A Unique Kind of Music Camp in New Jersey

Tucked away in the beautiful countryside of Hunterdon County in Lebanon, New Jersey, is a very different kind of music camp that has been around for twenty years offering an inspiring musical experience for all ages.

Our music camp is structured in a way where we have 2 music programs that run side-by-side:

1. Rock Camp is from 9 - 2:50 pm, Monday-Friday, and is an amazing program where students have lessons throughout the day, play in a variety of ensembles, are able to take a number of electives during the day. While all this is happening we are having a whole lot of fun! I mean this is summer and we want students to have an inspiring experience and make friends along the way. If students would like to study jazz, we have an additional elective from 3-5 pm called Jazz Workshop. At the end of the week, students perform an amazing concert for friends, family, and the public. You can see our complete curriculum on our site.

2. Jazz Workshop is from 1-5 pm and is geared towards teens and adults who have some experience in music and are looking to dive into the world of jazz. Students study harmony, improvisation, and perform in a variety of ensembles. You can see our full curriculum on our site as well.

We look forward to seeing you this summer at the premier music camp in New Jersey, Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop. All students are welcome from beginners-advanced, and all ages as well. Our teachers are all performing musicians who love to share their knowledge. We look forward to seeing you this summer!

That's a Wrap, Summer 2023

Yesterday was the last day of our summer camps and classes for students of all ages, including our adult classes, in music, art, ceramics, theater, and dance. So proud of how every single student explored their chosen art form in such a deep, thoughtful, and collaborative way. Everyone worked together as a team to reach a new level and it was a whole lot of fun along the way! On behalf of all of the teachers of Rock Camp, Diving into Art, Explore Ceramics, Dance Intensive, Theater Workshop, and Jazz Workshop in Bridgehampton, New York City, and Lebanon, NJ - thank you!

Rock Camp this Fall in New Jersey, Bridgehampton, and NYC

Excited to be teaching this fall in our afternoon ensemble classes after school. Whether you are a beginner with little to no experience or advanced musician, you will learn to play music that spans the many styles of rock music from its origins to what’s happening today. Students will perform a concert in December

Mondays in Bridgehampton 4:30-5:30 pm (Children’s Museum)

Tuesdays in NYC 5-6 pm (Midtown)

Thursdays in Lebanon, New Jersey (Hunterdon County, Acorn Montessori School), 4-5 pm

Give us a ring at (908) 230-6079, or email us as HMSRock Camp@gmail.com to learn more!

See you on the bandstand!!

Private Lessons & Classes in Music and Art

First off, I want to tell every student, whether you studied music, art, or dance, that we are all very proud of your achievements this summer! Watching each of you grow in your own unique way, was nothing short of amazing. You all worked hard, dug deep, and rose to another level which we all were able to see in your concerts, art exhibits, and dance recitals.

While our full day camp is over for summer 2022, we will be offering private lessons (1 hour long each) in music and art, and folks are also able to book ensemble classes (2 hrs) and art classes (2 hrs).

If you would like to continue your exploration into music and art, we are here, just give us a ring or email, (908) 230-6079, HMSRockCamp@gmail.com. We are here for you!

The Art of Teaching, Summer Music Camp in Long Island and New Jersey

As we prepare for our music camps in Long Island and New Jersey at Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop, we always ask ourselves how can our teaching have the biggest impact on our students, and what makes for a great teacher? There are a few things that make Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop an amazing experience for our students.

1. We meet students where they are. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced student. It doesn’t matter. We meet you where you are and we push you 10 notches higher to a level you did not think was possible.

   2. Whether you are learning a song by Nirvana, Miles Davis, Taylor Swift, or Duke Ellington. We help you understand the harmony and how the architecture of the song, how it’s built. This gives you knowledge and the inspiration to not only learn and play the existing music, but also space to create your own music.

