James

Certified Tutor

I'm a guitarist, singer, composer, and theorist of 10+ years with a B.A. in music from SUNY Purchase.

Throughout my own development as a student of music, I've often encountered significant difficulty, frustration, and disenfranchisement with the rigid methods of my instructors and the limiting outlooks of narrow pedagogical traditions.

Following my experiences, I'd like to give my students a dynamic, engaging, multifaceted, and personalized experience, without arbitrarily limiting their exposure to the big picture or forcing them down any one path.

I have a holistic perspective on technique; I don't mind helping a student focus on specific aspects of technique in relation to a given style of music, but I'll never push any given approach as the be-all-end-all.

In the contemporary era of worldwide digital dissemination of music and constant crossbreeding of styles, it's not so clear if developing linear proficiency in a single tradition (e.g. Jazz, Classical, Rock, Folk, etc.) is still a sufficient musical education.

If studying a single style or tradition exclusively is all you're looking for, I'm probably not the best fit, but if you want to explore music more broadly and get a sense of how things fit together and relate, get in touch with me!