I tend to teach children and adults differently because of their naturally differing goals, preferences, and skill levels.

Approach for Young Students

Music is a language, and I strive to cultivate holistic musical fluency with my young students.  

In order to be fluent in any language, one must think in that tongue, as well as listen & speak, read & write.

• Think: Music theory provides concepts and terminology to analyze and comprehend ALL music.

• Listen: Ear training to develop a mental system for conceptualizing sound—either Relative Pitch or Absolute (“Perfect”) Pitch.

• Speak: Instrumental technique, learning how to speak with our instrument, summarized by the questions “how do I physically do that” and eventually “how do I physically do that with ease?” And improvisation, the ability to spontaneously speak with music instead of words.

• Read: Musical literacy. Can you look at black dots on a page and turn them into music?

• Write: Composition / Songwriting. Developing cohesive, refined musical ideas.

Every lesson will be spent working through a method book and doing ear training exercises. Method books provide an abundance of songs ordered by progressive difficulty that develop instrumental technique and musical literacy. Ear training exercises are self-explanatory and will conclude each lesson.

Some lessons will, in time, be spent on more advanced concepts such as music theory, improvisation, and composition.   

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I really focus on developing my students holistically as musicians instead of simply guitarists. You may be surprised to learn that fundamentals like ear training and musical literacy are often completely neglected by most teachers (guitarists in particular tend to be an illiterate bunch!).

I focus holistically because it leads to:

1. Superior musicianship, and

2. Boundless opportunity,

I want to open as many musical doors as I can for my students. Who knows what musical interests they’ll develop as they grow up, and what a wonderful gift to provide them with the translatable musical skills and knowledge to pursue their passion as a hip-hop producer, funk guitarist, choral member, cellist, or jazz singer when the aspiration emerges.

Of course I teach to pay the bills, but knowing I’ve given someone a solid musical education that’ll be with them for life? THAT is my ultimate fulfillment as a teacher and human.

Approach for Adult Students

Due to the wide variety of musical backgrounds, preferences, and aspirations of adults, I do not have a one size fits all approach. My overarching goal is simply that you’re enjoying yourself and improving.

For adult beginners, read my Approach for Young Students and see if that’d interest you. In the long run, I think that’s the best way to go. But perhaps you have a style or set of songs that interest you and want to play that stuff as soon as possible. Totally understandable (most do!), we’ll craft a plan to get you there during the first lesson.

For advanced adults, there really isn’t a one size fits all for y’all! Give me a call and we can chat about what you’re working on, why you’re thinking of lessons, and what musical questions you have. There’s a good chance I’ll know where you’re at and how I can help you after a few minutes, and if not, I won’t waste either of our time acting like I can.

As for my musical endeavors, I’m really into everything: Jazz, Classical, Popular, and Folk. So let’s start a conversation to see if we share any specific interests and decide if we’d be a good match for each other!