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Ben
- Rate $75
- Response 1h

$75/h
1st lesson free
- Music Theory
Genre-crossing composer, improviser, producer, and multi-instrumentalist with a PhD and creative experience from conservatories to theaters to clubs
- Music Theory
Lesson location
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At Ben's house: Chicago
- online
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at your home or a public place : will travel up to 10 mi. from Chicago
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Recommended
Ben is a respected tutor in our community. They have been highly recommended for their commitment and the quality of their lessons — an excellent choice to progress with confidence.
About Ben
I'm a Chicago-based composer and performer active in multiple genres of music, especially jazz, classical, and electronic sounds. As a performer I use vibraphone, trumpet, piano, my voice, and my laptop; my compositions have been featured worldwide, from the Berlin Philharmonic stage to an Oprah-produced documentary to the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.
Since receiving my PhD in Composition from Northwestern University, I have kept up an active portfolio career in Chicago, including university and private teaching, arts administration, event production, and of course, plenty of music making. Climbing and reading are also a big part of my life!
About the lesson
- All Levels
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
I can offer lessons in the following subjects:
-Music theory (including classical, jazz, and contemporary music)
-Aural skills/Ear training
-Music composition & songwriting
-Music improvisation (the art of making it up as you go)
-Music production (Reaper & Ableton are my primary programs)
-Beginning mallet percussion, trumpet, and piano performance
My approach is rooted in dialogue, combined with personalized exercises and study recommendations, applied both in and out of a session.
The goal is to help you develop a holistic practice, including:
1. the language to describe what you hear, how you hear it, and how to relate it to others in everyday life and the ideas we encounter called "theory"
2. the workable skills that leave you feeling refreshed in mind and body, ready for more music and able to see the next step
3. a clear sense of the "why" for each part of our lesson, and how it relates to the big "why" that brought you to music in the first place
Flexibility and variety is key. Is today a day for talking? For listening? For working out an exercise together? For playing together? By working through what's on your mind, we bring thinking and feeling together in a way only music can.
When tutoring, I like to find the questions that not only address your curiosities, but lead to more questions. By doing so, we build up a specialized learning process based on discovery and discussion, backed up by practicing your fundamental skills and remembering your core values.
I aim to do this with all my whether you're a beginner or experienced, student or professional, young or old.
Recommendations
Recommendations come from relatives, friends and acquaintances of the teacher
I have known Ben since he was my student over a decade ago as an undergraduate at Wesleyan. He has always been thoughtful, creative, serious, and eclectic, and it has been lovely to see all these traits continue to expand as his contributions as an artist and educator have grown more and more powerful through the years.
Ben is an incredibly versatile and creative educator, composer, and performer. We recently worked together on a recording project for the artist Sudan Archives that showcased Ben's ability to go from helping Sudan realize her vision with arrangements in impeccably-notated form to leading the string recording session in such a kind yet badass fashion, with stellar results on all fronts. You will love working with Ben.
Dr. Zucker is a phenomenally creative, innovative, and multifaceted musician, composer, and academic. There is nothing he hasn’t done: so many interdisciplinary projects, from music for dance and theater to puppetry, experimental films, free improv, electronics/multimedia, classical music, collaborations with visual artists, and even scientists. He and I were colleagues at Northwestern University, and I have been following his career closely for almost 10 years. Ben is kind, open-minded, and respectful. I highly recommend him!
View more recommendations
Rates
Rate
- $75
Pack rates
- 5h: $375
- 10h: $750
online
- $75/h
free lessons
This first lesson offered with Ben will allow you to get to know each other and clearly specify your needs for your next lessons.
- 1hr
Ben's Video
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