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I started guitar lessons with David Joel in my Junior year of high school, with the hope that I would gain knowledge of the guitar and reading music. I took lessons to prepare me for my music classes in college and I believe he did an excellent job at preparing me for what I am now about to face going into my freshman year. Out of everything he has taught me I think my best improvement would be my technique. Before

I took summer lessons with David after having played mostly on my own for a year. Initially, I was capable of doing the basic strums, barre chords and a few neat riffs. After three months of lessons, David pushed me to develop my technique, starting with proper whole note strumming and ending with pentatonics and blues scales. I went from being just another college kid who could strum Wonderwall and Dave Matthews to a journeyman guitar player with

As a music major in college with a vocal concentration, I came to David with hopes of learning guitar so that I would be able to accompany myself while I sing. Prior to taking lessons with David, I had received beginner instruction from various sources. Throughout the year that I studied with David, my technique improved significantly, my ability to play in different styles expanded and I gained confidence in my playing ability. I have had many music teachers throughout my

I had reached a point in my playing where it felt like I was treading water. I'd been playing for about 10 years, been in a few bands, gigged all over Philadelphia but felt like I was stuck in a major rut. David helped me get out of that rut. His knowledge of the instrument is uncanny and his teaching style is so easy to understand and laid back that picking up the concepts and ideas he showed me was effortless.

As a beginner guitar player and an adult student, I am fortunate to have found David Joel as a teacher. Courteous professionalism, a personable nature and an obvious love of sharing his musical talents make taking lessons with David the highlight of my week. During his lessons, David teaches with years of experience, marked by an unparalleled patience and sincere encouragement, which have helped me steadily progress in my musical skills beyond what I thought I was capable of. Far from

The passion and intensity that emanates from David Joel's playing and teaching can be felt by his students. Though I've been with him only a short time, I've already made drastic gains in regards to theory comprehension, soloing, and improvisation. He has expanded my musical horizons as well as increased my love for the instrument. Somehow, he was able to tailor a teaching style around my individual goals and method of learning. David Joel is willing to take me as far

I have been taking guitar lessons for 5 years; David has been my instructor for the last 2 years. David has the right amount of structure and flexibility in his lessons to keep a student moving forward yet allowing the student to control some of the direction. I am extremely happy with my progress to date and would recommend him to anyone that is serious about music/guitar. You can get a Berkley quality education in Northeast Philly; that is hard to

For seven years, I would look forward to every Tuesday night when I would have my bass guitar lesson with David. Over the years, I have come to know David very well and I have learned so much from him. Kind, patient, and supportive, David would always assert his unconditional encouragement as I would drill lines or pieces of music that I would be struggling with. David would accompany the music I was studying by playing other selections of music that

I first took guitar lessons with David about 6 years ago. At that point I had been playing for about 5 years, and my playing was certainly not where it needed to be. I came to David with an open mind and an absolute desire to learn the instrument my hands had awkwardly gripped for half of a decade. I remember he asked, "Well what are your goals, what kind of music are you leaning towards?" I answered David by saying,

One item on my bucket list was “to learn to play the guitar”. Fortunately for me, I found David Joel. I have been taking lessons from David for over 18 months. I have learned more than I ever expected – about music, the guitar, and myself. David is an excellent teacher. He has years of experience playing and teaching. He also has talent, knowledge, skill, and understanding, not to mention patience and a sense of humor. By teaching his students to read music,