Tap or hover on a photo to see what Dan’s students have to say
RYAN OSSANDON
I played self-taught for many years before starting lessons with Dan, yet I've had more growth in a single year with Dan than when I was on my own. My playing has improved across every dimension, including technical capabilities and overall musical sense.
ADAM WALLER
Dan has not only taught me everything I know about the guitar but also instilled a mental approach that has paid dividends as much, if not more, than our work on the technical aspects. Dan has also helped me understand the benefit of singing along with the guitar. In less than a year, I had the confidence to play at open mics which I had never imagined. They were even fun. I look forward to working with Dan for a long time to come.
HEATHER CULTON
Dan is an amazing teacher. Not only am I a much better guitar player then I ever imagined I would be, but working with Dan has opened up a whole world of creativity that has enhanced my music and my life. If you have the drive and commitment then Dan can take you as far as you want to go.
MIKE FROMM
Like so many baby boomers, I started playing the guitar in high school to emulate my musical heroes like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and John Lennon. But after college, life happened, and with it came jobs, babies and other responsibilities that made playing guitar an afterthought. After thirty years without a single strum, I decided to re-learn to play so I could perform a song for my daughter and her fiancé at their wedding rehearsal dinner. Two years of weekly lessons with Dan Smith later, I confidently played and sang Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” in front of 200 people with a backing band of talented friends and relatives. Of course, now I can go into my classic rock catalog and play my old favorites too. Dan helped me rediscover my love for the guitar, overcome my trepidation about performing and now I’m playing even better than I did in my garage band days.
LOU RITTER
I had written some songs and called Dan to help me record them. In our sessions, Dan not only guides me in how to use the latest recording software, he gives great songwriting suggestions that've helped me strengthen my material. Our ongoing discussions have helped me rekindle and clarify what I want to do musically, and continually encourage me to do it - so now I'm also playing in live music venues around the city and planning my first full length solo show!
Whatever you want to do with guitar and music, Dan is fantastic at helping you develop both the skill set AND the crucial mindset to do it. Thanks Dan!
TED MAYNARD
Dan Smith is turning me into a guitar player. He makes it fun, and he seems to know what it is I need to keep moving forward. After just one year of lessons, Dan had me doing open mics around New York City and performing at solo workshops before other students and family and friends. Dan has created a community among his students, and we enjoy playing at open mics together. Recently, Dan has encouraged me to take part in combo lessons with some of his other students, and some of us have begun performing at open mics together, as duos and trios. That’s a fun, big next step for me, for which I am hugely grateful to Dan. He is adept at sensing what might be holding me back in my guitar playing, physically or emotionally, and then helping me find a way to keep moving forward in my music. I feel enormously fortunate to have Dan as a teacher.
RON ROTHSCHILD
I've learned more from Dan than I ever thought possible. From playing lead up and down the neck, learning songs by ear, to songwriting and performing, Dan has guided me every step along the way. The combo lessons he offers are an amazing opportunity to learn how to play with other musicians and be part of a musical community. I now play paying gigs all around New York City and host my own open mic!
DAVID ACKER
Having never played an instrument before, I was apprehensive to take on such a new endeavor. Dan’s approach has made me feel confident that I can achieve my goal to make music. Dan doesn’t only teach you the chords, but his lessons become full music appreciation experiences in whichever genre you’re most interested. Because of Dan, I am have learned the language of guitar and have established a repertoire of meaningful songs with which I have a strong connection.
ALAN SIMON
Dan Smith will do more than teach you guitar. He will teach you how to listen to music, to hear the instrumentation, and to feel the beat. He will stress the reliance on one's senses as the key to better playing, to think less, to feel and hear more, to anticipate and think ahead and to be ready for what comes next. Dan's teaching offers a complete musical experience, with acoustical and electrical guitars, with the incorporation of virtual drums and other accompaniment, and with an understanding of the discipline necessary to grow as a musician. Dan Smith has much more to offer than just a successful marketing campaign, for to work with him offers the chance for serious learning and the artistic enjoyment of making beautiful music!
CHRIS A.
After an injury, I had to limit my activities and spend a lot of time at home. Having absolutely no music background, for some reason the guitar seemed like an intriguing way to pass time as I recovered. It has been three years and I not only play guitar, I sing and have a more informed view of who I am as an individual. Dan is patient, supportive, insightful and has helped me achieve something I did not think was possible. I can recommend Dan without hesitation.
SIERRA LORENZINI
When I work with Dan I feel it’s a very friendly environment and he really has a lot of patience when it comes to teaching. I didn’t know one chord when I first came to him and now I’m playing many songs from beginning to end which is an amazing feeling! I’ve learned so much more than I ever expected to learn. He even records me playing so I hear how far I have come along and shows me what to work on for the future. I definitely recommend Dan for a guitar teacher!
EMERSON ALLEN
I began taking guitar lessons with Dan Smith because I wanted to come out of my musical shell. I wanted to improve playing and singing techniques, but most of all I wanted to become comfortable playing in front of, and with, other people. Dan’s guidance, and his combo lessons with two or more students has propelled me towards my goals!!
JANET R.
Working with Dan has led to what I never dreamed possible. The non-inclusive list incorporates technical, performance, and personal achievements. Over the years, I have progressed from plucking strings with one finger and poor tone to different patterns of strumming and finger picking and to actually playing and singing full songs solo – and not just in the privacy of my home but on stage in front of an audience! We work on lead playing, bar chords and other technical skills, and figuring out songs by ear. Dan always knows exactly where to direct the lesson and what I need, especially when I do not know this myself. In addition to the above, working with Dan has changed my frame of self-reference. I now am a person who plays guitar and sings as a regular part of my life – it is part of me and embracing it as such was a feat unto itself. I cannot recommend Dan highly enough as a teacher!
BRIAN ASTROVE
I started playing guitar one year ago and Dan has helped me to the point today where I am writing songs, singing, and playing guitar on stage. I had no prior musical or performance experience. There are many guitar teachers in New York, but what really stands out about Dan is that he is truly a teacher. Each time I struggle with something new (chords, vocals, performing on stage), Dan has seen the pattern before and knows how to guide me through it. He listens, builds the right foundation, then knows when to challenge me further. I highly recommend Dan as someone who is fun to play with and gets the results you deserve.
TANJA KAMPMANN
Dan's lessons are very different from my lessons in Germany, so I decided to come back any time I am in NYC! My skills are improving every time and Dan is able to teach me the "unpossible". He has the touch and if there is something, that doesn't work right away, he has a different way to get it into me . "Unpossible " is NOT an option. Dan is taking you serious and he is pushing you forward! Here everybody goes his/hers own way!!!
I was two times into the Solo Performance Workshop and it was lots of fun! In comparison to Germany (who is the best?) there is NO competition! I am always looking forward to see the other students between the lessons!
NYC without lessons at Dan's studio is a NO GO! I am so looking forward to learn new stuff and improving! Dan Smith is my "guitar whisperer"!