The same group meets live each week. Simon demonstrates, everyone works on the same funk groove against a shared track, and players take turns unmuting for direct coaching. Hearing the same problem move across instruments is part of the class.
30 minutes with Simon · Bring your instrument · No prepared piece required
Funk is the working language because it puts time, space, articulation, and interaction under a microscope. Each week the cohort digs into one groove: how it sits, where the space is, what each instrument owes the pocket.
Sessions are 60 minutes, live online, weekly on Saturdays. The exact hour is set with the founding group inside Simon's Saturday teaching window.
This is not a first-day class, but you do not need to call yourself an intermediate player. If you can play a basic part with a recording or click, keep your place most of the time, and restart when you get lost, you are ready to audition. No solo or prepared piece is required.
If you are still learning how to hold the instrument, make a clear sound, or follow a steady beat, private lessons are the better starting point.
Private lessons still begin with a free trial. The online cohort uses the separate paid audition below.
Entry starts with a $20, 30-minute audition with Simon. You will play, talk through what you want from the class, and check whether the cohort fits your level. The $20 covers the meeting, not a guaranteed seat.
Membership is $100 per live session, billed monthly. You hold a standing place in the group; there is nothing to rebook and no calendar to manage.
Life happens: every 16 classes include four free passes, no questions asked. Please give 24 hours notice when you can. Past four absences, your place may be offered to the next player.
Simon Keyser Petty is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, bandleader, and Jazzschool faculty member at the California Jazz Conservatory, where he leads funk ensembles.