Bass Lessons in Prospectville, PA

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My teaching experiance has been mainly one one one. I've never given group lessons mainly because you can't totally focus on the student when there are several people involved. The best teaching/learning situation is the individual lesson where the focus is on one person. All my lessons are with one individual. More than one creates distraction and breaks the contenuity of the learning experiance. My experiance has been with grade school students, College age, middle aged and also senior citizens. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Mandolin Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Sessions include breathing/relaxation/meditation, John Cage jamming (where we listen to each other very attentively and make sounds on random objects for long periods of time), groove practice, spoken-word poetry, songwriting, and more conventional rock band stuff. I encourage students (and myself) to live their everyday lives musically, listening aesthetically to the world around them and paying attention to their own inner soundtracks (imagination). After-School Jam Session serves as a laboratory for me to develop teaching practices that emphasize creativity, empathy, cooperation, and awareness of beauty. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar

I have little formal experience, but I believe that instrumental to the success of any aspiring musician is encouragement and guidance. I have been giving casual lessons to friends and acquaintances for years, and my experiences have taught me that virtuosity alone cannot teach; one must be able to articulate the methods and processes that have been in place for years in one's own musical practice to someone approaching it fresh. Read More

Instruments: Bass Guitar Double Bass

My teaching style is relaxed and focused on having fun with music. I have had many teachers who have been very influential in my life and teaching philosophy. My biggest goal is for the student to make beautiful music they like to make, and I believe that enjoying the music is the best way to make that happen. This is because I think practice is often over complicated, in my mind the best way to become a good musician is to spend as much time as possible playing the instrument, and a relaxed and fun approach is the best way to get a student playing all day. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Voice Bass Guitar

At the start of the first lesson, I give each new student a questionniare to fill out that tells me their musical background, influences, goals for the instrument and what music they are interested in learning. If the new student is a younger child, I begin them with Hal Leonard's Guitar Method Book One. Once they have grasped the simple chords and melodies of the book, I begin to introduce simple songs that they are interested in learning. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar

It's also important, with all students, to make sure we can work in some music that they want to learn, whether it be Beatles, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Chili Peppers, Charlie Parker, etc. I think that's the best way to motivate a student, give them something they REALLY want to get under their fingers. I want to add that one of my strongest assets as a teacher is my very comprehensive knowledge of jazz language/theory and the role of the guitar player in jazz music. Read More