Plugged In Summer Information Session
Friday May 17, 2013 from 4:30p – 7:30p
Plugged In Teen Band Program
20 Freeman Place.
Needham, MA 02492

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Save up to $150 off your tuition fee!
$50 – Early bird discount (ends 5/15/2013).
$100 – Refer A Friend discount

Fore more information on discounts, programming or to register click here.

Contact Sandra with questions.

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Plugged In’s Summer Session provides students with exciting evening activities that will keep them playing, performing and growing over the summer. Our programming helps young people build self-confidence and self-esteem by removing the kind of academic, athletic and social competition they often encounter during the school year. We offer a relaxed, non-competitive environment and many diverse opportunities for both musical and personal growth.

This summer Plugged In taken the best parts of our popular Spring and Fall Sessions and condensed them down into 5 weeks packed with all the things that make Plugged In great. The Summer Session includes Band Class, Friday Workshops and several events and performance opportunities including our Community Engage Evening, Benefit Concert, Open Mic Night and the Needham 4th of July Parade.

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Rock on!

For more information regarding dates, tuition fees, registration and more click here.

At the end of each Plugged In session there is a benefit concert that raises money for a charity chosen by the students. This workshop provides students the opportunity to learn more about the charity, learn song-writing techniques, write, perform and record an original song for a CD. Students then perform their original songs at the benefit concert!

When: March 30, 2013 from 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Where: Plugged In Teen Band Program
20 Freeman Place. Needham, MA 02492
Fee:  $20.00  Attendees can pay via cash or check at the start of the event. Participants who are unable to afford the fee due to financial hardship should contact Dan Croft at dan@pluggedinband.org to learn about reduced and free rates.
To attend: Please RSVP by contacting Dan Croft at dan@pluggedinband.org or join this event on Facebook.

The “Good tips” part of the program will be presented in four parts; “The tone chain” is a discussion of the proper tools necessary for optimum musical expression. Although focusing on electric guitar for demonstration purposes, all instruments in a traditional rock/jazz/blues band will be covered. “The Gig” is a discussion on being fully prepared for any situation that may arise at the gig. “The Band” is a discussion of the dynamic of the organization. Sometimes there is a bandleader and sidemen/women, and other times there is a self-contained band. Tips on being a good bandleader and being a good sideman or sidewoman will be offered. “Practice makes “nothing’s perfect” will cover maximizing performance for the individual and the band. It will include tips on playing as a band, the power of working with a metronome, and building and supporting a strong solo.

The “Stories” part of the program will be fun, even for the non-musician, as “The music business is not always like they portray it on TV, good or bad”, Sarno says. “I love to tell the funny stories”, he says. There will be a Q&A period where people can ask questions about the things that are important to them. “Many young musicians want to know about careers in music, and I can help them with that and hopefully save them a lot of time. A lot of successful musicians had someone in their immediate or extended family to guide them in their careers. Although my father’s first cousin was the arranger with the Glenn Miller band, I never got a chance to meet him, and basically had to “reinvent the wheel”; making all the classic mistakes and eventually figuring it out”. Tony will share his vast experience as a professional musician, which can help young musicians to excel at their craft and possibly help to guide their career choice.

Tony Sarno has toured and recorded professionally for over 30 years with his band and with David Clayton Thomas’ Blood, Sweat, & Tears, CBS Recording Artists HOLLANDER, Peter Tork of the Monkees, and has shared the stage with Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Little Feat, Joe Cocker, Hall & Oates, and Johnny Winter. He has recorded for CBS Holland, Icehouse/Priority, Marconi, and Bandwidth Records.

To learn more about Tony Sarno and his accomplishments visit the official Tony Sarno website and the Tony Sarno Band Facebook page.

Audience giveaways provided by Ernie Ball.

 www.ernieball.com

Instruments: 6 or 7 string electric guitar, acoustic guitar

Levels: Beginner to Advanced

Stephanie Goyer, a Berklee College of Music graduate, has been playing guitar for 17 years and teaching professionally for 7.  Steph is also an accomplished song-writer and has been teaching students song-writing skills for 7 years.  Steph gigs regularly in the Boston area and has toured the east coast. Although her playing is mainly focused in rock and metal, she has studied classical, jazz and funk and enjoys working with students in any style of music.

