Larry Hoffman Music

I teach all Levels and Styles of folk, blues, and jazz guitar as well as all levels of music theory.

My fees are $60 an hour / $35 a half-hour

Details of my program:

I teach students to understand the instrument --and music --in such a way as to prepare them for whatever styles of music they choose to play.

I will teach you how to play and improvise over songs of all styles, as well as how to create your own arrangements of songs that you choose, in any idiom, as well as creating your own songs.

SONGS -- students choose the songs that they most want to play, and I coach them as they create individual arrangements. Songwriting and arranging is also taught.

IMPROVISATION -- beginning with teaching you how to play the blues, I will teach you how to solo over chord changes, in all genres including blues, jazz, and folk.

CHORDS -- I teach a thorough understanding of chords, from the simplest to the most complex-- with all voicings and resolutions, as well as how to build and implement them in all keys and progressions.

SCALES -- I teach all scales and modes, from the most basic major, minor, blues, and jazz variants to the more obscure and synthetic, and how to implement them in leads, fills, and improvisations.

ARPEGGIOS -- how to make melodies from the most simple to advanced chords throughout the fingerboard.

PICK TECHNIQUE -- how to effectively use a flat-pick in various styles, from folk to jazz.

FINGER PICKING TECHNIQUES -- as used by the great blues, folk, and ragtime

Players.

LEFT HAND TECHNIQUE — exercises to create strength and flexibility in the use of the left hand.

ALSO INCLUDED:

MUSIC THEORY — A fascinating, easy-to-understand study of all aspects of Music Theory as taught in the leading music conservatories in the fields of jazz, classical, and folk music.

EAR TRAINING / SIGHT SINGING / RHYTHM TRAINING—You have to hear it before you can play it! Essential elements of musicianship as offered and required in the nation’s most prestigious music schools.

---I taught at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University

-----I was Co-chairman of the Theory Department /All levels of music theory: From basic scales, intervals, and triads, to creation of fugues and sonata form works.

--My students— former and present—include professional musicians now performing, composing, recording, and teaching and throughout the United States.

I teach all Levels and Styles of folk, blues, and jazz guitar as well as all levels of music