Joe Hetko

Music lessons in Cohoes & Albany, NY

Patient, personal music lessons from a teacher with decades of experience.

Private guitar, banjo, bass, ukulele and mandolin lessons with Joe Hetko, a longtime school music teacher. Lessons are at his home in Cohoes, for students of any age and in any style.

Get in touch about lessons
Joe Hetko playing acoustic guitar on stage beside his daughter, who is singing and playing guitar, with quilts hanging behind them.
Joe on stage with his daughter.

What Joe teaches

Guitar lessons

Acoustic or electric. Start with the basics, like chords, strumming and reading simple music, then build toward fingerpicking and lead playing as you’re ready.

Banjo lessons

Learn bluegrass three-finger picking, clawhammer, or simple chords to accompany songs, starting from wherever you are now.

Bass lessons

Electric or upright. Learn scales, bass lines and reading music, and how the bass fits together with other instruments.

Ukulele lessons

A great first instrument for children and adults. Learn basic chords and strumming, and play familiar songs early on.

Mandolin lessons

Learn chords, picking technique and melodies, with music from bluegrass, folk and Celtic traditions.

How lessons work

Private lessons at Joe’s home

Each lesson is one-on-one, so Joe can focus on what you need and move at a pace that suits you.

30 minutes or an hour

Choose the lesson length that works best for you. Younger students often do well with 30-minute lessons.

Any age

Joe teaches children, teens and adults, from complete beginners to those returning to an instrument after time away.

Any style

Folk, bluegrass, rock, blues, country, jazz or classical. Tell Joe what you’d like to play, and he’ll help you get there step by step.

About Joe

Joe Hetko taught music in schools for decades while also teaching private students. Over those years he has worked with young beginners, teenagers and adults at every level. Outside of teaching, he performs and plays at jams on a variety of instruments.

He teaches out of his home in Cohoes, a short drive from Albany, Troy, Latham, Watervliet, Waterford, Colonie, Clifton Park and Niskayuna, and welcomes students from across the Capital Region.

Joe Hetko playing banjo in an outdoor jam under a tent, surrounded by musicians on fiddle, guitar and upright bass.
Playing banjo at an outdoor jam.
Joe Hetko playing acoustic guitar beside a young guitarist reading from a music stand.
Playing guitar alongside a younger musician.

Interested in lessons?

Email Joe to ask about lessons. It helps to include which instrument you’d like to learn, any experience you already have, whether you’d prefer 30-minute or 1-hour lessons, and which days and times work for you.

Lessons at Joe’s home in Cohoes, NY · A short drive from Albany, Troy and Latham