   3. Space and Nadia Boulanger. This is something that one of the greatest music teachers of the 20th century, Nadia Boulanger, gave to her students - knowledge of the structures and techniques used in great works of music in addition to inspiration, space, and encouragement for the student to then create his or own music. Seems like the art of teaching then lies in how to balance those two concepts - knowledge/analysis of music and one’s own creativity/voice. Finding that right approach then lies in the teacher’s awareness of where the student is in his or her development and what is the next step. Some consider Nadia Boulanger one of the most influential teachers after Socrates. She taught many of the greats of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky (Rite of Spring, Firebird), Quincy Jones (Wrote and arranged for Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Jackson…Thriller and more), Astor Piazzola the amazing tango composer who fused the music of Argentine with jazz, George Gershwin (Rhapsody on Blue), and many many other great musicians.

   Here is a great article on Nadia Boulanger that just came out from the BBC.

2. Making music is fun, especially when playing with your friends! Let’s face it, people learn from teachers but they also learn from their friends and peers. It’s that synergy, that group energy when you are making music with others that makes the whole experience fun and fulfilling. After all, this is summer! At Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop in Long Isand and New Jersey, we don’t see ourselves as some sort of school….we see ourselves as an enrichment experience where students can be 100% themselves, learn a ton, and have a whole lot of fun along the way.

Here are some of the musicians who were influenced by the great teacher Nadia Boulanger. Herbie Hancock and orchestra playing George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Stravinsky (Firebird)

Astor Piazzolla (Libertango, played here with To To Ma)

Quincy Jones (Wrote/Arranged music for Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, and many others)

It's All About Your Sound, Music Camp in Long Island and New Jersey

In Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop our music summer camp in Long Island, Bridgehampton, and Lebanon, New Jersey, we focus on what makes a great sound on your instrument. Whether you are a pianist, guitarist, drummer, singer, or whatever your instrument is, your sound is your what makes your music unique to you.

Often times many teachers will focus on the “what.” This is the scale that works over this harmony, and that is something we need to know, but there is something more important than that, your sound. Your sound or your voice on your instrument is what draws the listener closer to the music. It is something unique to you and something that should be developed side by side with learning music techniques, harmony, and rhythm.

So how does one work on one’s sound? For wind instruments, saxophone, flute, trumpet, etc…, you will focus on your breath and embouchure paying attention to things like vibrato, and your approach to how you play the note (legato, staccato). For pianists, guitarists, bassists, and drummers we pay attention to playing without tension, your attack (how you strike the note, thinking like a drummer), the position of your body and how that can change your sound.

Working on one’s sound is a process that takes place over time, and just having that awareness will help you create a sound that is personal and unique to you, a voice that expresses all you have to say in music!

Here are a few examples of musicians with distinct voices on their instruments.

You Be You: Music, Art, Dance, and Theater Camps in Bridgehampton, NY and Lebanon, NJ

One of the benefits for those that come to our summer camps and classes in the Hamptons and New Jersey, Rock Camp, Jazz Workshop. Diving into Art, Dance Intensive, and Theater Workshop is that you are doing two things at the same time.

I once has a teacher that asked me what was a guitar. What is it? Well, it’s carved wood with steel or nylon strings, etc… The teacher shook his head, no, no, no. He smiled and said the guitar is a reflection of you! When you are studying to learn and master an art form this concept becomes more apparent every day. Through learning an art form you start to learn more and more about yourself. The second thing you realize is that while it’s important you work on your individual skills, it is also important to work well with others, to cooperate, challenge and support your fellow musicians, artists, dancers, and actors. These two ideas are not only important in the arts, but life in general!

Looking forward to seeing everyone this July!

That Initial Curiosity and Fascination with Music, Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop in New Jersey and the Hamptons

What draws people to music? Where does that magnetic pull come from? At Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop in New Jersey and the Hamptons we recognize that this kind of curiosity is a special thing. It’s a spark that we like to nurture, challenge, and develop though our lessons, bands, electives and performances. It’s a special thing because if you are surrounded by people who have a combination of knowledge and generous spirit, that spark will grow, grow, and grow.

Ray Charles talks about his first piano teacher and you can hear in his voice how that initial curiosity and fascination was nurtured and challenged to grow. Check it out.

