Private Music Production Classes & Instructors in City Island, NY

"All art is a kind of confession."~James Baldwin From my beginnings as a vocalist, actor, and director, I have embarked on an incredible journey that continues to surprise me. My passion for music composition and video editing has allowed me to transition from experimenting with sounds to crafting immersive video narratives, all fueled by a deep love of storytelling.

Ryan is a music producer and educator skilled in Logic Pro and analog production using hardware, keyboards, and drum machines. He has taught children and adults how to create full songs from composition to arrangement, rhythm, harmony, and staying in key. Ryan has developed music production curriculums for middle school students and brings a calm, grounded, yet highly engaging teaching style shaped by his background in meditation and creative arts.

I've been teaching private music lessons for 30 years. My goal is to have my students learn more about who they are as an individual through a methodical and interactive study that involves the deep roots of foundational theory combined with improvisational interactions and applications to create a wholistic knowledge of 3 dimensional self expression. My Bio: Sean Nowell holds degrees from Berklee College of Music in Jazz Composition and Manhattan School of Music in Jazz Performance and is a 30 year musical freelancer, educator and recording artist. He has played broadway shows, composed and improvised film scores, music for ballet and theatre, 20th century classical music, big band and small jazz ensembles, commercial music and has pushed the boundaries of saxophone and flute by integrating electronic effects pedals into his musical language. He has traveled and collaborated with dancers, actors, painters, stilt walkers, and acrobats on multiple international tours as Musical Director for Bond Street Theatre and has represented The Istanbul Jazz Festival at Universities around Turkey with his Multimedia Electro-Jazz Ensemble, The Kung-Fu Masters. With his hip-hop theater collective, Soul Inscribed, he has represented the United States as Artistic Ambassador in Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Peru, and Mauritius. Soul Inscribed won a Fulbright grant to continue their work with kids in Mauritius. He performed at The Shaolin Temple, did a 6 city tour in China and was the American Representative at International Jazz Day in Accra, Ghana. He toured Europe multiple times with his NYC/Stockholm acoustic jazz band, The New York Jazz Exchange and hosted weekly Free-Improv R&B Funk jams in Queens, NY. He is also the American Representative for an innovative electronic Midi wind instrument for saxophonists called the EMEO. His interest in utilizing cutting edge music technology has led him to recently give masterclasses at The American School of Modern Music in Paris and Loyola University in New Orleans.

"I have been taking lessons from Sean Nowell for the last three years. I am an adult student and started playing tenor sax when I retired. I started with Sean as a complete novice - not only new to the tenor sax, but having never learned how to read sheet music other than rhythm for playing the drums. From the start Sean was very encouraging - even through the painful first lessons when I couldn't properly make sounds come out of the horn! Once I had the basics of learning to at least play all the notes on the range of the tenor sax, Sean moved me into learning all the scales through improvisational jazz. This was an excellent approach for me - since it got me started playing in a manner I desired, even before I could play any real jazz standards. Sean challenged me to continue to progress as we began to learn from standards in the Real Book. All along, Sean taught not just techniques in making good music, but music theory and composition to understand the changes that occur in many forms of jazz. When the iReal book app came available, Sean was quick to have me adopt it and use for even a better practice and playing experience. Sean has been careful not to over teach, but to experience learning through playing. Many of my most important learning lessons have been in back and forth improvisation sessions with Sean. Sean has helped me record my progress of the last three years - a testimonial for how far I have come - but also a reminder of how much more I can improve. I would highly recommend Sean for his terrific teaching talent - and of course his wonderful playing as a master jazz musician. My only wish is I had started sooner and had more years studying with Sean's guidance.

Hello! My name is Ryan. I teach music production, sound design, mixing and mastering, and recording with Ableton Live, as well as live, interactive audio/visual art and music videos with VDMX. I hope to work together toward manifesting your vision as a real-life event!

"Ryan has made the process of creating music and videos more fun and liberating! Ryan has taught me how to use Ableton Live proficiently, and I have since been very active in utilizing the templates which we created in class to compose full albums and live performances.

Keyi Ding is a music producer and sound designer specializing in electronic music, immersive audio, and interactive media. Graduating from Berklee College of Music in Electronic Production and Design and recently completing a Master’s degree at NYU Tisch ITP, his work combines songwriting, sound design, and technical audio production across music and digital experiences.

Hello! My name is Ryan. I teach deejaying, music production, sound design, mixing and mastering, and recording with Ableton Live, as well as live, interactive audio/visual art and music videos with VDMX. I hope to work together toward manifesting your vision as a real-life event!

"Ryan has made the process of mxing more fun and liberating! Ryan has taught me how to use Traktor proficiently, and I have since been able to grow my career collecting music, recording mixes, and performing at clubs and festivals.

Michael Goldwasser has produced for some of the biggest names in music, including Jason Mraz, Kelly Clarkson, and Janelle Monae. He is also behind reggae classics such as Dub Side of the Moon and Radiodread. Michael has had many albums on the Billboard Charts, including multiple #1s on the Billboard Reggae Chart. His solo album Goldswagger went to #1 on the UK Soul Chart. Michael also teaches a college course called "The Art and Business of Record Production" at Marymount Manhattan College.

"I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for everything you shared with us in Record Production this semester. I genuinely feel like this class changed the way I listen to and understand music. Before this class, I would mostly just listen to songs as a listener, but now I catch myself noticing production choices, vocal layers, effects, textures, and so many small details that I never paid attention to before. I feel like my ear for music developed so much, and that honestly means a lot to me as someone who wants to keep growing as an artist.    I also really appreciated the way you taught the class and shared your knowledge with us. It made the whole process feel exciting and inspiring instead of intimidating, and it pushed me to want to keep creating and learning more outside of school.