My musical journey began in 1984 at the age of 14. Growing up I couldn't help but listen to the sweet sounds of Rush, Pink Floyd, Kansas, Styx, The Eagles, and many others dancing off the vinyl from my brothers record player. I had already started to play around with an old guitar my parents bought me, with no clear direction. Then I discovered a radio program called Metal Shop, and it featured artists in the heavy metal genre that other stations refused to play. I heard the song "Just Got Lucky" by Dokken and was blown away by guitarist George Lynch, and the tasty leads he was laying down. I never heard anything like it, and knew that I had to learn this stuff. Thus began my journey into the 80's metal scene, and the era of the "Guitar God".
My formidable years were spent listening and learning from these incredible guitarists. Like most guitar players during that time I relied on print publications, and other guitarists to learn how to play my favorite songs. Guitar World, Guitar For The Practicing Musician, and Guitar Player arrived in the mail every month. Learning by ear from vinyl, cassette, and eventually CD was commonplace as well. I came to a point where I needed to understand what I was playing and why it sounded the way it did. How did these guitar players come up with riffs, chords, and leads that sounded so awesome! So I took a deep dive into the world of music theory, and it was well worth the effort. Learning the theory behind what you are playing takes you way beyond simple muscle memory and opens up a whole new world of understanding.
As time went by my tastes in music slowly changed. Metal was on its way out thanks to Grunge, and eventually this made me branch out and learn many other genres of music and guitar disciplines. My musical interests today are quite broad. From classic rock, modern rock, progressive rock, and industrial metal to classical, jazz, blues, and country. As a fan of music, I enjoy learning from all of these styles. Playing and teaching guitar is an obsessive hobby and passion of mine. I want to share what I have learned with others, so that they too can enjoy learning and playing guitar.
My list of favorite artists spans wide across many genres and many decades. They include Rush, Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, AC/DC, The Who, Aerosmith, Journey, Deep Purple, Kiss, Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, Fallout Boy, Twenty-One Pilots, Bryan Adams, Richard Marx, Ed Sheeran, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, Josh Groban, and just about every band from the 80's metal scene.
Some of my favorite guitar players are David Gilmour, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, George Lynch, Warren DeMartini, Andy Timmons, Jeff Beck, Joe Bonnamassa, Nuno Bettencourt, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Slash, Alex Lifeson, John Mayer, Brad Paisley, and the list goes on and on. I told you my musical interests were vast! As you can see, I am a fan of ALL music.
It's About the Student
I’ll teach you what you want to learn. Before our first lesson, we’ll talk about you! What do you want to get out of our journey together? What kind of music do you like? What songs do you want to learn? Based on your goals I will create a custom learning path that will be grounded in the fundamentals of guitar playing while working towards your personal goals.
Make it Fun and Rewarding
If it's fun you're going to want to do it, it's as simple as that. Positive and constructive feedback builds confidence and pride in what you have accomplished and encourages you to keep trying. All students can learn when they are accepted for who and where they are in their educational journey. Effective learning requires collaboration between teacher, student, and parents grounded in mutual
respect and trust.
Believe in Yourself!
This is going to be difficult. Wait, what? I thought you said this was going to be fun? It will be! But it will also require a lot of hard work from both of us. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. If you commit to working hard and practicing then I will be right there with you the whole way.
Who
I work with humans ages 8 and up. I will make some exceptions for a younger child who shows genuine interest in learning to play.
What
My teaching styles is best suited for beginning and intermediate guitarists who want to play classic and/or modern rock on both the acoustic and electric guitar. Advanced instruction is available as well. But as explained in my teaching philosophy, your learning path will be customized for your personal goals.
Complete Customization
My learning path is designed to teach you the building blocks you need to become a great guitar player. We will discuss your personal goals and together create a learning path that will always compliment what you are trying to achieve.
My instruction is grounded in the fundamentals of guitar performance, and will include everything that is available in my Guitar 101 lesson plans. From there we will dig deeper into each of the fundamental areas as they relate to your personal goals.