Colin Hotz

I received my Bachelors Degree in Music from the University of Nebraska Omaha, and my Masters Degree in Music from the Manhattan School of Music. I began teaching while pursuing my undergraduate degree, and have continued to teach throughout my life. In addition, I have extensive experience performing and recording several styles of music. I performed as a solo and ensemble Classical Guitarist, a Rock Guitarist, a Rock Bassist, a Solo Singer/Songwriter, and a Bluegrass Guitarist and Singer. I have also participated in music competitions including The National Flatpicking Championships, the Koblenz Guitar Festival Competition, UNO Concerto Competition, and the Rockygrass Band Competition.

My goal as a teacher is to help students explore their interest in music and create a lesson plan that will keep them engaged and excited about learning songs. I also want students to develop the tools and techniques needed to become a great player. I believe a strong understanding of music theory is essential, which can apply to any style of music. I also believe that building technique through scales, arpeggios, and chord progressions is the key to breaking through the beginning phase of learning an instrument. 

I do not have just one technique that I prefer, but rather I have a warm-up routine that is a combination of the most effective exercises I have learned throughout my life, a set of major and minor scales that covers the entire fretboard, and a set of arpeggios. I set the metronome to different speeds and accents which forces me to play the passages in a variety of ways.

Rock - Morphine

Americana/Folk - Sarah Jarosz 

Jazz - Medeski Martin & Wood

Bluegrass - The Punch Brothers

Rap/Hip-Hop - A Tribe Called Quest

“Maybe the Milky Way is a giant record, and your life is the needle.”

• From the movie Blaze

There was a piano in my parents home when I was very young, and I do remember sitting at it and making noise. I was required to do band in grade school and had an unsuccessful attempt at learning the clarinet. Around 10 years old I started to develop an interest in rock and roll, and grunge. By 12 years old, I had my first guitar and started taking lessons.