An Inner Confidence Rises Up, Music, Art, Dance, Theater Camp in the Hamptons

Through the years I have noticed an inner confidence emerge from students in our music, art, dance, theater camp in the Hamptons and New Jersey. Something happens when someone throws himself or herself into something and creates something that they never thought was possible.

When students arrive at our music camp, our art camp, our theater camp, and our dance camp in the Hamptons and New Jersey, there is a mix of excitement and maybe a bit of nervous energy. It’s amazing to see how this feeling transforms into a certain confidence that comes through performance and sharing your talents with your peers, family, and the public. It’s not showy…it’s a kind of quiet, inner confidence that radiates outward that’s built on accomplishments that they have seen through on their own with their fellow musicians, dancers, artists, and actors.

Music Camp in New Jersey

Tucked away in the beautiful countryside of Hunterdon County in Lebanon, New Jersey is a music camp dedicated to inspiring musicians, beginner-advanced, to take their music to the next level. At Rock Camp and Jazz Intensive students have morning and afternoon lesson and play in morning and afternoon bands. Our goal is for students to have a fun and social experience while also learning to play music from a variety of angles.

At the end of the week students perform in a concert for their friends, family and the public where you will hear a wide variety of rock music (for those in Rock Camp) and for those enrolled in Jazz Workshop you will hear jazz from the 50’s through today. You will also hear students perform original music which gets musicians thinking outside the box and the intersection of lyrics/telling a story and song structure possibilities.

So if you are looking for a music camp in New Jersey that is both fun and inspiring, you are in the right spot.

Music Camp in New Jersey for Teens and Adults

If you have a passion for music then you are in the right spot at our music camp in Lebanon, New Jersey at Rock Camp (9-3 pm), Jazz Workshop (3-5 pm), and Adult;t Lessons (3-5 pm). We welcome beginners-advanced students.

In Rock Camp you will have a morning and afternoon lessons, morning and afternoon band, a whole bunch of electives in the afternoon, and you will be surrounded by musicians your age who share your interests. On top of that, our staff are all musicians pursuing their music and also love too share what they have learned along the way and teach at area colleges such as Rutgers University, Rider University, and Raritan Valley Community College.

In Jazz Workshop you will play in an ensemble, have lessons on your instrument, learn about harmony and how to improvise, and create original works of your own. Our teachers are all active performers in NYC, NJ, and regularly play festivals and concert halls around the world.

Call us at (908) 230-6079 to learn more……yes, we are old school like that, we love to speak on the phone, or you can email us at HMSRockCamp@gmail.com!

How a "Mistake" in Music Can Say So Much, Rock Camp, Jazz Workshop, Dance Intensive, Theater Workshop in New Jersey and the Hamptons

One of the benefits of learning music is you learn to adapt to change in the moment. Creating something whether its music, art, dance, or theater, you have to work as a team, and embracing change is part of that. This is something you will learn and experience at Rock Camp, Jazz Workshop, Dance Intensive, and Theater Workshop in New Jersey and the Hamptons. The bass player may be rushing the beat a little bit, the drummer forgets the cue going to the bridge, an actor forgets a line, a painter makes a brush stroke he didn’t intend. What do you do, especially if it’s during a live performance?

Here is a fascinating video of the great pianist Herbie Hancock talking about making a “mistake” at the piano in a performance with the trumpeter Miles Davis. Herbie talks about cringing when it happened, but then he talks about how MIles Davis heard what happened and altered his notes to make his “mistake” something perfect. Herbie goes to say how this experience taught him to approach music and life differently. So good, check it out.

Summer Performing Arts Camp in the Hamptons and New Jersey, Music, Art, Dance, Theater

If you have a passion for either music, art, dance, or theater, we welcome you to our summer camp in the Hamptons, Long Island, or our campus in Lebanon, New Jersey. Our summer camps are for all ages (Adults, College, High school, and middle school) and include Rock Camp, Jazz Workshop, Diving Into Art, Dance Intensive, and Theater Workshop. Wherever your passion lies, we have you covered, and encourage you to dive in and get inspired this summer.

