Experienced tutor in Guitar in New York, Joe offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

I am a bassist and have been studying with Joe for well over 10 years. He is incredibly, knowledgeable, patient and insightful. You cannot go wrong with his teaching approach.

I am a graduate from Berklee school of music with a master in jazz studies.
I studied music in an academic setting my entire life.
But then, I discovered that I was thought the fast way.
The way to just get a gig.
I then through a friend discovered joe Solomon.
Joe’s teaching is the way to internalize the language of music.
It’s the way to have a voice and a vocabulary.
Not only to get a gig but to feel and experience music.
Joe changed my way of seen music forever.
He is an amazing musician as well as an amazing human been.
If you are serious about Music you must have lessons with Mr. Solomon.
He will change your life.

Joe is a true teacher, one of the greatest I have ever had. He will teach you about jazz improvisation, for sure - and he is a master improviser himself - but most importantly he will get your head in the right place so you can access the creativity we all have locked up within us. He is endlessly patient and encouraging and can make anybody feel like a real musician with something to say. He plays bass but can teach you to improvise on any instrument (e.g. I am a trumpet player) because the essentials are the same. Joe's method brings you deep into the creative process to help you find your own style and voice rather than sounding like a copycat. I would venture to say there are very few teachers who can do that well -- and I guarantee you will learn a lot about yourself and about life in the process. In short, he is amazing. You will not regret a moment spent studying with Joe and there's a fairly good chance he might even change your life.

I liked how deeply and intently he listened to my playing each and every week we were working together. He is highly invested in each one of his students and he creates an atmosphere where the process can flourish.

I've been studying with Joe since 2015. To start, I'm a piano player, not a bassist. But I can say that for improvisation, the instrument that you play is not the important thing. What you are learning with Joe is a simple and effective methodology to practicing and performing jazz improv. For me, it makes practicing feel meditative, where every bit counts, from the simplest c-scale to the more complex soloing over multiple changes. First of all, I found that Joe does not overburden you with a million different things to work on, but rather, meets you at your level, and then builds you up bit by bit. Secondly, He also does not ridicule you, or make you feel stupid, but lets you know the things you've done well and the things you need to still work at in a constructive way. Thirdly, he makes sure you always use a metronome, and really feel the rhythm, something often forgotten when playing. And lastly, he makes you sing the great the great solos of Lester Young and Charlie Parker (among others) to really feel and incorporate their vision.
While sometimes his method of teaching can feel mysterious, for me, through the mystery comes great strides in being a much more competent and deeper musician. More and more, I feel that I'm actually saying something when I solo, not just playing licks or scales. Furthermore, my ears, my listening skills, have improved greatly, allowing me to relatively quickly figure out on the fly the chord changes and melody of a tune. Ultimately, one of Joe's greatest lessons is to just embrace the slow, bumpy road of practicing music, and that through the slow and deepening awareness of the scales, chords, melodies, solos, and tunes you work on, you will come out as a true voice. As actually saying something unique, and not just being another run-of-the-mill jazz-player. You will have a sound and a voice to be remembered by.

I'd been playing bass for 47 years but, in all that time, I had never actually studied privately. My ear has gotten me a lot of professional gigs over the years but I always felt there could be more. Joe's patient persistence this past year has gotten me to places beyond where I ever thought I could go. It's been hard to break some old habits and rewire my musical brain, but Joe's never given up on me. He'll kick your butt if you need it, but it's well worth it.

Joe has hands down been the best music teacher I have studied with in my life. I am a jazz pianist, and his method of teaching has been so crucial in my development as a pianist, and an entire musician.

Joe uses a method of teaching that aims to master the fundamentals. Other teachers may spend time vaguely learning song after song, which may leave the student feeling that nothing has really been accomplished. Joe uses a method of teaching that aims to master the fundamentals. He will take his time with his students, to ensure that their musical vocabulary, dexterity, and creativity are produced fully. These skills will follow a musician throughout his or her life, and are responsible for creating what is known as a virtuoso.

