James S  
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Music, Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Classical, Pop, Blues, Folk, Gospel, Spirituals

I am founder and director of EAGLE MASTERWORKS PRODUCTIONS, have written and/or produced the words and music for several network commercials, one internationally released sound track for a film, and four nationally released recordings. James's network commercials include: several Mattel Toy spots; Woodsy Owl Give A Hoot, ("Keep America Clean" Campaign Public Service Announcement, for the Department of Agriculture at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising); Stretch & Sew Fabrics; and Your Local Church Welcomes You, for the National Episcopal Foundation. Through initial funding from NIKE, I and my wife Karen produced personalized pace exercise music for runners and walkers. This commissioned work led to his developing walking and running tapes endorsed by PREVENTION Magazine and recommended in hundreds of national and international publications such as the WASHINGTON POST. My first solo record album is entitled Freedom Flight, on Lamb & Lion Records which features production services from Larry Norman, Paul Stookey, Tom Howard, and Wendell Burton (actor lead in Sterile Cookoo with Liza Minnelli).

I arranged and recorded two guitar solo album in the beautiful wooden sanctuary of Jan Hus Presbyterian Church in New York City entitled: An Anthology of Sacred Carols for Classical Guitar and An Anthology of Sacred Hymns for Classical Guitar were subsequently released on EAGLE MASTERWORKS PRODUCTIONS (formerly Eagle Records Masterworks). Both albums aired on National Public Radio as part of two documentaries I wrote on the history of Christmas Carols and Hymns. My Christmas album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Album Notes and Second Prize for the Armstrong Memorial Foundation, and later was licensed to IBM Corp. as a multimedia CD-ROM. His hymns guitar works and documentary won the National Wilbur Award in Radio Broadcasting. These two instrumental works are at times ferocious; at times fragile and delicate. His complete collections of poems and lyrics are available as Ebook or Kindle at Amazon.com. My In Concert and other works are available at CDBaby. I am aproducer, writer, and concert artist. I teach guitar and piano privately and in classes over the last 20 years faculty at four music schools near NYC. I am happily married for 32 years and have a grown son who is a nurse in San Francisco and a daughter who is a Sophomore at William Patterson University in Criminal Justice. I look forward to meeting new students inspire for the next generation.

Techniques and Methods for Guitar and Piano:

Curriculum

Guitar: Alfred's Basic Guitar Book One, Two

Solos for Classical Guitar: 135 Repertoire Pieces by Fred Sokolow

Famous Classical Themes Easy Guitar, Lisle Crowley

A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar, Hal Leonard, Book I, II

Fingerpicking J.S. Bach by Marcel Robinson w TAB

Classical for Guitar, w TAB, Jerry Snyder

Great Songs for Fingerstyle Guitar, Hal Leonard

A Treasure of Classical Guitar, w TABS, Hal Leonard

World's Favorite Solos for Classical Guitar #43, Harvey Vinson, Ashley Pub.

Ukulele:

Piano:

Pre-time Primer and Beginning Reading to their Levels I and II popular, kinds songs, classical, and rock n roll.

I use Faber Piano Adventures Accelerated Piano Adventures For The Older Beginner Lesson Book  1 and  2     (I used this for two adults too)

Piano Adventures: Level 1; 1 2A (lesson, Theory)

My First Piano Adventure for the Young Beginner Writing Book A Pre-Reading

and

Teacher’s Choice for the Young Pianist Early Grade, by Allan Small, Claire Music Company.

Student Favorites (for both piano and guitar):

Pop & Rock, Folk partial list samples:

Star Wars themes

Somewhere over the Rainbow (ukulele too)

We Are the Champions

Mission Impossible

Classical Gas

Star Spangled Banner (National Anthem; Jimi Hendrix electric guitar with distortion)

The Entertainer (Ragtime)

Taylor Swift Series

Classical and Flamenco partial list samples:

Malaguena

Leyenda, Albeniz

Spanish Romance

J.S. Bach:

Air on a G String

Bouree, from Lute Suite No 1, Carl Fischer

Prelude from Cello Suite #1

Minuet

Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring

Sleepers Awake

Beethoven:

Fur Elise

Fifth Symphony

Moonlight Sonata

Ode to Joy

Djorak:

Largo (New World Symphony)

Study in Am Carcassi

Hall of the Mountain King, Edvard Grieg

Christmas Carols and Hymns, e.g., Silent Night, Carol of the Bells

GUITARS:

Classical

Acoustic

Steel

Electric

Ukelele

PIANO

Guitar Techniques and Skills:

Posture

Sight-reading Standard Notation Treble Clef; note values, dotted notes, rests, syncopation

Tablature

Names of Strings and names of notes of entire fretboard

Open Chords vocabulary and fingering

Chord Vocabulary:

Minor, Major, Diminished, Augmented, 6th,

Seventh, Maj7, 2nds, 9ths, Flat5, Flat9, 11th, 13th

Arpeggios

Octaves, Fifths, all Intervals

Barred Chords (Full, Half, Two-Thirds, One-Third Bar vocabulary and Left Hand Fingering (All Keys)

Cross-over fingering

Finger per fret rule

Finger per string rule

Ladder Principle (Left Hand fingering)

Positions (1-10):

Strumming patterns for 2/4, ¾, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 Time Signatures

Fingerpicking patterns for 2/4, ¾, 4/4, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 Time Signatures

Right Hand 3 and 4 finger simultaneous chord strike

Rest strokes

Free Strokes

Flamenco Strumming variations

Rasgueado

Flat and plastic fingerpicking Harmonics, false harmonic, ping harmonics

Tambora

Snare sound

Bongo effects

String bending

Left Hand damping

Vibrato

Tremolo

Palm muting

String snapping

Left hand chord muting

Righthand fretboard slapping percussion effects

Glissando

Hammer-ons, Pull-offs (Slurs)

Power chords (Rock)

Major, Minor, Pentatonic Scales, sharps, flats, accidentals

Pizzicato

Vocal accompaniment

Chord progressions, deceptive cadence

Improvisation

Music Theory

Songwriting

Producing Concert/Recital Performance Presentation Skills/Mike Techniques

Pro Tools Recording Software.