What to Expect from Guitar Lessons
Never taken music lessons before? Don’t worry, we bring in lots of brand new music students every year. Here's how it works...
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Each week, you’ll see the same instructor, at the same time, most likely for 30 minutes. Your instructor will review what you worked on last time, correct any mistakes, and assign new material. Then, you take your new assignments home and practice them on your own. Your teacher will guide you as to how to practice and for how long, but most teachers recommend at least 5 practice sessions a week, even if each one isn’t that long. It’s always best to do more practice days for shorter periods of time than it is to cram long practice sessions into only a couple days!
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With guitar lessons in particular, instructors tend to base their approach to each student's musical training on the unique skills, preferences, and goals of their student. We know guitar is one of the most popular instruments (and for good reason!) so we've taken on an extremely skilled and versatile staff of guitar instructors. Our instructors are experienced in rock, jazz, pop, country, and everything in between! They'll do everything they can to take you at your current level, whether you've never played before or have been playing for decades, and bring you as close to your goals as possible!
As you progress week to week, your instructor will start to suggest supplemental material or activities to round out your training. He/She may suggest taking our Music Theory class, or participating in a summer program. Perhaps they even think you’re ready to take the stage and tell you to sign up for The Den! As you go along, your instructor will also be looking to you to set personal goals, so that you’re always working towards what you want to do with music!
If you get to the point where you feel that you want look into the music industry as a career choice, we will schedule a sit-down meeting with you (and your parents or guardians, if applicable) to help you get started. The New York School of Music network is far-reaching, and includes professionals throughout the Hudson Valley and at performing arts colleges. No matter what part of the music industry you’re interested in, we will do our best to connect you to relevant professionals in our network, arrange for work experience opportunities, and prepare you for entering the field.
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First half hour= $150/month, all additional half hours in immediately family= $140/month. We have no age limit for becoming a student!
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Scroll down to meet our wonderful instructors!
Jacob Friedman- piano, guitar, voice, music production
Jacob Friedman has been composing, educating and performing professionally since
graduating Columbia University. He has received certificate of recognition from the Carnegie
Hall American Protege International Music Competition for excellence in teaching. He has
scored the soundtracks for the Mysterious China documentary series by Monarex Hollywood
and has had his pieces performed at Princeton a University and at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C. As a songwriter, Jacob has released several albums spanning all genres from EDM to World music and collaborated with some notable writers including Peter Bliss, who produced for Barbra Streisand and NSYNC.
James Lippert - guitar, bass, drums, voice, ukelele, piano
James Lippert is a young musician who has been playing all sorts of instruments since Junior High. He actually started his music career here as a guitar student roughly a decade ago and has been performing around the area ever since! He's currently pursuing a Bachelor's in Psychology through SUNY New Paltz, and has been studying music and music theory since High School. His current plans involve a career in music therapy and music production. He is currently the lead singer for Cheating the Polygraph, as well as a multi-instrumentalist for bands such as Souls at Large. He developed a love for teaching music after working with our very own Brendan and Sinclair White and has been teaching any and every instrument he can since 2023. He's proficient in guitar, voice, bass, drums, ukelele, banjo, and piano; he also spends a vast majority of his spare time writing music as a songwriter. His current projects include Telethia, Serene Mayhem, and a handful of pieces under his own name! He absolutely loves seeing his students grow and do well, and he can't wait to see them take the stage.
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Rory Quinn - guitar, piano, ukulele, music production
Rory began to study music at the age of 5 with piano lessons and quickly developed a passion for it, eventually expanding to play guitar, bass and percussion. As a teenager, he performed with numerous bands throughout the Hudson Valley and Long Island. Rory decided to continue his music education at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY earning a Bachelors of Science in Music Industry. While there, he began instructing local children in both piano and guitar at the local Salvation Army, teaching them technique, theory and how to perform live.
When not teaching, Rory spends time writing music and recording albums, as well as acting as a freelance live sound engineer through the American Northwest.
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Danny Silversmith - guitar, ukulele
Danny Silversmith holds a degree in Jazz Studies from SUNY New Paltz. He draws influence from many different genres including rock, jazz, classical, folk, and world music. He plays frequently around the Hudson Valley with his band, Shy Spy.
Upcoming gigs can be found on his website at www.dannysilversmith.com.
Brendan White- guitar, piano, drums, voice, bass
Brendan White is a 27 year old musician who was born and raised in the Hudson Valley. He studied Music Therapy and Contemporary Music at SUNY New Paltz, where he graduated in 2018 and has been teaching ever since. He is proficient at guitar, piano, voice, drums, and bass.