“I have been taking lessons with Joe for almost a year now. Being an older person who’s been around music for many years (trumpet, guitar, bass), I have taken lessons from many people, so I think I can bring a more mature perspective to a commentary regarding my bass lessons with Joe. Besides Joe having a thorough knowledge of music, both theoretical and practical, lessons with Joe have some unique and highly beneficial features. First and foremost is use of structured lesson plans based on identified goals. Goal setting is vitally important because it lets the student see and understand how each lesson fits into the big picture, and the student readily can judge, take pride and be motivated by his progress towards established and achievable objectives. Lessons are written down in the students lesson book for ready guidance and review from week to week. Second each lesson is divided into 3 or 4 bite sized sections. These might be exercises for finger dexterity, or scale exercises, or speed drills, or transcribing a song. Its all part of the plan and fits into the big picture…the wall as I call it.Third, each lesson starts with the student playing the assignment from the last lesson. Many instructors will teach something new each week without reviewing the progress of what was taught last week. Joe’s lesson plans are like bricks in a wall. Each lesson plan is designed so that the student learns what he needs to master in order to build the next section of the wall, and not just put pieces of the wall here and there. Its no good to carry on teaching the making of new bricks, when the last brick was faulty. By reviewing the previous assignment, the student and Joe can see if a lesson has been mastered or, if not, where more work is needed on a particular section of the wall. Finally, as will be noted from Joe’s story, with over 50 years of playing music as a top rated guitarist and vocalist, Joe being the voluble person that he is, a wealth of musicology, tricks of the trade, stories, and performance related knowledge comes with the package. You just can’t do better than Joe Jammer if you really want to learn guitar and are willing to make the commitment to work and achieve your dreams.”