Noah D'Innocenzo
About
My name is Noah and I’ve been a musician and composer for over 20 years and have been teaching music for over 12. I graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2016 with a Bachelor's degree in Jazz composition and Performance.
My musical journey began with Cello at 10 years old, followed by guitar around age 11. I loved 80’s hair metal and classic rock! In an attempt to learn how to write my own solos, I took up Jazz lessons to better understand theory and improvisation. I accidentally fell in love with the genre and have been playing and studying Jazz and many of its musical descendants, like R&B, Funk, Neo-Soul and Lo-fi, ever since. Due to my composition major, I also learned how to play piano and also took up electric and double bass lessons in college.
Throughout my college career, I was a tutor hired by Berklee to help my peers with theory, ear training and other core classes. Although I had already taught private lessons, this is where my passion for teaching really began.
Since graduation, I've worked as an audio branding specialist, composing music for brands, businesses and podcasts all over the world. My line of work has expanded my horizons by forcing me to learn and create in new styles of music everyday, giving me a broad and unique perspective on music.
Teaching Style
My teaching style depends on each student and their goals. When a student has made it known that their primary goal is to be a hobbyist and primarily just "have fun" with music, my style is very relaxed. Although this is my default style, when a student has made it known that they have professional ambitions with music and they aren't living up to their potential, class can get more serious. I do not yell at students. It's not my character nor is it productive. Instead, students will know what expectations are and will be held accountable.
Curriculum
My teaching philosophy is a two pronged approach that makes learning any style possible. Those two things are:
- strong technical development and
- a deep emphasis on dissecting the music that you're interested in.
Mastering the physicality of the instrument makes playing fun and free, while the analysis of the music gives you a deeper understanding of what makes a player sound the way they do through the musical choices they make. If you follow my recommendations and put in the work, anything is possible.
Depending on your musical goals and interests, the following are subjects we may discuss in class:
- Technical development: hand/finger posture, left and right hand technique, increasing speed and fluency
- Ear training: recognizing intervals, notes and chords, ultimately being able to transcribe melodies, solos and chord progressions.
- Music theory: Where do chords and scales come from? How do they work? How do I make music with them? How do my favorite musicians and bands use this knowledge to create music?
- Repertoire: Guided by me, we'll learn songs and solos you never thought possible by yourself.
- Improvisation: We'll discuss how to analyze and approach chord progressions, what devices may work and how to expand your melodic language.
To those interested in going to music school, I also offer audition preparation classes. Throughout my college career, I was a tutor hired by Berklee to help my peers with theory, ear training and other core classes. So if you’re interested in attending a top tier school like Berklee, I can help you prepare to guarantee you ace your audition and can even help you get ahead of the curve by preparing you for your entrance exam so you can skip some entry level courses. There's even the potential to work towards getting a scholarship.
An important note: I do not force my students to learn anything they don't want to learn. If you do not want to read, I will not make you read. If you don't want to learn songs by ear, I won't make you ear train. I'm here to help you enjoy music the best way you can. All I ask is that you always give your best effort!
There are no recommended texts for my students. Instead, I have many PDFs and backing tracks I've made myself for student's to use over the years. In the event we're discussing something I've yet to make, I will create it for you!
Credentials & Affiliations
Berklee College of Music graduate, Jazz Composition and Performance, class of 2016
Core Music Tutor at Berklee. 2013-2016
Audio branding specialist (Composer, producer, instrumentalist), NoAnie Music, 2018-Present
Teacher at TakeLessons, 2019-2024