Cherryville Studio: Home
Cherryville Studio
I have been teaching in Hunterdon for over 15 years, and have had the honest, great pleasure of getting to know and work with many wonderful families in the area. The lessons I offer are unique to this region. My background includes composition studies with Stanley Wolfe at The Juilliard School, and private lessons with some of the top instructors in NYC, including Alexander Bellow (Paul Simon's guitar teacher), #1 hit songwriter Martin Briley, jazz studies with Lawrence Lucie, who was an original member of Count Basie's orchestra, and horn and strings arranging with Mickey Gentile of Motown fame. The lessons I offer are based around simple secrets and methods that I have developed over my long teaching career. It's not just a matter of correct information passed along. It's a matter of solid, professional approaches that makes learning the guitar or piano something you can see yourself from the very first lesson. It's not just a matter of "practice, practice, practice" (which obviously helps!), but of developing a way of "thinking and hearing" that separates the amateur from the professional. These professional methods and attitudes that I teach are what separate my lessons from the rest. If your goals are as a hobby, it's professional results that will make this hobby both fun and rewarding. And if your goals are a dream towards a profession in music, I believe my lessons will prepare you better than others being offered in this region.
My lessons offer quick results, but are not a short-cut method. Rather, they approach learning an instrument from the standpoint of a "connection" to the songs we play. My students start off playing songs they actually like, songs that are current and popular. But then, through a simple process of learning to "think and hear" like the pros do, my students progress is guaranteed to bring good results (as long as the practicing routine is undertaken seriously). Lessons should not be a matter of wondering and wishing, but a matter of knowing where you are going. Lessons are a map, and a good teacher heads you in the right direction. As I often say, "you deserve the very best".