New York City Guitar School

Announcing Mass Appeal 2013: A Free, Live, Epic Ensemble of Guitarists in Union Square

amy@nycguitarschool.com — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:49:39 +0000

Make Music New York is a colassal festival of hundreds of imprumtu outdoor concerts, celebrating the first day of summer and the joy of music! Glockenspielers, bagpipers, and megaphones will all unite around the city! Of course, the best part is that guitarists across the city will invade Union Square in droves and perform as a massive group!!

NYC Guitar School and Guitar World Magazine are hosting Mass Appeal: Guitars — a free, live, EPIC ensemble of guitarists open to players of all ages, styles, and skill-levels. On June 21st we will swarm Union Square as we come together to play sings by Florence + the Machine, The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Lumineers, and more!

VISIT http://www.meetup.com/mass-appeal-guitars/events/117726092/ to RSVP FOR THE EVENT!!!

Are you a beginner? Don’t worry, several of the songs will be very beginner friendly!

Is it your first time?? Here’s a video from last year so you can get a feel for the excitement and buzz!

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Unleash Your Guitar Potential In Just 20 Focused Minutes

amy@nycguitarschool.com — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 22:02:25 +0000

The secret to becoming a great guitar player is to practice your guitar, however sometimes it feels like you just don’t have enough time. When you do have time, it can be hard to know exactly to work on. The truth is that if you have just 20 minutes, you can treat yourself to a full practice session that covers everything you’re currently working on. And just like after a good workout, you feel accomplished afterwards!

Here is a short 3-part practice routine that ideally takes just 20 minutes. It’s also designed to give students a definite sense of completeness: “I practiced everything I needed to in 20 minutes, I’m done!” so that practicing doesn’t feel open-ended or unfocused. Students develop “setlists” from day one, consisting of complete songs memorized. Often, they tape a piece of paper to the shoulder of their guitar with their setlist written on it (see last month’s article for how to create your own setlist). The only rule is that a song can’t go on the setlist till it’s truly memorized and able to be played nonstop.

Here’s the routine, short and sweet:

1. WARMUP: (The Spider, or any warm-up exercises your teacher has given you)
2. REVIEW: Play 2-3 songs from the setlist, nonstop, with correct chords (& lyrics if you so choose)
3. DIG IN: One or two new songs, new concepts, or new techniques, no more.

As a student, you can also grade your own progress. We all like to have markers to know where we stand, and grading yourself can help you pinpoint what you need to work on. Notably, you can’t get past Level 0 until you’ve actually listened to a recording of the song. It’s amazing how often people play a song for weeks in class and have never actually heard the recording! Here is a rating system you can use:

LEVELS
Level 0: I haven’t listened to the song and/or don’t know how to play it at all.
Level 1: I have listened to the song, and can play with frequent mistakes and stops. I need the sheet music.
Level 2: I have listened to the song, and can play with a few mistakes and stops. I may need the sheet music.
Level 3: I have listened to the song, and can play with no mistakes and no stops. I have memorized it and don’t need the sheet music.

The next time you have 20 minutes free, sit down with your guitar and try to follow this schedule. Try to grade yourself on each song, which can give you a better sense of what needs work and what is ready to go on your setlist. Happy practicing!

by Jaime Garamella

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Woody Quinn

NYC Guitar School — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:39:11 +0000

Woody has been studying and performing guitar for over 16 years. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Studio Music and Jazz from the University of Miami, Woody traveled to New York City. Since arriving in NYC he’s played hundreds of gigs ranging from rock gigs at CBGB’s to jazz gigs at The Blue Note. Woody enjoys teaching students of all ages and levels, from beginner to advanced.

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Shane Chapman

NYC Guitar School — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:35:07 +0000

Shane comes to us from Seattle, where the summers aren’t that hot, the winters aren’t that cold and it doesn’t rain as much as you’d think. Since he left his hometown of Anacortes, Washington in 1997, he has taught English in Prague, waited tables in Scotland, played shows in Australia and rocked it as a poor musician in five continents and over thirty countries. In Seattle, he was a teacher at the Seattle Center Academy and the front-man of the intrepid band The Red Note for five years. In addition to his guitar school responsibilities he is currently completing a degree in music composition at Brooklyn College and often writes music for the film and theater departments there.

His coolest job to date is being both a teacher and the director of the Brooklyn Guitar School.

Check out Shane teaching the “Lick of the Month”:

Check out Shane teaching how to play “Such Great Heights”:

Check out Shane teaching how to play “Hallelujah”:

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Sebastian Cruz

NYC Guitar School — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:32:48 +0000

Sebastian is a guitarist, songwriter, composer, arranger and educator. In his original projects he often includes musical elements from his Colombian roots rubbing against elements of urban New York City life: multi-cultural mesh, recycling, discarding, minor epiphanies, major cacophonies and modern jazz and other languages. His main personal projects are Coba (songwriting project) and The Cheap Landscape Trio (instrumental) with which he has released three acclaimed CDs.

