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Testimonials
I
can never find enough ways to let you know how much I appreciate
where you've brought my playing and love of music to. I certainly
never dreamed I'd come this far.
Adult Student |
Dear Tom,
I cannot fathom what my learning experience (or lack thereof) would be like if
I were to have had any other mentor. These past 3-something years with you
have not only taught me an endless amount about the guitar, but a much more
important lesson. You have taught me how to appreciate and understand music,
how to see beauty and soul and purposeful meaning in what to others may look
like just dots on a page. Every time I hear the local teenagers discussing
guitar playing, or see the more experienced players teaching chords to friends
with “put this finger here and that finger there”, I thank fate
for bringing me to you. One of the reasons I am most grateful to have had
you as a teacher is for that invaluable packet of sheets you created that
teach how to understand the neck of the guitar. I cannot imagine how hard
it must for other guitar students to learn notes, their way around the neck,
or, most importantly, the concept and creation of chords without it. The
things you taught me were not just quick fix techniques that I could use
for that specific piece only, but concepts I could continue to use throughout
my whole life, no matter what level of playing I was on. I came out of every
lesson brimming with joy and feeling as though I had just gained some secret
knowledge that only a select few in the world had. I am so lucky that I got
a teacher who was truly passionate about his music and his craft, and also
about teaching and the lives and success of his students. I will be forever
grateful to all you have taught me and introduced to me.
Thank you!
AP
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I began studying
classical guitar on a weekly basis with Tom Millioto in 1999.
Throughout our musical relationship, I've found Tom to be
highly innovative, enthusiastic and encouraging. He is an excellent
educator with a true devotion to teaching.
Currently, I am in my junior year at Hunter College majoring in guitar performance.
I was fortunate enough to be able to continue my studies with Tom as my teacher
at Hunter. The lessons I take privately blend so well with my classroom studies.
Just yesterday we went through a Bach gigue and analyzed the chord structures.
It was fascinating to see how much I have learned in so short a time.
I feel very fortunate to have found Tom as a teacher. He is a first class educator
and any student who studies with him will receive skillful mentoring, professionalism
and care.
Amy Holderness (C.U.N.Y. Hunter Classical Guitar Performance Major)
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My jury went great!!!
... The professor told me up front that I got an A. ...
He said he was very impressed with my development. … Again thank you for
your guidance. I feel like I am learning a lot and am getting excited about the
possibilities that lie ahead.
Joseph (C.U.N.Y. Hunter Music Major)
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Tom Millioto
not only takes music seriously- he takes teaching seriously. He is
able to individualize his teaching style to fit each student’s
particular needs. He takes the whole student into account- strengths,
weaknesses, and even cognitive style.
Our son began taking lessons from Tom in November 2003. He was nine years old,
and it was the first time he had a lesson of any kind. We didn't’t expect
much. Our son is autistic and has always been a challenge to teach. He had obvious
musical talent, but it did not show up in his two years of chorus. He often thought
that he was singing when he wasn't’t.
Our son requires special consideration in teaching. He learns most easily from
a top-down approach and then re-approaching the information bottom-up. He also
tends to fail to understand what a person is talking about if they skip logical
steps. Tom immediately understood how to translate this into a wonderfully methodical
approach to teaching our son.
If left to his own to pick out music, our son would most likely end up with a
very limited repertoire and a highly circumscribed area of expertise. I asked
Tom to create lessons and choose music with the goal of making our son into a
well-rounded musician. Our son has learned how to read music, play chords and
notes, to improvise – all within months of his first lesson. It is a pleasure
to hear him play, and often his brothers gravitate toward him when he’s
practicing.
Our son is not only progressing at an extremely rapid pace- he is having fun.
His lessons are one of the highlights of his week. His self-discipline has improved,
and he enjoys practicing each day.
Tom has gone beyond teaching for our son. He is like that doctor who does house
calls. He always is available for questions- and has helped us with the impossible,
like picking out a guitar, and taking the time to explain guitar care and options.
He has done an amazing job with our son and has made it so that the only effort
we need to make is to take him to his lesson.
I am thankful that we have Tom for guitar lessons. The gains that our son has
made, and Tom’s mentoring have made a great difference in other areas of
our son’s life. It is unusual to have a teacher who truly knows how to
teach.
Parent
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I'm
really enjoying learning from you, Thomas. Thanks so much,
Matt
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As
a novice guitar player, I'm blessed to have been introduced to
Tom Millioto.
Tom's teaching methods and his way of speaking have been very helpful to me.
