Guitar and Drum Lessons with Raphi Gottesman

My son has taken guitar lessons with Raphie for over two years.
Raphie is a wonderful, patient, inspiring and fun teacher. We highly recommend him!

I decided two years ago to learn acoustic guitar. One of my good friends recommended that I work with Raphi through private lessons. He has been instrumental (ha) in helping me overcome challenges with new songs, chords, and strum patterns that trip me up in the process of learning how to play guitar. He listens to what I am trying to accomplish with guitar, and recommends ways to learn songs that fits with the amount of time I am able to allocate to guitar.
I briefly took a group lesson this past year with some friends. The instructor was impressed with my finger positioning on a few chords and asked who taught me. I told her Raphi’s name, and she asked for his contact info, funny.
All in all, he is a very talented musician, a patient coach/​teacher, and a fun guy to spend an hour with a few times a month. I highly recommend Raphi as a guitar instructor.

We’ve used Raphi for guitar lessons, both for my two kids (age 11 and 13, beginners) and for me (50ish, novice). Raphi has a great way of connecting with the kids, making them feel comfortable and getting them excited about playing the music they’re interested in. He’s always giving me tips on proper technique and has great advice on what’s important musically and what’s not. Raphi can accomodate a wide variety of muical tastes too. I definitely highly recommend Raphi as a guitar instructor!

Raphi is an incredibly knowledgeable, multi-​instrument musician, a patient and warm teacher and an all-​around wonderful human being. Raphi spent every Sunday with me (36yr-​old picking music back up) and my son (8yr-​old true beginner) and we’d still be going strong if we didn’t move away…
A little background… I decided that I wanted to pick up drums and that it would be a fun thing to do with my son (4yrs at the time.) I found Raphi through a cold lead, contacted him, checked a few references and hoped for the best. We found Raphi to be just what we needed — challenging and fun for me (my ears and tastes are more advanced than my music skills) and engaging and supportive of my son. Through the years, we rocked out to punk rock, country, metal and jazz while my son alternated between skills development and drumming along to songs he loves. The lessons went so well that we added guitar for my son along the way and Raphi never skipped a beat.
I’d note that Raphi is adept at developing a curriculum if structure is what the student needs or just winging it for the more casual, adventurous student. Both were appreciated…
Not to undermine the incredible teaching skills that Raphi demonstrates, it is worth sharing that my son cried after our last lesson with Raphi (before our move) and that I came to think of Raphi more as my friend that taught me music than a teacher.
So yea. The highest of recommendations. Conversant in many instruments, types of music and incredibly talented at communicated and teaching. We miss you Raphi!

Raphi is an extremely talented musician who is also a great teacher. Those two qualities do not always come together, but when they do, MAGIC! Raphi taught me classical and acoustic rock guitar. He taught my preteen daughter jazz drums. Great lessons, patient teaching, excellent musical knowledge. I highly recommend him for your guitar or drum lesson needs.

Raphi is outstanding. He has been teaching drums to our 12 year-​old daughter for the past year and thanks to his patience and great skill, she has become a terrific drummer, confident in herself and excited about drumming. She has learned so much this past year — the progress she has made is truly outstanding. Raphi really has a way with young people — knowing just what to do to engage and motivate them to become accomplished musicians. Our daughter looks forward to her lessons and the fact that Raphi comes to our house is a huge bonus! I can’t imagine a better teacher.

Raphi is hands down the best guitar teacher around. He teaches our 12 year old son weekly, and we look forward to his visits to our house each time. Raphi is very knowledgeable about music and shares his enthusiasm with his students. Yet at the same time, he is patient, has a good sense of humor, and is an excellent listener to understand what motivates his student. Our son has learned a variety of music styles, and most importantly, has developed a love for playing. He teaches drums too! If you would like a teacher who will share with you a love for the craft and skills to boot, Raphi is your guy. We can’t recommend him enough.

I am glad that Raphi Gottesman has a Unilocal page so that I have a forum to rave about him. He is a very proficient and professional guitar instructor. I recommend him for any aspiring guitar player — of any age, any level of experience, and having any range of musical taste or exposure. I am in my mid-​thirties and have a hectic work life. Raphi is the perfect instructor for my lifestyle. He comes to my home for the lessons, about three or four times a month. He is immensely patient and nonjudgmental when I haven’t had an opportunity to practice during the prior week. I treasure the lesson time with him to unwind, talk and learn about music culture and theory, and decipher the chords (usually by ear since accurate chords are rarely available online) for songs I have always loved or that he introduces me to. He has good intuition, so I am confident that he tailors his lessons to meet a particular student’s needs or preferences — for example, finding the right balance between theory and jamming together on the guitar.

Raphi Gottesman, is a fantastic guitar teacher and I highly recommend him. I’m in my mid-​thirties and picked up a guitar for the first time 1.5 years ago when I started lessons with Raphi and I’m thrilled with how much I’ve learned. Raphi is terrific at recognizing my hang-​ups and breaking down songs/​techniques into bite sizes. He is very easy-​going and patient which was very important to me as a beginner. He has a great energy for teaching and playing guitar so our lessons are always fun. I’ve worked on chord strumming, fingerpicking, guitar scales, and intro to guitar soloing with him. And we’ve worked on a wide variety of songs — Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, The Black Crowes, Townes Van Zandt and fingerpicking classics such as Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotton. He also prepares specific songs by request. I highly recommend Raphi!