His lessons feel like a continuous conversation, each week picking up where the last left off. He is undoubtedly invested not only in my success as a musician, but as an individual. This is because he understands that nurturing a successful artist requires nurturing an entire individual. So he takes time each lesson to make sure his students feel genuinely invested in what they're about to play for him. This is also the reason that Joe is an effective teacher for any instrument - that his methods are aimed at the entire musician, and not a tiny part of him or her.

In summary, Joe is a master at cultivating the full musician. Your time and money could not be spent at a better teacher.

I came to Joe after a six year sabbatical from playing. Prior to that I was a professional trumpet player with a Masters in Jazz Studies from the University of Miami. The first day I met Joe, I felt incredibly comfortable and confident that this was the absolute right place for me to return to playing once again. Over the following ten years that I studied with Joe, I came to embrace his "slow" approach toward learning music. One step at a time he filled in the pieces that were missing from my playing. Joe is supportive as he challenges you to go beyond your own expectations to achieve at a high level. As the Director of Jazz Studies at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, I have recommended Joe as a teacher to all of my students regardless of their instrument. Hearing each of my students growth in their studies with Joe was a testament to his caring approach and his love of music. I can enthusiastically recommend Joe Solomon as one of the great teachers in our midst regardless of the instrument you play.

In my 80 plus years of life, I've been a musician for 65 of them and I've studied and played with numerous entities. The best teacher I've come across is Joe Solomon. About 20 years ago, I wanted to brush up on my jazz studies and Joe was recommended to me by another reed player. At first, as a clarinetist, I thought; what can a Bass player teach me about playing my instrument? After a few lessons, I was hooked. He inspired me to hone skills, increase confidence in jazz interpretation and, ultimately to release two CD's which have my compositions and arrangements. He's an amazing teacher.

Joe is phenomenal. As a piano student of Joe’s for more than ten years, I can’t say enough positive things about him. He’s incredibly knowledgeable, regularly inspires me, and teaches improvisation in a deep and soulful way.

Joe has a clear teaching method, ear, and instinct. His approach to practicing and working with time really blew the roof off of the universe for me. He helped me to go deeper within myself, within the music, and with the piano. His path lead me to find a sound I can call be proud to call my own. It’s a pathway and a sound that I only seem to enjoy more and more as time goes by.

I have improved more as a guitarist and musician over the past two years of studying with Joe than I have throughout my entire life. Joe is the real deal and I highly recommend him to anyone looking to grow their musical vocabulary and instrumental abilities.

I started studying with Joe on a weekly basis over two years ago. In that time I have slowly, but steadily, grown as a musician. I attribute this to developing my ability to "hear" what's happening in the songs I am learning to improvise on. As a guitar player, he has got me out of playing in patterns (which most of us guitarists fall back on), and to trust my ears, understanding the music in a deeper way. I highly recommend him to anyone looking to anyone looking for a deep understanding of how to play jazz. It's a long road, but ultimately a rewarding and worthwhile one.

Working with a master instructor who is extremely knowledgeable about the bass, both jazz and classical.

I've been studying double bass with Joe for 4 years now every saturday. I went thru many teachers who just taught music like it dry boring math, Joe teaches you how to express and create in the moment! True jazz improvisation.
He is the best at teaching jazz no matter what instrument be it piano, guitar, trumpet, double bass etc. He teaches jazz improvisation that applies to all passing down what he learned from the master Lennie Tristano himself.

I am a tenor sax player, have been playing for many years and have studied with different teachers over the years. Being a student of Joe’s for some years now is the most meaningful jazz improvisation learning experience I have ever had. Joe has a unique, personalized way of teaching and talking about the art of jazz improvisation that helps connect and roots me with that art and its history. Joe is a true teacher but not up in the clouds preaching down to you but constantly demonstrates how, with disciplined practice, you can discover and create your jazz improvisational voice.