Lessons

Pop/Contemporary Guitar & Bass Lessons

Private instruction in acoustic, electric, and bass guitar is available to students from all musical backgrounds. Students are encouraged to strengthen their technical and musical foundations within their areas of interest, and to explore contrasting approaches.

Areas of study may include:

Rock and popular music
Fingerstyle blues and americana traditions
Harmonic and extended improvisation
Songwriting and arranging
Music theory and fretboard knowledge
Transcription and ear training
Amplification and electronics


An audition held during the first week of fall classes is required for these lessons, which span two semesters. Students are asked to bring in two contrasting selections to demonstrate their abilities and interests.

All lessons are offered as 1 credit course per semester and there is a $300 fee per semester that is charged to your student account (note that Columbia College, General Studies & SEAS students who receive institutional need based grants from Columbia will receive a credit for the music lesson fees as part of their financial aid package). Additional information regarding  music lessons is listed below:

  • Live auditions are required and are only held during the first week of Fall classes.
  • Undergraduate students in Columbia College, General Studies, SEAS & Barnard College, in addition to graduate students in the Music Department, receive priority for lessons. If there are slots left over, graduate students outside of the Music Department will be considered.
  • Registration for the appropriate music lesson course is available only to those students who have auditioned and been admitted to the Music Performance Program.
  • Students admitted into the MPP during the Fall audition are admitted for both Fall & Spring of that academic year.
  • Lessons are 6 hours per semester.
  • This course is graded via standard letter grades, unless the student opts to take it as Pass/D/Fail.
  • If an accepted student decides not to take lessons for any reason, they must formally drop the course before the end of the Change-of-Program period, as specified in Columbia's Academic Calendar, in order to receive a full refund of the lesson fee. After the deadline, the fee will not be refunded. The amount will not be pro-rated.
  • Paid trial lessons are available upon request, based on the instructor's availability. You can arrange these directly with the instructor via email (address available on the instructor's profile page). The fee is at the individual instructor's discretion.