singing. piano. guitar. songwriting. Recording.

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Are you an aspiring pop sensation?  A destined-for-Broadway Star?  A fledgling classical pianist?  A self-producing do-it-all type?  Ben has helped students of all ages achieve their goals across a wide-variety of disciplines, whether singing, playing guitar or piano, or recording a multi-part green-screen video of themselves doing a remix of "Freak Flag" from Shrek and playing all the characters (THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED!!!  SEE VIDEO AT RIGHT: ).  Vocally, Ben has worked with accomplished singers and writers, attending prestigious schools like La Guardia High School, The Calhoun School, and the Dalton School, where he is currently on the private lesson faculty.    He also teaches piano at Leman Prep Conservatory, and coached actor Mike Spara for his performance as fabled accompanist Les Brown in "Doris Day: My Secret Love" at the Spark Theater Festival Off-Broadway in Summer 2022.   Ben has studied the Taubman Technique of playing piano with John Bloomfield,  and the LoVetri Somatic VoiceWork Method, which he combines with his Bel Canto roots to teach crossover techniques between theater, classical, and commercial music.  His students have been seen on Broadway, on American Idol, and in film, Television, and beyond.

"Master of All Trades.  Jack of None."  

Ben flips this classic aphorism on its' head.  With an incredibly accomplished artistic career, including the recent Off-Broadway premiere of his musical "My True Love: A Perfect Musical Fairytale," singing gigs with Phil Springer (Composer of Santa Baby), and a 6-year tenure with the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn as their Bass Soloist, Section Leader, and Sub Conductor, Ben has mastered a wide variety of musical skills, and delights in returning those gifts through teaching at schools and at his own private studio on Manhattan's Upper West Side.  One of Ben's core beliefs is that in order to be a professional musician, it is essential to have a varied skillset, and he is proud to be a teacher who helps his students acquire a diverse, and multi-faceted skillset, over various instruments, techniques, and disciplines.  As the Upper School and Middle School Music Teacher at The Kew-Forest School in Queens, Ben also leads classes in Digital Music Production, Music Theory, and Composition, and he includes these ideas in all of his private lessons as well, training students to be well-rounded musicians, as well as specialists in their areas of expertise.

The Third Dimension:  

There are principles that exist from instrument to instrument, from voice to writing, that are the same in all art.  We layer our skillsets.  We start by establishing basic technique, understanding how to use the instrument we are learning, and from there we expand into higher planes of interpretation and artistic expression.  Dynamics, articulation, phrasing, etc.  These are the elements of the third dimension.  We make our voices "pop", we make our songs "stand out", and we make our instruments "sing".  And last of all, is the fourth dimension of performance, which truly separates the professionals from the stars: emotional expression.

The goal of music is to communicate.  

I like to call it, "Speaking to hearts."  As musicians, we speak to human hearts.  We tug at strings of love and regret, and we hope that, more than heard, we will be listened to.  With a strong technique on your side, whether singing, playing piano, or strumming the guitar, the music you make will be clear, the tone of your production will be consistent and pure, and the meaning of your playing will come across with crystalline specificity.  

Sample lessons on request.  ​E-mail bwboecker@gmail.com for more information.