Guitar Lessons in Forest Lake, MN

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I have great joy in seeing my students succeed! When you succeed, I succeed. Together we are a team! I will correct you on the spot when there is an error, so you don't keep doing an incorrect guitar hand gesture. Skills my students learn with me include sight-reading, discovering new genres and improvisation. The sky is the limit! I will work on your songs (orginal or covers) with you to develop your skills. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My earliest musical memories were of Led Zeppelin, Guns 'n' Roses, and Jimi Hendrix. When I started taking guitar lessons at eleven years old, I pursued the powerful distorted guitar riffs from my classic rock idols. After learning about jazz in high-school, I began to seek out knowledge of every genre of music. McNally-Smith helped me tremendously. I joined a wide range of ensembles, from blues to indie-rock, classical to gypsy jazz. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Drums Bass Guitar

My style of teaching is personal and caring. Whether my students develop a desire to pursue music beyond our lessons, I care about their happiness and personal success in life. I develop a relationship with my students and I really enjoy it when I hear that they used a concept I taught them in our music lessons for something beyond music. I at least hope to instill a strong understanding and enjoyment of music in each of my students which they can share with the people in their life. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Djembe

Whatever type of music they are interested in playing, I find several examples to pull from that and use it as teaching material and relate it back to our foundational training. This keeps our lessons fun, engaging, and rewarding. For Drum set, I teach from Tommy Igoe's "Groove Essentials 1.0/2.0" and John Riley's "The Art of Bop Drumming". I encourage students to perform a recital but I like to stretch the definition of a "recital". Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Double Bass French Horn

For beginning horn students I use the Rubank method as well as my own combination of etudes. Once the student has a solid understanding of the fundamentals a regimine of solos and etudes will be assigned, followed by the standard solo repertoire. For bass and guitar students I have my own method book that focuses on music theory, technique, as well as improvisation. I strongly believe in adapting my materials and method to best suit the student and the students need, I will work to help you achieve your goals! Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

The methods and approaches I use depend greatly on the student and their needs. The most important thing for me is to find repertoire that addresses the students needs and interests. For classical guitar students, there are a variety of methods that I regularly utilize (Julio Sagreras, The Royal Conservatory Series, Suzuki Guitar Method, Charles Duncan), and often supplement with other pieces/etudes. For other styles, I build lessons around playing music that the student is interested in, and include technical and musical exercises when needed. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

I start out the students first lesson giving a brief intro on my background as a musician. I then talk to the student to see what their goals as an upcoming musician are. I focus my lessons on the students skill level, goals among others. I incorporate music theory, ear training, learning to improvise over changes. For beginners I start with basic Melodie’s line Star Wars. Clapping rhythms keeping time using a metronome. Read More