Minoru K. TakeLessons Instructor guitar, bass, music theory New York, NY

I have been performing with various musicians and groups in New York City area since 1984, and teaching guitar privately since 1990.

I was born in northern Japan, and started to play acoustic guitar at age 12 and performed, singing Japanese pop songs accompanied with my guitar, I also learned classical guitar from my schoolmate. Later on, I started to play electric guitar and formed my own group along with my schoolmates in a same high school. My group's repertoire for performance included my originals and covers from album "Blow by Blow" by Jeff beck. After graduated high school, I moved to Tokyo to attend music school for two years. After I finished my first year, I was able to earn a scholarship to finish my major of Jazz / fusion guitar and advanced music theory for the 2nd year. While I was living in Tokyo, I kept moving into old apartments that were falling down and ended up moving to New York City in 1984. I performed with New Jersey funk rock group called "Blue Number Nine" in year 1995 through 2004 and participated their first three CDs and toured in buffalo and Cleveland several time, also co-wrote songs with band's lead vocalist Stefanie Seskin on an album "living it up in the new world".

Influences

Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Roben Ford, Jimi Hendrix, John Scofield, Pat Martino, Pat Metheny, Earth Wind & Fire, Prince, Steely Dan, Miles Davis, Michael Hedges, BACH...etc

Performing Experience

 I performed at various clubs and theaters in NYC and NJ since 1984. For example, Bitterend, Kenny's Castaways, Downtime, Elbow Room, CBGBs, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, University of the Streets, Lincoln Center "Alice Tully Hall", NJPAC (New Jersey Performing Arts Center). Participated Various Music Festivals and Special Events in East Coast.

Educations beside academic degree

I studied advanced Jazz Guitar under Ted Dunbar & Rick Stone at Jazz workshop in harlem nyc. Studied Jazz improvisation with John Isely (Saxophonist) also in nyc. Completed coursework in music theory, jazz/fusion guitar ensembles and jazz piano at "AN ENTERPRIZE" (Music school in Tokyo, Japan).

Personal Statement

"A good teacher is one who, rather than steering a student toward a particular style, broadens perspective and hones the student's technique and natural talent. The value of a good teacher lies in their ability to help the student explore their individual strengths and maximize their potential as an artist".

I use various effective exorcises to build foundation and help develop student's ability to achieve their own style. As a basic, I use "CAGED" system for chord study which divide guitar finger board in 5 different positions. I believe this is the most popular and effective chords learning method. For scale study, I begin with C major scale move horizontally across the fingerboard which seems to be easy for students to understand scales. I also provide ear training, basic music theory, how to use metronome, special techniques such as bending the strings, articulations and so on. However, the most important thing is to enjoy playing our instruments.

Note:  You don't necessary have to bring your guitar when you come to take my lessons, you can use one of my guitar, I have several electric and acoustic guitars in my studio.

I teach style of blues, rock, Jazz, funk, pop, and classical, both finger and flat picking.
My specialty is finger chicken picking (snap strings by fingers to produce expressive sounds like Robben Ford or Steve Morse). Super accurate Pat Martino's style picking. Pat produces very unique expressive sounds, not only because he use heavy gage strings, but his approach to the strings are very accurate. I also teach some open tunings too, such as drop D or DADGAD tuning. Also some bottle neck slide.

guitar, bass, music theory

Student's testimonials: My name is Jerome Simeon. I am 34, grew up in France. When I started, I wasn't really sure how far I would be able to go, but working with Minoru, I was not only able to play some simple songs after a few weeks, but have been steadily progressing and I have been having great fun along the way. My tastes in music are very eclectic, ranging from classical music, to heavy metal, passing by pop music, and world music. One of the great things working with Minoru is that he has been able to help me explore many styles of music. We started with a few simple pop songs (coldplay), going into more advanced blues songs (clapton), and some latin music (bossa nova). It's been really fun as I could both explore various musical styles while making good progress on my guitar skills.

 My name is Wade Tam. I am a 23-year-old high school teacher in the Bronx. I scoured the city for a reputable teacher who could break the guitar into easy and familiar terms. Many of the teachers I came across were either arrogant and smug or too expensive! While shopping for a keyboard one day, I ran across Minoru's ad in Music Store and decided to give him a chance. He looked like a good guy who loved music and just wanted to teach. The past few months of taking lessons with Minoru have been awesome. His knowledge of the guitar and music is incredible, and he is always patient with me during our lessons. More importantly, he adapts to your style and interests and is willing to teach you what you want to learn while instilling the basics of guitar and music. Within the first few weeks of taking lessons, I could play Stairway to Heaven and a few basic blues jams and riffs. My guitar playing and technique has improved since I have taken lessons from Minoru. He is a great teacher!