Sebastian has performed in several beautiful and exciting venues, as well as sketchy and random locations throughout the U.S., Europe and Colombia including the Mozart-Saal from Vienna’s Kozerthaus, Joe’s Pub, BAM Cafe, Symphony Space, Summer Stage-Central Park in New York, A-Trane in Berlin, among many others.

Sebastian has a masters degree in jazz guitar performance from the Manhattan School of Music. He has taught Colombian music at Columbia University, and is now proud to be a teacher at the Brooklyn Guitar School.

As a composer Sebastian won in 2010 the prestigious Van Lier Fellowship from Meet The Composer, and in 2002 he won an ASCAP award for the composition of a song for theater.

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Michelangelo Quirinale

NYC Guitar School — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:26:23 +0000

Michelangelo comes to us from Boston as a recent graduate and scholarship student of Berklee College of Music, where he earned a degree in Guitar Performance. He has over 15 years of playing experience in all styles of music, with Classic Rock and Metal holding a special place in his heart (Led Zeppelin heavily influenced his switch to electric guitar). Michelangelo’s musical journey has led him through 8 years of teaching and gigs all over the east coast. He’s a fan of all music, and believes in teaching students whatever they want to learn, whether it be Anthrax, Aretha Franklin, Aerosmith or ABBA. Michelangelo also specializes in beginner to advanced music theory and ear training. He looks forward to sharing everything he can with his students, while also immersing himself in the NYC music scene.

Check out Michelangelo teaching how to play “More Than Words”:

Check out Michelangelo in action in this video below:

Check out Michelangelo teaching the “Lick of the Month”:

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Marisa Torrieri

NYC Guitar School — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:23:32 +0000

Marisa began playing guitar 10 years ago in college at the University of Maryland. Five guitars, six bands, and many solo projects later, Marisa now preaches the gospel of rock and roll, and teaches guitar to early and advanced beginners everywhere. In 2004, Marisa transitioned from player to teacher at the original Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in Portland,Oregon, where she taught guitar and vocals, and managed a band of eight-year-old girls. She went on to teach at the newly established Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls in Brooklyn and we are very happy that she has joined Brooklyn Guitar School. An avid fan of Dick Dale, Johnny Cash, Joan Jett, and PJ Harvey — as well as a classically-trained and punk-schooled vocalist — Marisa especially enjoys working with children to improve their guitar skills as well as nurture their on-stage performance dreams.

Check out Marisa teaching how to play a D Chord:

Check out Marisa in action in this video below:

Check out Marisa teaching how to strum mixed rhythms:

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Jeff Koch

NYC Guitar School — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:19:49 +0000

Jeff Koch was born and raised in Greenwich Village, the heart of New York City’s music scene. He started playing electric bass when he was 12 years old and began studying upright bass his first day of high school a year later. Jeff has been performing regularly in New York City as a rock and jazz bassist. He has performed at many of the country’s best venues including: Iridium Jazz Club, The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Cornelia Street Cafe, San Jose Jazz Festival, and CBGBs. Jeff has received his Bachelors in Jazz Performance from Manhattan School of Music, and is currently working on his masters degree. Jeff is often heard playing bass for Brooklyn Guitar School teachers Michelangelo and Shane.

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Chris Gabriel

NYC Guitar School — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:14:44 +0000

Chris Gabriel has been playing guitar for fifteen years. As a singer/songwriter, he has fronted two bands, SGT and The Atlantic. In between those two projects, Chris spent some time touring the country as a hired guitarist. He has played guitar on stage at almost every Hard Rock and House of Blues across the country. Besides the guitar, Chris plays many other instruments such as mandolin, ukulele, bass guitar, piano and the drums. He is currently pursuing a degree in music composition from Brooklyn College and composes music for plays and short films and such.

Chris is thrilled to be teaching at the Brooklyn Guitar School. He loves sharing his love and knowledge of music with anyone willing to listen and learn. With a healthy combination of technical study and music theory, Chris’ students become more than guitarists. They become musicians!!

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Play in a NYC nightclub!

amy@nycguitarschool.com — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 21:08:04 +0000

Have you been practicing guitar alone in your apartment? Are you itching to perform for a supportive group of NYC Guitar School students and teachers? The time has come! Here are the dates for our Spring Showcases:

Adult Student Showcase

Fontana’s (105 Eldridge Street between Grand and Broome)
5pm – 7pm
FREE!
Spots are limited! Sign up on the 11th floor office door or call (646) 485-7244 to reserve your spot.

Join an Adult Rock Band! There are still limited spots left for guitar, bass, drums, vocals and keys. Click here for more information!

Not ready to perform just yet? Come and watch, it’s FREE and we’ll be raffling off cool prizes. See you there!

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