About

Location

I’ve spent most of my life in the northeastern United States, primarily in and around New York City and Boston Masachussets. I grew up on Long Island and lived there through high school. I went to various colleges and universities for higher education in New York and Masachussets. I currently live and work in the Hudson Valley of New York about an hour north of NYC.

Music

I’ve always had a deep connection to music. I began my study of music as a child, and my love of and relationship with music has grown and deepend over time. I’ve learned to play a number of different instruments such as piano, guitar, drums, saxophone, and trumpet. I’m currently running a business in which I teach piano lessons professionally - both in person and online. In addition to personal referrals, word of mouth, and a few other sources, I’m generating leads for this business primarily from organic search traffic and my music teaching web site - davelongmusic.com.

College

As an undergraduate at Boston University, I studied liberal arts - mostly music and philosophy. After graduating from B.U. in 2001, I continued to play and study music. I played with various ensembles, practiced a lot, and took private lessons. I also studied music theory and conducting at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College.

Law School & Practicing Law

After college, I changed direction and decided to make some use of my training in philosophy and writing. I decided to go to law school. After graduating, I passed the bar and started practicing law. I stopped practicing law after a few years and decided to pursue other interests.

Piano Study & Piano Teaching Business

After taking music and piano lessons from a number of different teachers, I was very fortunate to meet and begin to study piano with Seymour Bernstein in New York City. I’ve been studying with Seymour for about 10 years now, and I’ve learned so much from him about piano, music, and life in general.

After years of piano study, I decided to start teaching piano lessons myself. Building a piano teaching business from scratch was eye opening in a number of ways. I learned how to run a freelance business, and I gained experience with building websites, writing copy, and working with SEO and advertising.

Freelance Writing

I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing. My interest and skill in writing was one of the main factors in my decisions to major in philosophy as an undergraduate and to go to law school and pursue a legal career. I’ve recently began doing some work as a freelance writer generating content for web sites.

Computer Programming

Over the last year or so, I’ve been increasingly focused on learning and working with computer programming. I’ve had an interest in coding and computers since I was a young child playing around with my family’s Commodore 64 and other IBM-compatible computers. I’ve since spent time learning and exploring the linux and macos operating systems. I’ve particularly enjoyed deepening my understading of the command line and the arch linux and ubuntu linux distributions. I’ve also spent time studying programming languages such as C, C++, Lua, Rust, go (golang), and python. Most recently, I’ve been focused on learning web development with a focus on html, css, and javascript. You can learn more about my coding background and activities at davelongdev.com

Dave Long Web Studio - Web Site Development & Design

I’m currently working on a freelance web site building budiness - davelongwebstudio.com. If you’re interested in building a web site with me, please get in touch. You can reach me at [email protected].

Teaching & Learning in Public

I feel drawn to the learn in public model. I’ve learned so much from my piano students over the years, not just about how to become a better teacher, but also about music and piano playing. These experiences have shown me the value of teaching both for the student and the teacher.

Hobbies & Interests

• photography

• hiking

• birdwatching

• chess

• reading

• philosophy

• computer science & technology