“[..] The intersection of technique and vibe is really not something a lot of people know how to teach.
“That [Cole has] a clear point of view on that, helps a lot. […] I don’t feel bored, ever, and learning an instrument can be pretty f***ing boring.”
David, Brooklyn, NY (artist name: -fellner)
Step 2 of 2: Review client results.
“Everybody that I play with, or I play in front of, because I play guitar a lot, are noticing changes in the style of music that I’m playing, which is cool.
“There’s a lot of muscle memory, there’s stuff that’s locked in, where I can quickly and easily discover different positions in which I can play something, and pay attention to register.
“Before this, it was all gut-based; I would just make stuff and be like, ‘this sounds awesome, but I’m also stuck, and I can’t break out.’ The structures of songs that I was making were pretty uniform throughout, and now I can experiment with variety a lot more.
“[Before joining,] using non-guitar instruments was a lot more of a shot in the dark. So, now that I understand how to make music with intention on the guitar, I can apply that to any other instrument. I started playing shakuhachi, and because I understand intervals, I can create a series of notes that’s more interesting.
“[On the topic of guest workshops]: being able to talk to artists about a specific topic that they’ve spent a lot of time in, outside of just music theory, so — this is everything that I do in order to prep a release; here’s all the prep I do going into a session, or going into post[-production]; here’s how I think about the current climate of production and mastering and sound, from someone who’s won a Grammy — it’s pretty sick.
“It’s worth a lot more than the price tag. Going into the institutions, doing the work, and taking the knowledge back, [as Cole has done,] is a long process, and being able to get that in a straight shot, without having the rigidness of music school, is a perfect fit for people who don’t want to pay 6 figures and bend over backwards and do all these late nights, putting in all the work that the professor needs.
“If you’re like — I want to learn, but I don’t want to do it all on YouTube, I want to have a teacher, I want to get feedback, I want to have challenges that apply to what I’m learning, and a group of people around me who are doing the same thing, it’s really beneficial.
“If I was talking with someone who was hesitant, face-to-face, I’d say — talk to Cole. […]
There’s so much flexibility with what you’re learning, and also there are standardized learnings. It’s truly the best of both worlds.
There’s never a moment where we’re talking about something where [Cole] doesn’t immediately know what I’m talking about, and have like 5 things to say about it.
What [Cole] has done is created a model that I’d love to use for other things I’d like to learn. I’ll have to go into the Shakuhachi world and see if I can find a teacher as good as [Cole].”
“I have been getting up to write consistently, every day. Things are starting to come together, for me. […] It’s about getting to where you know you can be.
(Obviously, there’s the less woo-woo stuff: you have to practice.)
The crux of this course is almost to train yourself to recognize yourself.”
Sam, Brooklyn, NY
“It was very cool — the fretboard freedom part of the course. […] Being able to map out the full fretboard, and play a melody on it, was great. I’m much further along than when I started the class.
If your goal is to create interesting music, and you want a broader, and more sophisticated skill set, I think you should take a chance and dive into the course. […]
Cole is a great leader.”
Bharat, Manhattan, NY
“I could give [Cole] the most basic, childlike sentence about music, and [he] could translate it, musically.
The a-ha moments were: trusting myself, […] having a more informed approach to music in general, and connecting to it, as opposed to just playing it, and [he] also gave me the backbone to realize when I’m just not connecting with music. […] You’re still a musician, even if you don’t like something. [Cole] gave me that selectivity, which is really important for me.
My taste is worthy, and my taste is good. [Cole] helped push that.”
Jaina, Brooklyn, NY
“I think you’re doing some really cool work with this. […] I’m really loving the stuff that I’m coming across.”
Justin Felton, Brooklyn, NY (Guitarist for L’Rain, 2024 touring bass player for Big Thief)
Note: this short clip was from Justin and I talking as students filtered into the room before he taught a workshop. Justin is a guest artist, not a student.
“Cole is a great teacher. He breaks down a challenge into manageable pieces, and always leaves you with a clear plan for what to do. Lessons are inspiring and motivating. If you want to learn guitar, I can’t recommend him enough.” - Elliot Cole, Faculty at Juilliard, The New School, and Princeton University
“It feels empowering. […] It’s helped put together a lot of things that I didn’t have crystallized before.”
Daniel, Somerville, MA
“[Cole] is a very great teacher.
I’ve had a lot of teachers, and I noticed that [Cole was] better than them. I hate to say that, but it’s true.
[Cole gives] what their student needs, and also what they want. [He] noticed that I had advanced fretboard skills, but also saw that my ear needed a lot of work. I needed that.”
Kirsten, Bahamas
“Cole is extremely easy to work with and learn from. He listened to what my goals were and helped to put together a customized, comprehensive curriculum. He was also very open to hearing what aspects of the learning process I wanted to avoid/didn't have the energy for, which made it much easier to keep up my enthusiasm and put the work in each week between sessions. I highly recommend Cole, whether you're starting from scratch or a higher skill level.” - Luke
“This is an important part of this process for me - if someone were to ask me what my influences are, to really chart from where I started to where I am now - it’s something [I’ve] never really had the opportunity to say out loud. […] I really liked doing it.”
Sam, Brooklyn, NY
“I took guitar lessons with Cole last summer and was eagerly waiting all school year to resume the progress we made. As many other amateur guitarists, I used YouTube university to develop my skills, but I always felt like I was missing a piece of the puzzle. Cole was able to identify all of the areas which I was deficient in and formulated a plan for me to develop my guitar abilities in a holistic way. Cole is a fantastic teacher and I highly recommend him!” - Lucien
“Cole has been transformative to my guitar practice. Having plateaued in my independent development, working with Cole for the past year has restarted my passion for guitar and completely changed how I approach practice as well as appreciation for music more broadly. I can't recommend working with Cole highly enough!” - Will