Jack is extremely knowledgeable about music and is a gifted teacher, learning with Jack via Zoom has been a breeze and is in my opinion preferable to learning in person nowadays. Practicing with Tabledit and learning over zoom has improved my banjo playing faster than I ever thought possible. Highly recommended!

Jack,

It’s been forty-six years since, while wandering the streets of Greenwich Village , I happened to notice the sign for the “Fretted Instruments School of Folk Music.” I wasn’t really out looking for guitar lessons, but I decided to walk through the door, and now, from the vantage point of the decades that have passed since then, I realize what a big impact walking through that door has had on my life.

First of all, I gained a patient and kind teacher. When I started taking lessons from you, I knew next to nothing about music or the guitar. I didn’t know how to tune it, or what a chord was, or any songs at all, etc., etc.. I doubt that I would have gotten very far without your patient encouragement. After a while I started to get the hang of it, and I well remember how good I felt when you asked “Has anyone heard you play that?” upon hearing me play “Police Dog Blues” (after having practiced the tune incessantly for a week). You were the best teacher I ever had, and each lesson was fun and informative. Music has been a significant part of my life for many years, and you were instrumental in making it so. I am so thankful that fate brought me together with such a gifted teacher. I am sure there are many others out there that feel the same way I do.

Secondly, I gained a friend with whom I have shared many fun experiences over the years (Yankee games, Bluegrass festivals, etc.). Hearing your voice immediately brings to mind the many good times we have had.

Now, this is to all you pickers out there, at all levels of skill. Jack can make you a better picker faster than anyone. If you have browsed through his site, you can see the enormous amount of material that he has assembled, and you simply cannot find this much material anywhere else. One of the great things about taking lessons from Jack is that he uses the tabs to great efficiency. Have you ever taken a lesson where a good deal of time is spent by the teacher writing out musical notation? Makes you wonder what you’re paying for, doesn’t it? That doesn’t happen with Jack, because he has such a vast inventory of songs at all levels of complexity right at his fingertips. Finally, Jack is a soulful, sensitive and tasteful picker, whose love is music is infectious. His playing will make you appreciate music in a whole new way and his tutelage will help you become the musician you want to be.

Be well, my friend.

Cannot imagine working with anyone else. Jack\'s a cool cucumber, a banjo master and he has the best tabs in the known universe. Music teachers are a dime a dozen, but few are like Jack Baker, a guru/therapist/one-man hootenanny!

Through Jack, my banjo teacher

Jack is a gifted teacher -- patient, attentive, encouraging, and kind. He is incredibly knowledgeable, not just about banjo but about a range of music and other areas. A \"musician\'s musician\", having collaborated with a number of major music artists, he also is very much a teacher, welcoming of beginners like myself and skilled at pinpointed ways to improve and move forward in learning, all in a supportive way. My lessons with Jack are a highlight of my week.

I asked Jack, my banjo teacher.

I have taken up banjo playing (clawhammer) after a 30 year hiatus. Jack is a wonderful teacher, lovely music for lessons, makes me feel good about playing. I highly recommend his style of teaching.

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I took lessons from Jack Baker in the very early Seventies. He taught me everything I know about 3 finger picking. I have the tablature he handed out to this day.

Googled Fretted Instruments

Originally from NYC and a member of the bluegrass club of NY. I Play with the \"Yankee Rebels\" Bluegrass Band. Used to jam most Sundays on Wash Square, sometimes with the incredible Jack Baker. Now live in Cherry Hill, NJ. Always looking to jam.

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Knew and played blues harp with Jack in early 1980s. Both among the greatest experiences of my life. Thanks, Jack!

Jack Baker

Nice tabs! Nice midi\'s!

Jon Sholle sent me!

Hi Jack,
I\'m interested in lessons after a 30 year hiatus from playing banjo!