Gina Sobel

Gina is known by her students as a patient, fun and engaging teacher. She is a touring and recording multi-instrumentalist, and loves to share her expertise on these instruments with students of all levels and ages. She really enjoys helping students find their own musical voices, in addition to honing their technical skills and knowledge.

In her own music, Gina combines diverse genres to unite elements of funk, jazz and American folk music into a fresh and compelling sound. Gina is the bandleader of Choose Your Own Adventure, a high-energy funk group featuring a brilliant group of musicians, and she is active in genres across the spectrum, ranging from hip hop to bluegrass and everything in between.

Gina grew up outside of DC in a home filled with jazz. When she was a kid, her dad’s jazz trio rehearsed at the house and she would play along with the melodies. Eventually, they told her that she couldn’t keep playing with them unless she started improvising, so that’s where it all began! Improvising is Gina's passion, in any genre really – she loves figuring out how to serve the song and lift the music, and she loves helping others to do the same. Gina really enjoys finding a way to engage her students with music they care about, and she like to teach technique and theory through songs - it’s more fun that way! Whether she's in her teaching studio, on tour or in the studio, she's most excited about making great music with great people.

I strongly believe in building the curriculum to best suit the student. If a high school student is prepping for college auditions, the lessons will feel very different from an adult student who wants to learn guitar just for fun. I'm passionate about finding the right direction for each individual student, and I love teaching through songs, especially if they are songs that students bring to the table. I'm fun, relaxed but serious about practicing and working towards goals that we set together based on the needs and wishes of each individual student.