Frank E. Mingo
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I
have been taking lessons with Tom for 2-1/2 years. In that
time I have improved remarkably. I play a Gibson Les Paul
electric guitar and an acoustic guitar. Tom is totally receptive
to whatever I have ever wanted to learn — from Led Zeppelin
and Jimi Hendrix to rearranging a Madonna song for the electric
guitar. His lessons in chord theory have been invaluable
in improving my songwriting and improvisational skills. He
is also extremely knowledgeable in sound engineering and
has been very helpful in helping me understand "sound" and
select recording software, wah wah pedals, microphones, amps,
etc. I have been playing guitar for 5 years and I regret
not having started taking lessons with Tom sooner.
In
addition to being my guitar teacher, Tom also did the music
for my original cooking show pilot (The Epicurean Edge). For
my cooking show, I handed Tom a CD of Medieval Sicilian music
and asked him to distill it into two pieces that had to be "edge-y" and
feature the electric guitar. About two weeks later he gave
me a CD with two fantastic pieces that he rearranged, mixed
and plays guitar on. We have gotten many compliments on the
intro to our cooking show and it wouldn't have been as successful
without Tom’s music.
Tom
is always very professional, a gentleman, and makes a good
cup of espresso.
Martina
Bacarella
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"Thank
you for all you have taught me thus far. I am sincere when I
say that in the short time I have been taking lessons with you
I have learned more then with any of my other teachers"
Roxanne
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Tom: I studied
classical guitar with you for a brief period about six or
seven years ago. I would have continued but had to leave
because of work-related time constraints. I'm in New Jersey
now, but if I still lived in Brooklyn
I'd be back studying with you. You are a great teacher (and guitarist), much
better than some famous guitarists I took lessons from. You were the only teacher
who succeeded in teaching me the tremolo technique, which I eventually got up
to speed with much practice. Any student who starts off with you will be headed
in the right direction. ... You deserve lots of credit and recognition. Besides
being a great teacher you clearly enjoy helping people learn. And you are very
patient, which I can't say about many other teachers. Be well.
Scott Hirschman (doctor who worked at Methodist [Hospital])
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Upon
retiring from my job, I decided to pursue the study of the
Classical Guitar. From the outset of my studies with Thomas
Millioto, he covered many of the basic fundamentals of music,
which are essential to a music student. Some of the rudiments
were intensive studies in rhythm and rhythm patterns, guitar
fingerboard mastery, chordal construction, music analysis and
periods of music. During my studies with him, I have been introduced
to some of the early pioneers of the Classical Guitar, such
as Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, and Dionisio Aguado. At the
present time, I am studying the works of Villa-Lobos.
Loke
A. Smith
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Dear Tom,
Hope all is well. I just had a funny story and a revelation
to relate to you. You told me this was going to happen, but
I definitely didn't believe you. At least, not so soon. I
was in the library doing some homework and then I went over
to my friend's place to play his acoustic (I LOVE the acoustic). … Just
out of curiosity, I asked my friend (the best player out
of all my friends) to teach me a song...any song. So he started
teaching me this Weezer song... Then we got into a discussion … he
started telling me about a major 7th or something or rather… So
I asked him, "what the [#!&*] are you talking about?" He
got this real blank look on his face and said, "I don’t
know, really..." It was then that I realized that even
he - the best of all my friends - really didn't know anything
about his instrument...or music for that matter. The only
difference between him and I was that he had memorized a
lot more songs than I had, and his transition between chords
was faster. 5 years he's been playing...and that was the
difference between him and I. Can you BELIEVE that?! He looked
at the music theory stuff you'd been teaching me and said, "You
know what? The difference between you and me is this: you're
gonna be a musician... I just 'play guitar'. Maybe you could
come over and teach me some of this stuff sometime." HAHA!
Can you believe that? I know I still really don’t know
anything, but it was really encouraging to know that I'm
on my way. I picked up a guitar magazine at the newsstand
the other day and started to look through it for terms and
stuff I didn’t know and wanted to ask you about. The
point of all this is simple: I just wanted to say thanks
for taking me up as a student, and that I'm really glad I
got you as a teacher…
Best, Drew
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I've been studying with Tom Millioto for about
a year and a half, and he is an awesome teacher. Every lesson
I learn something new and exciting. He has made it fun for
me to practice at home and I look forward to each and every
lesson.
I am amazed at how he really knows his practice
and it seems to me that he likes teaching as much as he likes
playing.
Tom has made learning fun and his method is
very thorough and my playing has rapidly advanced. He understands
the student and Tom does his best to educate him to his full
potential.
Rafi Klein-Cloud
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I
think Thomas is a good teacher. I love going to my lessons. I
have lots of fun getting new songs and playing my songs from
The Beatles. Every week, I go to my lesson to get better at playing
my guitar. I like my guitar lessons so much, the following lesson
seems years away. (It’s really just seven days!) I would
recommend others to take guitar lessons with Thomas. He taught
me lots of things about playing guitars – tuning, treating
it right, and more! (I learned all that in only nine months!)
Playing the guitar with Tom is lots of fun!
Rusty
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