Work with me
And I am here to help you speak it fluently.
Wherever you are on your Gypssy Jazz journey,
we have a way to help you keep growing:
Digital Courses
Choose your own path to learning Gypsy Jazz.
A collection of digital courses that covers any aspect of Jazz and Gypsy Jazz guitar: Improvisation ,Accompaniment, Melodies, Solo Transcriptions, Technique,Time and Theory.
A comprehensive, unique, simple and practical way to unlock the secrets of Jazz, Django Reihardt’s music and Gypsy Jazz,
by expertily guiding you through those areas in your playing that you may be struggling with, so your music starts to feel like ‘home’ to you and you’ll sound like a pro!
Expand your repertoire of songs while expanding your Chord Vocabulary, improving your Technique, mastering the coolest Licks and Tricks, Arpeggios and Triads, using them in your own, unique creative way.
You’ll understand everything that you play so you can use it again and again in any other musical situation.
You can download each lesson and keep it for life, PDF with notes, tabletures and chord shapes included for each lesson.
Coaching Program
The ultimate learning environment for players who want to achieve a HUGE change in their playing in the fastest way possible (students say that they achieve more progress in 6 months than they’d achieved in 6 years).
The perfect combination of a 1:1 personalized learning plan and group learning,
within a small and dedicated group of my ‘inner cycle’ students who work closely with me to achieve their goals.
With private lessons, small group sessions, and special events, you’ll never feel stuck.
You’ll have direct access to me via WhatsApp and a closed Facebook group for quick feedback and support. Plus, you’ll receive free access to our entire course collection, worth over $4,000, and tickets to all our live online events.
If you want to invest in your music progress, get the confidence to jam and play with the best players around, get to love the music you play and play the music you love, taking your paying to completely new heights, unlocking your full playing potential -> this is the best place on earth to be in!
Membership
Complete access to all my digital courses with a low monthly payment that you can cancel at any time.
Don’t know which course to choose? Want to browse my courses freely, learn a few courses at once, and get to improve the different aspects of your playing at the same time without having to pay an upfront payment for a few limited courses? This option might be the best fit for you!
The membership plan gives you complete freedom to access all my courses, with only one difference – there is NO DOWNLOAD OPTION.
PROS: You are free to enjoy the benefit of my extensive course collection with a low monthly fee.
CONS: You have complete access only as long as you are a member without having the option to download the lessons and keep them for life.
Live Guitar Retreats
5 days of deep immersion into Gypsy swing and jazz guitar playing with a group of like-minded students in an breathtaking venue in Tuscany, Italy.
You will enjoy the best local food and wine, luxury rooms and a swimming pool – everything you need to enjoy the feeling of really getting away from it all and putting your passion first in a pastoral music focused vacation.
Your time will be devoted to intense, hands-on learning experiance, while enjoying a wonderful opportunity to meet and play with new people. We will be sharing our meal times, chat and at the end of each day we will practice while we learned while jamming and playing together.
You’ll notice an immediate tangible difference in your playing, build confidence playing with friends and come away with inspiration, knowledge and skills that will enrich your playing forever.
You will enjoy the best local food and wine, luxury rooms and a swimming pool – everything you need to enjoy the feeling of really getting away from it all and putting your passion first in a pastoral music focused vacation.
Your time will be devoted to intense, hands-on learning experiance, while enjoying a wonderful opportunity to meet and play with new people. We will be sharing our meal times, chat and at the end of each day we will practice while we learned while jamming and playing together.
You’ll notice an immediate tangible difference in your playing, build confidence playing with friends and come away with inspiration, knowledge and skills that will enrich your playing forever.
1-1 lessons
A perfect complement to my online courses which allows you to maximize the online learning experience.
Learning to play is such an individual process that sometimes you just need personal feedback and accurate guidance – a helping hand and some words of encouragement based on a direct interaction.
You’ll benefit from my ability to diagnose exactly where you get stuckת
and prescribe a personalized strategy to get you back on track and into a flow of rewarding practice with clear satisfying results.
Not sure how to continue from here? A 1-1 session might be just the perfect fit for you.
Gypsy Jazz Guitars
Want a new Gypsy Guitar that sounds great, easy to play and at a reasonable price?
That’s what I was looking for! And my search led me to master luthier Edward Polak who was infected by my enthusiasm, set to work researching and experimenting and has succeeded in constructing guitars that even exceed my requirements.
After more than 15 years working with Polak guitar, I can highly recommend Yaakov Hoter’s Gypsy Jazz Guitar Model – this guitar is just what you need to really shine when you play – and you can afford it too!
What to do now
If you know which learning solution is the right one for you, That’s great! We will see you inside. If you are not sure which option is the best for your needs, that’s ok too. Please reach out through [email protected] and we will gladly contact you and help you make the perfect learning experiance for you.
Testimonials
ABOUT ME
Yaakov Hoter
Django Reinhardt’s music ignited my guitar passion at age 13. My journey spans Blues, Rock, Pop, Arabic Oud, Jazz, and Gypsy Jazz. Throughout it all, one thing has remained crystal clear to me – music is a universal language, free from the constraints of style or genre.
I’ve collaborated with renowned musicians like Bireli Lagrene and Martin Taylor, gracing international festivals. My academic journey includes a music college degree and a Music Academy bachelor’s. I document my musical journey at gypsyandjazz.com, helping thousands of players around the globe play the way they love and love the way they play.
“I had loads of classes with really wonderful professional players but nothing compares. The way Yaakov introduces you to Django’s style is unique, very helpful and highly entertaining. I’d never have imagined to be able to pick it up in such a short time. Taking Yaakovs Gypsy Jazz course is like having a friend in your practicing room.”
