LESSONS
For information about my teaching philosophy and experience, see my Thumbtack profile
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The following are verified reviews from long-term students
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I have had an incredible experience taking lessons with James! I've been taking lessons from him for the past year or so and have seen a drastic improvement in my playing. We've worked on topics ranging from jazz harmony, theory, reading, and improvisation. Taking lessons has been so beneficial for my playing because we take the time to understand what we are playing and how it can be applied across music. Before taking lessons, I'd sporadically learn songs online and forget most of them, and not really absorb much of what I was playing. Breaking down songs, understanding form, and then adding practice routines that improve specific parts of my playing has been so helpful. I've felt more comfortable joining a band, playing at shows and open mics, and feeling comfortable rather than intimidated over the guitar. James has been super flexible both in scheduling and in the content we jump into. Sometimes I hear a song/solo and I need to learn it and understand what the artist was doing. Other times we'll go back to improving speed, form, and technique. James and I initially took lessons in person, but now opt to do online lessons mostly, though we both live in NYC. Online lessons have been great, James sends me a recap of the lesson and additional resources like PDF's, links to helpful resources, and whatever else we talked through. Would totally recommend James to any guitarist, but as a guitarist working on jazz and some more intermediate/advanced topics I have seen a ton of benefit. - Colin
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I've been playing guitar for a few years by way of attempting to teach myself. I knew that I wanted to get past the plateau in my progress and I am so happy that I found James! I have gotten an incredible amount of value and growth out of my lessons with him. He has so much guitar knowledge and skill and teaches in a way that makes things click! For example, he has helped me begin to feel like I can play music and in front of groups of people and has helped me get in touch with a natural musical sense (as opposed to thinking a lot and trying really hard) while playing guitar. He has never missed or been late to a lesson and sends handwritten PDFs summarizing the lesson and things to practice after we meet. I feel like I found the best guitar teacher out there- highly recommend! - Hannah
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