Benji Kaplan Music

Introduction: I have taught private and group guitar lessons to middle, high school and college students in NYC at various after school programs for private schools, as well as CEMO (Centro Educacao Musical de Olinda) (Musical Education Center of Olinda), a school in Olinda, Brazil, where I taught jazz improvisation to middle and high school students. I have taught Jazz, Blues, folk, rock, classical, and Brazilian music i.e. Bossa Nova and Samba to students age 5-adults in their 70's for over 13 years. In the lesson, we will learn your favorite songs, chord playing, how to sing and play (if you like to sing :) ). various rhythms and strumming techniques for rock pop jazz or R&B songs. For jazz players/improvisers We can explore different uses of scales and lines, ear-training and transcribing solos of favorite artists, to acquire the skills to develop good ears to speak the language more fluently on the guitar. I have a series of different exercises for picking and fretboard technique for electric guitar be it for Jazz, pop, rock, or R&B, I have various finger-style picking techniques for Brazilian, classical and folk styles. I like to approach teaching my students on an individual needs basis. As all students have different strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. The ultimate goal for me is in seeing my students feel good about themselves for having accomplished their greatest potential so that they can continue on to pursue music as a career or purely as a passion I teach primarily out of my private home studio in the West Village and may travel to students homes in Manhattan or Brooklyn, depending on location. Rates are affordable and can be negotiated over the phone or by email