bossa Nova, and other Latin Styles.

n Manhattan as well as a small mixing studio in my Brooklyn apartment, and I'm happy to show students the ins and outs of recording along with theory and guitar technique.

*** Lesson Details ***
Music is fun!!! I strive for all my students to enjoy themselves, to have a great time learning about the world of music.
I use a song-based approach to guitar playing. Armed with just a small vocabulary of chords, you can play hundreds of great songs. My students will determine the course of their lesson plan by selecting songs they want to learn. While maintaining proper technique and effective practice methods, we will learn the fundamentals of the guitar by playing the music that we love. After 6 months, you will know all the basic chords, and the fundamentals of playing a solo. As lessons progress, you also learn song structure and some basic harmonic theory so you can begin creating on your own.

*** Travel Equipment ***
The student is expected to provide his or her own guitar.

*** Specialties ***
Jazz, ear training, songwriting, theory

work with many schedules and work loads, but I expect my students to put at least half the effort into their lessons that I do!

rnor's Award in Arts Education for the category of Instrumental Music.

*** Lesson Details ***
I am very laid back and friendly, and I want you or your child to be as comfortable as possible during our lessons. You or your child will develop confidence and musical intelligence. I will make your lessons fun, enjoyable, and effective. Boredom is not an option! Music is fun... let's keep it that way.

The teaching methods I use will be custom-tailored to your individual needs, personality and specific musical goals. If it's guitar or piano you want to learn, I want to get you playing exactly what you want to be playing as soon as possible. That's what you're here for, and that's what I'm here for. I will make it happen. If it's songwriting that you want to learn, I will help you access that place inside of you that is dying to express itself creatively, and will teach you techniques to harness that energy and translate it successfully into musical expression.

You can expect to learn all the basics of music theory, proper playing techniques, improvisation and spontaneous musical expression, and I will help you develop your "ear" so you can figure out songs you like just by listening to them. This is all about you and your goals, and I want you to achieve them in a fun and engaging way.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Living room: Upright piano, guitars, amps, keyboard, percussion

*** Specialties ***
I specialize in pop, rock, classical, jazz, blues, folk, fingerstyle (guitar), etc. I also teach improvisation and songwriting, and try to develop the student's ear for figuring out songs they like on their own.

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.

rk mostly with children, but have a handful of adult beginner students I work with as well.

Everyone is different - and I personally take the time and effort to develop and customize my lessons and materials for each student. I'll push you (a little!), to make you realize just how much you can do!

Music is an all-rounded experience. Not only can I offer you a chance to learn how to play different styles of piano, from jazz to pop to classical, but I can also teach you how to write your own songs, arrange them, and perhaps (if you like) record them!