The following is a copy of the letter that was mailed to all of my students earlier this week:

Greetings,

I’m sending this letter to all of my current and returning students, to let you know about lesson and recital dates for the upcoming months, and a minor change in my payment policy that I’ll be instituting beginning in September. I’m also planning to raise the price of lessons for incoming students to $16.50, but I will be keeping the price the same for all of my existing students and those who return in September.
Continue reading 'Studio Schedule and Policies for 2007-2008'...

Getting back into the swing of things in Athens took a little more work than anticipated, so I apologize if this post is a little late.

Overall, my experience at NGW in Chicago wasn’t much different from what I was used to at the New Milford, CT campus. The schedule of events was basically the same, and I taught the same classes both weeks. What was different was the more relaxed vibe of the faculty and campus. There were definitely fewer students in Chicago and a smaller faculty and staff. Paired with the fact that many of our classrooms were spread out across campus (some over 1/3 of a mile away) the campus was much quieter and more relaxed than in CT where we had 15 classrooms filled with guitarists in one small building. The peace and quiet in the basement of the chapel where my acoustic class met was a welcome change from having to compete with blues and rock classes on either side, but at times it was almost too quiet! I really like hearing the sounds of the guitars echoing down the hallways at NGW.
Continue reading 'National Guitar Workshop Chicago 2007'...

UPDATED JULY 4 - PLEASE READ

I have just been invited to teach at the Chicago campus of National Guitar Workshop from July 14 through 19, so I’m now looking at resuming lessons on July 23. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to continue working alongside so many great guitarists!

I’ll try to reach everyone who has lessons scheduled to let them know about the change. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Have a great break and keep on practicing! I’ll try post from NGW if there’s any time!

My third year of teaching at National Guitar Workshop in New Milford, CT was my best experience there yet. I was happy to see all my friends from previous sessions again, meet a new class of students, and hear some fantastic music. Enrollment was down for the week, and while that’s not good for NGW’s bottom line, it made for smaller class sizes and allowed for plenty of individualized interaction with the students. My Modern Acoustic I class ended up having a total of five guitarists in attendance and I had a wonderful time working with them. Over the course of the week, we covered a lot of topics, played a lot of tunes, and on Thursday night performed “Hey Jude” for our portion of the student concert with Tom and Terra contributing vocals. The audience was a rowdy bunch and didn’t hesitate to help us out in singing “Na Na Na Naaa…Hey Jude!” while Ben played some bluesy fills during the final vamp. I was really pleased with how well the group played, and how well the audience responded to them. Congratulations on a job well done!
Continue reading 'National Guitar Workshop CT 2007'...

Apple Becomes Third-Largest US Music Retailer
Is there any point in releasing a physical CD now?

Jimmy Bruno Launches Jazz Guitar Instruction Site
Instructional videos from a true master.

Fender’s Andy Summers Tribute Series Telecaster
A replica of Andy’s beat-to-hell 1961 Tele complete with on-board overdrive unit!

Fender’s new VG Strat
One guitar that can give you virtually every sound you need for a live gig or session.

Murali Coryell
Son of jazz legend Larry Coryell, Murali is one hell of a singer and guitarist himself.

Yamaha Folding Music Stand
Folks keep asking about my music stand. This is it. The case is sold separately.

Phasetoy
Experiment with hypnotic phasing techniques ala Steve Reich.