Adam Makofske has been playing guitar for 30 years and teaching for over 20.  Adam hold a Bachelor’s degree from SUNY New Paltz where he studied jazz guitar, as well as a Master’s degree in Music Therapy from Montclair State University. He studied guitar with Mark Dziuba, Jeff Ciampa, and Vic Juris. He is also a board certified Music Therapist (MT-BC).

In addition to teaching music privately and in stores and studios in New York and New Jersey, Adam has taught at SUNY New Paltz, The National Guitar Summer Workshop (CT campus), Rockland Community College, and Orange County Community College. He is currently an adjunct at Rockland Community College teaching applied music. 

Adam has also worked in the music therapy field at Rutgers UBHC in Newark, NJ, YWCA Pals Program in Kenilworth, NJ, and Family Connections DREAMS program in East Orange, NJ. He currently works as a music therapist at Peace of Mind Counseling and Wellness Center in Berkeley Heights, NJ.  Adam has music therapy experience with diverse populations including veterans, senior citizens, people with Alzheimer’s/dementia, those suffering from mental illness/substance abuse, domestic violence survivors, the developmentally disabled, children with cerebral palsy, and children on the autism spectrum.

As a performer Adam has worked as a sideman for various projects in upstate NY, NJ and New York City as well as leading his own jazz trio/quartet.  Adam has performed in bars, clubs, restaurants, private parties, and weddings with various groups. 

Adam focuses on catering the music lessons to the individual, working on music that the student enjoys. Adam has a wide range of musical interests to draw from, including classic and modern rock, jazz, blues, folk, fusion, metal, classical, and world music. The main goal is for the student to enjoy the lessons and to make progress in whatever direction they want to pursue. Lessons typically include working on songs/repertoire, improvisation, reading standard music notation, music theory, chord studies, scales, and approaches to practicing more effectively. 

I am available for private in-person lessons as well as video lessons. Online videos will be up as soon as possible