What to expect

Music lessons should be fun!

I thoroughly enjoy teaching students of all ages because I can relate to students who are learning and trying to progress in their instrument as I can remember being in their position when I started learning music. Seeing students progress and improve as a result of helping them, I find to be one of the most rewarding aspects for me personally. It’s never too late to start learning no matter what age you are.

Essential skills are taught but lessons are tailored around what the students want to learn (otherwise they wouldn’t be fun!) and I can also help students prepare for auditions and give advice from first hand experience with the business aspects of the music industry.

Studying allowed me to develop playing in a range of styles including Rock, Pop, Funk, Metal, Latin, Reggae, Jazz etc. Some of the other key skills gained while studying were in pre production, post production, practical musicianship, technical and stylistic development, music business, music law, music theory, live performance, sight reading, session styles, solo performance, creative improvisation, composition and arrangement, and musical direction.

My Qualifications:

•BA (Hons) Contemporary Popular Music (Degree)
•Higher Diploma – Contemporary Popular Music Performance
•Diploma – Contemporary Music (Performance)

Instruments Taught:

Electric guitar / Acoustic guitar / Bass / Ukulele

Genres Taught:

Any

Ability Levels Taught:

Beginners to advanced

Frequently Asked Questions:

How long is a lesson?

Depending on the student’s age (the youngest I’ve taught has been around 5 years old), lessons can be 30 minutes, 45 minutes or one hour. Most students opt for one hour lessons.

Do you teach acoustic guitar or electric guitar?

Both!

Where do you teach?

I currently visit all of my students and teach them at their homes.

What age(s) do you teach?

I have taught everyone from kids as young as 5 to mums and dads in their 50’s and 60’s. It’s never too early or late to learn the guitar and it can be a lot of fun!

Do you teach group lessons?

Yes. From young bands to group lessons in offices, anything is possible.

What equipment and teaching material do you use?

I have an extensive collection of teaching materials, so students usually get a copy to keep for themselves. As well as printed materials, I also transcribe material for students to keep if and when needed. I also make use of my laptop which can act as a makeshift amplifier for myself and have some resources on there to help break down songs into easy to learn segments which can be a lot of fun.

How long should I practice?

At the end of each lesson, I usually write down what the student should practice before the next lesson. For much younger beginners, I recommend 15 mins per day and much older students, 30 – 60 mins. Practicing regularly is important if you want to become better at your instrument. Sometimes it can be frustrating learning a difficult passage, so I recommend putting the guitar down, doing something else and coming back later rather than working through the frustration and making it worse.

How long will it take to get better at the guitar?

Simple! The more you practice, the better you’ll get. There are no magic shortcuts!

Can you help me prepare for a live performance?

As I currently tour internationally, record in studios and studied live performance techniques when I qualified for my diplomas and degree, I can certainly help and give a lot of guidance in preparation for any kind of live performance.

Once I’ve learnt the basics, where can we go from there?

As I like to tailor some of the lessons around what artists and styles the student is interested in (it wouldn’t be as fun otherwise!), just a few of the many things to move on to can be: improvisational techniques, how to write songs on the guitar, learning signature riffs and licks from specific players, fingerstyle techniques, music theory, extended chords, the “CAGED” system, scales, sight reading, ear training, specific techniques on the guitar, learning specific songs and solos by breaking them down into easy to learn segments.