Joel has been teaching lessons for over 15 years. “I’ve studied music with lots of people in lots of places. I’ve pined over many books. And, of course there’s the school of hard knocks… like singing with a cold for twenty straight days… I’ve done that more than once. And you learn something from doing that, something you can teach someone else. At first, I didn’t really know what I was doing [as a teacher]. It took awhile to figure it out. There’s more to being a good teacher than being a good musician or a good student. You don’t learn everything in school. For example, I helped a vocal professor from Berklee, Dr. Thompson, on his home studio. I learned more about vocals over that hour in his basement than I had from DVDs, books, or hours of lessons from other teachers. A good teacher can do that.” Well, if Joel’s busy schedule is any indication of whether he’s figured it out, it is pretty clear that he has become one of the most in demand music teachers in the state. He teaches full time two days and could teach more, but there’s so many other things he’s doing. Joel teaches Mandolin, Banjo, Ukulele, Advanced Guitar, and vocals at Rocktown Music. “Vocals are my favorite. I do things differently than my teachers did it. I take what was given to me and combine it with my knowledge and experience… My students like it. They get results they didn’t get from other teachers, not even from their college classes. They come back on Thanksgiving break for just one more lesson.”
A well rounded musician working on the ground in almost every area of the music business.
“I get bored doing one thing all day, every day,” he sighs. “Some people can do it, I never could. I have too many interests and maybe not enough patience to do the same thing all the time.” The heart of a local store is the passion and experience of the owner-operator. “People want to work with real people, people that have some experience, people that know what they are talking about… ” who could be better qualified to help you?