Join The Best In One Simple Step: The Power Of Showing Up WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE TOO OLD TO BE A 6-YEAR-OLD GUITAR VIRTUOSO?      Every day, social media shows us six-year-old guitar virtuosos, overnight billionaires and an endless parade of brilliant, talented and beautiful people.      Of course we know it is a mistake to compare ourselves with others. But the sad truth is that when we see h

How I Reduce Drama And Trauma  + Increase Cash And Clarity In My Business In Only One Hour Per Week        The secret to having less drama and less trauma in your business finances is to establish regular rhythms to keep track of finances and easy to maintain systems for decisions and reporting. In this blog post, I’m going to walk you through our weekly financial meeting, which allows me as

I ASKED 12 TOP GUITAR TEACHERS THEIR SECRET TO RETAINING STUDENTS –AND WHAT I FOUND OUT SURPRISED ME Meet Tia! Meet Adam! Meet James! Meet Eric! Meet Emilio! Meet Tony!        You know that if you want to build a studio, you have to be able to not only attract, but keep students!      So as the founder of one of America’s largest independently operated guitar schools (we had over 3,000

How Paying My Kids $50 Helped Me Lose Weight, Sleep Better and Release My Inner Flosser     Dear NYC Guitar School Parent, Would you pay $50 to have incredibly better dental hygiene? How about paying $50 to get way better sleep? And the weight loss industry in the United States is a 66 billion dollar industry–so would it be worth $50 to you to lose a few pounds?   I’ve done a

Got A New Year’s Resolution?   Good job–you’re already 10x more likely to improve than someone without a resolution.     Now, supercharge your success with these 3 simple concepts!   Hello Amazing NYC Guitar School Students, Happy New Year! Did you make a resolution to play more guitar, make new friends, eat healthier, or otherwise become more of the you who y

Most New Year’s Resolutions Fail– Read This To Succeed In The New Year! Hello Amazing NYC Guitar School Students,   The air is crisp, the sidewalks are full of shoppers, New Year’s Day is around the corner, and millions of us will begin 2019 with an exciting resolution to learn a new skill or form a new habit.   Unfortunately, most resolutions are doomed to fail.  In fa

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Jam to The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” guided by star teacher Shane! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Tia, click here!

13 Three-Chord Guitar Songs For Beginners With only three chords–D, G and A7–beginning guitar players can start playing guitar right away, with lots of amazing songs.  In fact, if you know these three chords you can even start playing “Happy Birthday”–and that means you and your guitar can be the lynchpin of any birthday celebration for the rest of your life.That’s cool!   O

Group Music Classes vs. Private Music Lessons: Which Should You Choose? By Ashley Kelly and Dan Emery So, you’ve finally decided that you want to take music lessons (guitar, vocal, piano, etc.), and now you’re faced with a question: do I take private lessons or group classes? Ultimately, the decision is entirely up to you. However, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of both options, which

Why Music Teachers Must Have A Cancellation Policy–And Why A Clear Cancellation Policy Is Essential For Long Term Student And Teacher Success   What is the most valuable commodity on the planet?  The non-renewable, always diminishing stuff; which when used correctly yields every great thing, and when wasted is gone forever? It is time.   This blog post is about YOUR TIME, and why as a m

The Post-It Note Of Power Little tweaks in your environment help you get and stay on track. This works for lunch–and for practicing guitar!   I think it would be a good idea if I took a lunch to work more often. Using up leftovers instead of getting lunch out is a WIN for the environment and proper respect for my wife’s awesome cooking! Eating home-cooked food means avoiding unhealthy f

Rock out to The Cranberries’ “Dreams,” guided by star teacher Tia! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Tia, click here!

From Tiny Acorns, Mighty Oaks. From Little Chords, Mighty Songs. No matter what your master plan is,  just take it one twig at a time. When I was a kid, my mom used to say, “From tiny acorns, mighty oaks.”  She meant that small beginnings lead to great results over time.   The little acorn spends years and years reaching up into the sky for the light and down into the earth for th

Rock out to Imagine Dragons’ “Believer,” guided by star teacher Michelangelo, featuring Madeline! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Michelangelo, click here!

