Prospect Music Lessons is the number one choice for the best Brooklyn Guitar Lessons. Lead teacher and founder Braden Palmer has been teaching Guitar Lessons in Brooklyn for two decades, helping kids, adults, beginners, and advanced students all become better musicians. He has refined his teaching methods over the years and understands that no two students have the exact same learning style. While he has several books and exercises that he recommends for complete beginners, his flexibility allows students to craft their own musical path once basic skills are engrained. Some students will want to learn to play rock guitar solos – others may choose to strum and sing their favorite songs. Braden allows and encourages these and many other paths!
Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Guitar Lessons in Park Slope
Young beginner students should expect to learn basic techniques such as how to use a pick, simple 3 and 4 note chords, and how to read music. Braden’s beginning Brooklyn Guitar Lessons for Kids revolves around the exercises contained within Alfred’s Basic Guitar Method, the most balanced and well-paced instruction book available. Most students will need to purchase this book – however, once the first book is complete and the student shows determination and good practice habits, they can choose their own path if they would like! Options include continuing on to the second book, learning simple rock/pop tunes of their choosing, singing while playing, creating their own music, or any combination of these! Braden will consult with the student’s parents, of course, before changing the trajectory of the lessons.
Intermediate students, generally teenagers and adults, who take Braden’s Brooklyn Guitar Lessons and want to learn more advanced skills such as riff playing and lead guitar will work on techniques such as alternate picking, pentatonic scales, power chords, barre chords, finger-style, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and more. More advanced songs, either chosen by the student or the teacher will be studied – songs that break away from the basic 3 or 4 chord simple progressions. The student will learn some basic solos, and how to start using scales to improvise their own!
Advanced players can take a more genre-defined route. The most popular styles students of Braden’s Brooklyn Guitar Lessons choose to study are jazz, classical, and advanced rock soloing. Jazz students will learn extended chord voicings, advanced improvisation using chord tones with passing notes and scales, comping, and will study the music of the jazz guitar masters – traditional players such as Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhard, and more modern ones such as Pat Metheny and John Scofield. Classical players will further their skills in sight-reading, finger-style tone production with proper care of the right-hand nails, polyphonic (more than one voice) playing, and eventually songs by the greatest composers for the instrument – such as Heitor Villa Lobos, Leo Brouwer, and Fernando Sor. Advanced rock players will learn about two-hand tapping, tremolo picking, sweep picking, using effects pedals, and rock/blues style improvisation. Players to be discussed will include Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kirk Hammett, and many others.
Listening Improves Playing
All students that study with Braden will also learn to become better listeners and fans of music in general! Younger students will be encouraged to find songs and bands that they like with simple listening assignments – the Beatles, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and Green Day are some of the most popular choices. More advanced students will learn to appreciate different styles of music outside of their regular playlists and will be trained to hear music like a musician.
On that topic, Ear Training is a huge element in learning to play guitar or any instrument. Students will learn the secrets of using their voice, whether they feel they are good singers or not, to identify and discover intervals, melodies, chord progressions, and more. Braden firmly believes that if you can sing it you can hear it. This can be accomplished with simple exercises, singing while playing, and more.
Don’t forget to practice!
Lastly, all students of Braden’s Brooklyn Guitar Lessons will learn good practice habits. The most effective practice starts with consistency and frequency instead of once a week marathon sessions. Students who find practicing difficult will work on managing time, splitting sessions into different practice categories, and how to continue to practice music even when you can’t get to your instrument! Vacations or busy work weeks don’t have to set us back in our studies. Any student can and will improve with solid practice habits!