ABOUT THE TEACHER: JOHN SHAPIRO
John Shapiro: Teacher and Owner of Make Great Music
John Shapiro with student, Lada.
Hi. I'm John Shapiro.
- I'm a "master" music teacher with over 20,000 hours teaching private lessons.
- I teach an innovative, effective, practical, wholistic and fun method that I developed.
- I teach lessons in: singing~voice~vocal , acoustic & electric guitar , piano & keyboard , bass guitar and ukulele , as well as classes and workshops in: mindful music (in person & online) , songwriting (in person & online) and home studio recording (online) .
- I've been playing, studying, recording, writing and performing music for over 38 years and teaching full-time for 20 years.
- I have a BA in Music from Naropa University and also studied at Berklee College of Music and CU-Boulder.
- I teach out of my Professional Studio & Music School in the West Highlands neighborhood of Denver, Colorado.
My first instrument was piano, and soon, I started singing and playing guitar and bass. I've also dabbled in various world music including studying tablas (Indian classical drums) in Nepal and Balinese gamelan in Bali. I'm a casual drum kit player. I have performed solo and in bands around the Denver metro area at various times over the years, and I periodically record original material in my recording studio.
MY NON-MUSICAL ORIGINS
As a kid, I had no innate musical ability. I didn't grow up in a musical family and only started learning music in high school. When I was first teaching myself to sing, one comment sticks out: "You sound like a whale."
Through a lot of self-practice and musical experimentation... Through attending college for music and the variety of teachers and techniques I was exposed to... Through performing solo and in bands and recording over the years... And through thousands of hours of teaching students and constantly developing and refining new ways of teaching... My musical abilities, as a teacher and a musician, have since improved.
I consider my robust journey from non-musical beginnings to be a huge advantage in teaching. My insights into the various stages of my own musical development allow me to connect and work with students at various levels: From never-ever-can't-sing-a-note to hobbyist to professional vocalist. I can walk you through the beginning stages of how to hold a tune, help you stretch and fine tune your professional abilities, and anywhere in between. I have no expectations of what you "should" know, and I have developed techniques of teaching that can help students of at any level with a variety of backgrounds and goals.