Be The Guitar Player You Wish To Be How Getting Better At Guitar, Having More Self Respect, And Creating A Better Society Are Kinda The Same Thing “…who is not busy being born is busy dying.”–Bob Dylan You and I are on a journey through time–and we are a little bit of a different person at each stage of the journey, at the end of each year, week and day. It’s not just physical tr

14 Two-Chord Guitar Songs For Beginners with D and G Guitar may take a lifetime to master–but unlike the harpsichord and trombone, beginning guitar players can start making beautiful and awesome music RIGHT AWAY. In fact, with only two chords, D Major and G Major, you can already start playing lots of amazing songs. But as a beginner, it can be hard to figure out songs which are simple enoug

REALITY BASED PARENTING When We Try To Keep Our Kids Safe, Are We Actually Harming Them?     I looked up from the New York Times online. “Hey, Miriam,” I asked my wife, “remember the park-bench-lady?” “The one who told us that if we didn’t make our kids stop jumping from park bench to park bench she’d call the police?  How could I forget?”  We were reading one of last week’s most shared artic

Jam to Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” guided by star teacher Shane! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Shane, click here!

**Or, gosh, a better anything! Dear NYC Guitar School Student,   I know we’re all guitar players…but in order to learn to become better at guitar, for a moment, let’s pretend that instead you want to get REALLY STRONG, with FIRM and SHAPELY MUSCLES. Sound good?   Objective: Firm, shapely and strong muscles.   What will you do to achieve this objective? You decide to work out,

Three Reasons Student Shows Accelerate Student Progress …and Three Tips For Teachers To Maximize Student Show Participation And Success Written by long-time Queens and East teacher Tony Calabro, edited by Jobelle Mesa While we as teachers should never pressure a student to participate in a show, a little encouragement is sometimes all it takes to get them on stage. Letting a student know you

Groove to David Guetta’s “Titanium,” guided by star teacher Daisy! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Daisy, click here!

Get jamming with Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” guided by star teacher Daisy! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Daisy, click here!

This Independence Day, Get Better Parenting Results By Encouraging Your Kids To Embrace Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness In celebration of this Independence Day, I’d like to discuss the independence of our very own dependents–our kids.  Because it turns out that in parenting as well as nations, enlightened self government gets better results than tyranny and despotism! As parents,

Power ballad you heart out with Sam Smith’s “Too Good at Goodbyes,” guided by star teacher Michelangelo! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Michelangelo, click here!

How Much Does A Guitar Lesson Cost? One of the first questions new guitar players ask is: How much do guitar lessons cost? On the face, this is a simple question, but there are some complicating factors. In this blog post I will try my best to explain guitar lesson pricing and options, both at NYC Guitar School and around New York City. There are many different considerations in getting a guitar l

  Get sassy with Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself,” guided by star teacher Michelangelo! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Michelangelo, click here!

(**Your(future)self, that is!) Dear Guitar Student, Last night I walked into my son’s room, grabbed his guitar, and started jamming on some Ozzy Osbourne while he did homework and listened to music. Shockingly, his taste in music is not identical to mine. “Dad,” he complained, “if you’re going to play guitar, can you at least play along with the songs I’m listen

Serenade someone special – or yourself! – with Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” guided by star teacher Kyle! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Kyle, click here!

Jam to Vance Joy’s “Riptide,” guided by star teacher Shane! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Shane, click here!

Play your heart out with Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” guided by star teacher Shane! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Shane, click here!

Learn to serenade your loved ones with Ed Sheeran’s #1 hit “Perfect,” with star teacher Jaime! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Jaime, click here!

Learn to rock Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” with star teacher Jaime! Good luck and keep shredding! For more tutorials, click here. To take a lesson with Jaime, click here!