Jeff O  
Instruments: Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Gospel, Funk, Spirituals, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, Bossa Nova, Soul, Punk, Avant-garde

I began teaching private guitar lessons while I was still in high-school.  After I completed my degree at Berklee in 2004, I began teaching six days a week.  Since then, I've consistently maintained a roster of 30-40 weekly students in addition an active gig-schedule.  Seeing students gain a love and understanding of music and do things that they never thought possible has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.  Over the years, I've honed my methodolgy for approaching a wide variety of techniques and subjects, from the best way to practice a simple melody, to advanced jazz improvisation.  My years of experience has allowed me focus on what works for a particular type of students and eliminate what doesn't.

My lessons are organized around a few core elements: fundamentals, technique, note-reading, and repertoire.  For all students, grasping the fundamentals of pitch and rhythm is essential, so exercises that continually reinforce these fundamental skills are a typical first order of business for each weekly lesson.  Simultaneously, I guide the student through proper posture, form, breathing, and mental preparation.  For children, and any adolescents or adults who are truly serious about music, I encourage the development of sight-reading skills for musical literacy.  To that end I typically use the Hal Leonard guitar method, or one of Berklee method books for more advanced students.  Working out of a method book is certainly not the end of the lesson, however; each week we'll focus on a particular piece of music of my or the student's choosing, and work towards a complete performance of that piece.