Are you an air-guitar ace who’s hankering to rip up a real Fender? Do you love singing in the shower and want to find your true voice, just in case you’re the next Norah Jones?
You don’t want to hone your burgeoning talent with just anybody.
Sure, there are those “I’ll teach you guitar” signs at laundromats all over the city, but why go to amateurs when musicians in the business are at your service?
Plenty of established rockers teach beginning and advanced students how to play – partly for money, but mostly for fun.
GUITAR
Legendary ’70s punk band Television’s frontman Richard Lloyd offers comprehensive guitar lessons in the Garment District’s Music Building.
“I like to teach because it requires me to study,” says Lloyd, a producer and member of Rocket from the Tombs. “Studying music is like looking at the solar system – it never ceases to inspire awe.”
Learning from a legend might seem intimidating, but Lloyd immediately puts you at ease as he pulls a chair up next to yours, hands you a pick and points to the Fender guitar for students.
He quickly assesses skill levels (mine are low) by asking you to play a few chords. Then he demonstrates some basic chord shapes, teaches a bit about scales and shows you some exercises to increase your dexerity.
At the end of one lesson, you’ve heard enough to make your head spin – from how the scales developed, to why the strings are tuned a certain way (www.richardlloyd.com).
If you’d rather take lessons with younger New York scenesters, the Walkmen’s bass player, Pete Bauer, also gives lessons.
He says it helps pay the rent when the post-punk band isn’t on tour – but he also gets a kick seeing people learn to play.
“I teach people songs they want to, and can, learn,” he says. “When you finally teach them to do a blues solo, it’s really fun” (pete@marcata.net).
Matt Stinchcomb, vocalist/guitarist with New York’s indie-pop rockers the French Kicks, usually starts simply (such as teaching Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”) and then moves into scales and chords (lessons@frenchkicks.com).
Jeff Jefferson, from the rockers Swinging Neckbreakers, teaches individually tailored lessons out of Park Slope’s Rumblestreet Music. “I love music, and it’s uplifting to sit down with someone who’s also into music,” he says (jeff@neckbreakers.com).
The Guitar Bar in Hoboken, N.J., is owned by guitarist James Mastro; he’s performed with Ian Hunter and John Cale, was a member of the Bongos and played, as a teen, with post-Lloyd Television.
The beauty of this guitar store is that it offers a smorgasbord of lessons from several musicians who have worked in all different styles.
“[Lessons] should be fun,” says Mastro.
“All of us had bad experiences as kids with crazy old teachers.”
Among the eight teachers are guitarist Ivan Julian (Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Matthew Sweet), keyboardist Andy Burton (Ian Hunter, the Schramms, Peter Noone/Herman’s Hermits) and Boo Reiner, who, as the country picker and Demolition String Band, can offer lessons on the twang tip.
The Guitar Bar also offers monthly rates (four half-hour lessons for $90) as well as a la carte sessions (www.guitarbar.com).
VOICE
New Yorker rock ‘n’ roller Joy Askew has worked with Peter Gabriel, Joe Jackson and Rodney Crowell as a keyboardist and singer. She offers piano instruction as well as voice lessons.
While she’s taught stars such as Ben Lee, Claire Danes (as a present from Lee, her then-boyfriend) and the Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson, one of her favorite students was actress Angelina Jolie.
“She was so adept at learning. It was wonderful. She was so into trying to find her voice,” Askew recalls (www.joyaskew.com, for more info).
UKULELE
If you don’t want to tackle the guitar or voice lessons, how about going the Tiny Tim route?
Roger Greenawalt, a guitarist and producer, has played his ukulele with Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright.
“So much of what I do is supervising others, so [teaching] keeps the instrument in my hands,” he says ([718] 599-9436).