Give us a call or email and we can tell you more, (908) 230-6079, HMSRockCamp@gmail.com.

• In Rock Camp students having morning and afternoon lessons, morning and afternoon bands, electives, and perform at the end of the week for friends, family and the public.

• In Jazz Workshop students perform in ensembles, learn to improvise, and understand how harmony works. Students perform a concert for friends, family, and the public.

• In Diving Into Art students learn acrylic painting in Session I (July 18-22, Hamptons) and Watercolor Painting (July 25-29, Hamptons). There are electives in the afternoon and each week culminates with a public exhibit at the end of the week.

• In Dance Intensive students engage in our hip hop workshop taught by one of the leading dancer/choreographers in the dance world, Carlos Neto (Alvin Ailey, Broadway Dance Center, NYU). There is a performance at the end of the week for family, friends, and the general public. (July 18-22 only, Hamptons).

• In Theater Workshop students will perform the musical Little Shop of Horrors. This camp is two weeks long, July 18-22 and then July 24-28 in the Hamptons.

Music Camp in New Jersey and Hamptons, 3 Things to Know

I have seen a few different approaches to music camps/education.....At Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop, our summer music camp in New Jersey and the Hamptons, I can confidently say we are the 3rd approach, without a doubt!

1. A fluffy-music-appreciation type of experience - that's not us (I am having flashbacks to when my children were very young and we took a few of these classes).

2. A hardcore conservatory approach (i.e Manhatten School of Music, Julliard...this is great but it's meant for older students and is meant as a pre-professional, bootcamp approach) -that's definitely not us either......

3. Banff Approach (a great center for the arts in western Canada). This is us!

The environment is social, fun, friendly, and students are inspired to learn and create as much from their teachers as their fellow musicians. You are surrounded by teachers who are pursuing careers in music who love to share with others. An interest in music or anything I suppose, is something that should be nurtured and allowed to grow at the same time.

Summer Jazz Camp in Lebanon, New Jersey

Our jazz camp in July we call Jazz Workshop which because this is a hands on experience where everyone is busy learning their instruments, playing in ensembles, learning to solo and accompany others, and creating new and original music.

An example of a song that we could dive into would be Horace Silver’s “Song for my Father.” The pianists would learn the chords and different voicings and how to comp behind the horns. The horn players would learn the melody obviously and the drummers would learn different rhythms that could work over the music.

After learning the written music, we would look at the harmony and what play through the scales the coincide with the chords and the overall key. Pianists would also dive into what is a montuno (a repeated rhythmic phrase played over chords). This then ties into the clave and the different types of claves acts as the rhythmic heartbeat of a song.

We would fluctuate between the micro and the macro in learning the music until we have it and everyone is soloing on a different level. It’s a fun process and one in which everyone will learn and get inspired whether you are a beginner to the music or are experienced.

Rock Camp, Jazz Workshop Summer Music Camp in Lebanon, New Jersey, Hunterdon County

Rock Camp and Jazz Workshop bringsthe most talented musicians from New Jersey and New York to work with students at our New Jersey campus and Hamptons Campus who have a passion for music. Rock Camp happens from 9-3, July 11-15th, and Jazz Workshop is afternoon program from 3-5 pm that same week.

It does not mater if you are experienced or brand new to music, our goal is for you to be 10 notches higher after your experience with us in terms of knowledge, technique, and inspiration.

We have a few things that are always top of mind.

1. This is summer and everyone wants to have a fun and an inspiring experience! It is equally important to us that student love their experience with us because that will feed into their enthusiasm for learning and taking risks.

2. Staying nimble. Our days are full (morning band, morning lessons, electives, afternoon band, afternoon lessons, concert at the of the week), so students will be places in may different musical situations and we help them navigate and succeed in every one of them.

3. Our faculty. Our faculty are all performing musicians and also teach or have taught at Rutgers University, University of Miami, Rider University, Westminster Choir College, Raritan Valley Community College, and many other schools and colleges in the area.