Wolfgang eisenhuth
“Yaakov is an absolutely brilliant teacher. His unique teaching method and style give a very effective mix of learning by doing and understanding. I can now play and learn, alone, at jam sessions and at workshops. Yaakov’s lessons are so much fun; they excite my interest and hold it! I’m learning to play and learning to learn. ”
Donna Radin
“My development as a guitarist due to the 32 lessons I took with Yaakov is much more than I had hoped for. Beyond learning just how to swing and how to play jazz songs, I can now improvise to any kind of music. Following all your tips…really works. Your approach hits the mark. Your generosity was always felt. Blessings to you. ”
Jai . C . SALT
“I picked up books/tabs/dvd’s and various courses. about 8 years had gone by and my playing was between beginner and intermediate and I practiced 4 hours a day! Then I stumbled upon Yaakov Hoter. WOW!!.. somebody who explained the Gypsy language better than ANYONE! If ONLY I had found this 8 years ago! Get lessons from YAAKOV, you will not regret it ”
Ian Randell
“I always talked about Django Reinhardt with admiration but never understood how he did it…time moves on and and I found Yaakov Hoters Gypsy Jazz courses. It is the best way to learn. Yaakov is a great teacher with great patience to teach you and to tell you the little secrets you need to know.”
Andrew Wells
“I’m a big fan of Django and Yaakov. I’ve bought a lot of lessons from his website and I’ve learnt a lot with them…All of them are very well organized and helpful. Easy to understand and come with a pdf explanation. Thank you very much Yaakov!! ”
Django Eddie
“Yaakov’s bootcamp has taken my learning experience to the next level. I had never recorded my playing on video before nor shared it online with others. But using my cellphone I was ready to go in seconds, not minutes. With the help of Yaakov and his online group I suddenly see lots of improvements in a short period of time. I now enjoy every step along the way. Thank you Yaakov”
Kai Ole Shultz
“As a Gypsy Jazz beginner I am blown away that my technique has improved so drastically in such a short time – a testament to Yaakov’s fantastic teaching. Yaakov provides attentive and precise feedback on individual technique and areas to improve. The opportunity to watch him work with other students is inspiring and I gained much insight from common difficulties many if us share. I highly recommend Yaakov’s live workshops and courses.”
Thomas Loiselle
“The Live Bootcamps are something to look forward to all week. When you attend a live meeting there is an excitement that you get from Yaakov directly answering your comments live and actually using your name to invite you on to share what you’ve learned. It’s makes everything so much more real and personal to have one of the world’s top gypsy jazz teachers directly helping give you personal tips, directions, and goals. ”
TOM SHOPTAW
“Having learned picking from you, a surprising benefit is that the tone that I have achieved really helps for everything related to ear training. I can learn and remember so many phrases and tunes because I can play them clearly and precisely. Because of your guidance, I know what to work on to improve. Thank you for the wonderful start and I look forward to joining more bootcamps in the future!”
Ashok Thirumurthi
“Another fine workshop from Yaakov, this time on the oh so important element of rhythm in Gypsy Jazz, Yaakov has the ability to focus on the basic movements, really breaks it down, so you can build from the bottom up. All this without getting academic, and keeping it fun. If you are a student like me, who can play a fair bit already, but need structure, you can’t go wrong with a workshop like this!”
Karel van Bezooijen
“Yaakov´s live online Bootcamp was a very useful. Keeping up with the others students progress was both – fun and motivating. I think the online live workshop gave all members a boost in their playing and our progress during these sessions was impressive. Yaakov was always there with his answers and comments: he knows exactly what advice to give to improve your playing”
Volker Bräth
“I enjoyed it so much and was making substantial progress with my improvisation skills. Until joining the program, my solos consisted of noodling with a scale through the changes. The structure of the program taught me how to approach soloing using these techniques. My goal went from stringing together arpeggios at blazing speeds to creating melodic statements that applied my current skills and came from the music inside of me. Thanks so much, Yaakov!”
Brad Smadly
“Simply put, learning the fundamentals of gypsy jazz from Yaakov has done wonders for my confidence and ability to improvise. Now I’m very much enjoying my daily practice, creating lines and swinging out. If you’re passionate about learning how to play Gypsy Jazz, I couldn’t recommend Yaakov’s courses and bootcamps more. I consider the progress I’ve made in such a relatively short time and the guidance I’ve been given invaluable. Worth every penny. Thanks again Yaakov!”
Jordan Corney
“You have a great system of turning the knowledge I have into something that I can use and if I don’t have the knowledge, you are giving it to me so it’s usable. Learning this process has changed everything in my playing. I like my own sound and solos better and people are asking me to come back and play with them again which is a pretty good indicator that I’m doing something right and and it’s all thanks to you Yaakov!”
Carol
“I’m finally able to see the endless patterns on the fretboard and relax, finding so many ways to explore vaguely repeating motifs that sound good to the ear. Fewer notes, better notes, more meaning and beauty to the soloing. Loving it, and again – that’s for your help! Yaakov ”
Douglas Stewar
“I have been following yaakov’s course over 4 weeks and it has really been a crucial breakthrough for me. When Yaakov explained about simplifying chord progressions, keeping the shape and using triads, it all fell into place. I have developed more in the last month than in the previous 30 years ”
Lars Nørregaard
“Improvisation in music is like abstract painting in art. Yaakov is teaching some stuff that might seem unteachable. Very inspiring. As you go through it everything starts making sense. The system is quite simple. Also, Yaakov’s genuine personality makes a huge difference; if you trust your teacher – it’s easy to trust the process.”