Steph likes to cater her guitar lessons to the students interests, learning style and personal goals.  Beginner students working with Steph can expect to learn all of the fundamentals like reading music, pick holding, fretting, string bending, sliding, and playing with vibrato.  For advanced students, she puts a great emphasis on fret board knowledge, scales, theory, exercises and soloing. Steph incorporates technology into her teaching and is happy to make custom exercises and backing tracks for students to practice with or help with transcriptions, recording or song writing. Above all, her main goal is to make the student love guitar as much as she does!

Click Here to schedule a lesson with Steph.

Instruments: Drums, guitar (electric or acoustic), bass, vocals, keyboard.

Levels: Beginner to advanced drums, guitar, bass, vocals.  Beginner keyboard.

Dave Scandurra is a multi-talented musician and teacher. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Dave can proficiently play and teach drums, guitar, bass, keyboard and voice. He plays many regular gigs and shows with professional bands and Berklee faculty. Dave loves to work with students who want to broaden their scope of music with jazz and improvisation. He also loves to rock out too!

Dave’s goal is to help students understand the greater scope of the music.  He works across the spectrum with broad conceptual ideas like “feel” or “groove”, and more specific techniques like reading, theory, notation, etc. His first priority with lessons is that his students are engaged and interested in the material. Fun is the goal, but Dave also encourages students to challenge themselves, because thats how we get better.  Dave encourages students to try new things, whether that means a new style of music or learning instruments other than their “main” one.

Click Here to schedule a lesson with Dave.

Instruments: Bass (electric)

Levels: Beginner to Advanced

Nick Avila is a bass player, teacher and performer in the video game/cartoon heavy metal band Powerglove.  Nick has 10 years of bass playing experience, and has been teaching professionally for 2 years.  He attended Berklee College of Music where he studied performance and music business.

Nick will provide a personalized practice routine and experience for anyone looking to grow as a bass player. Nick and his students work together to discover a student’s strengths and weakneses as a player, and then develop an instruction routine to round everything out. Whether you want to work on groove, speed, dynamics, or theory, Nick will help you improve these techniques, and teach you how to integrate them all together.

Check back after May 7, 2013 to schedule a lesson with Nick.

Instruments: Guitar (electric and acoustic)

Levels: Intermediate to Advanced

Ben Cohen received his first guitar at the age of 13, and has been addicted to it ever since. He has played both guitar and bass guitar in numerous bands around the Boston area. His current band is Lattermath, a progressive metal outfit in which he plays lead and rhythm guitar. At the age of 15, After having outgrown several previous teachers Ben began studying guitar with Berklee professor and one of the fastest guitarists in the world, Joe Stump.  In 2004, Ben was awarded a Berklee Entering Student Talent Scholarship and began his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Now 27 years-old, Ben is a graduate of Berklee, with a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Music. In 2008, he attended Mattias “IA” Eklundh’s prestigious Freak Guitar Camp in Gothenburg, Sweden, studying with Mattias, who is widely considered to be one of the most innovative guitarists in the world today.

In 2000, Ben began to teach guitar lessons, and has been teaching passionately ever since, specializing in rock/metal, while also being well-versed in a diverse array of other styles. He has been teaching at Plugged In since 2005, and enjoys passing on wisdom gained from years of playing in professional bands to younger players. Ben continues to strive to push the limits of his playing, and encourages his students to do the same on their instruments, while maintaining a relaxed, anxiety-free teaching style that is focused on the individual goals of each student, no matter what the student’s level of experience and stylistic preferences might be.

Click Here to schedule a lesson with Ben.

Instruments: Guitar (electric and acoustic)

Levels: Beginner to Advanced

Rose O’Malley is a guitar player and music educator that began playing guitar at the age of 8.  She got her start teaching as a teenager at Creative Arts at Park in Brookline Ma, a summer arts camp were she continues to teach guitar, songwriting and hip hop production classes.  In 2010 Rose graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Professional Music.  She is also the Guitarist/Vocalist in her band Kid.  Rose was born in Needham and was in one of the very first Plugged In bands!

Rose is obsessed with all things music and enjoys recording, record collecting, composition and production. She enjoys listening to all genres of music but prefers to play and teach jazz, soul, motown, post-rock and alternative rock.

Click Here to schedule a lesson with Rose.