Guitar Lessons in Manchester, CT

Instruments: Guitar

My teaching experience has showed me that there is no one "correct" approach to learning guitar or any musical instrument for that matter. There are certainly valuable techniques that can be adopted by every student to help them progress, however each student presents their unique personality and tastes in music. In order to help bring out the student's musical "voice" on his or her particular instrument, my approach to teaching will vary. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Saxophone Bass Guitar Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Djembe Acoustic Guitar

Depending upon what area/instrument of music I'm teaching, I use a number of different materials, including (but not limited to) Tonal Harmony (Kostka, et al.), Essential Dictionary of Music Notation, Accent on Achievement, Hal Leonard's Essential Elements, or Rock House Method (McCarthy). The skill level of the student also dictates what resources I'll use. In addition, I believe that the student should have control over his/her development as a musician, so I encourage my students to create a list of songs they wish to learn how to play. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

I started teaching guitar during college at a local middle school and enjoyed working with younger students. I have always maintained a group of students who I teach on a part-time basis. I also work as a college counselor, so I teach guitar because I thoroughly enjoy helping students learn and play guitar. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Organ Synthesizer Banjo Ukulele Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

The way I learned is the way I teach. I was taught the same way multiple ways and because of this I can give students different avenues to learn the same thing. So if they don't understand it in A, or B, I still have C, and D as a back up. I try to include the student to help navigate their own lesson plan and figure out what they want to focus on. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I begin my students with the fundamentals of music and the instrument. As we expand our musical knowledge, we also broaden our understanding of technique, because I strongly believe that every musician, no matter the genre they ultimately play, needs a strong foundation of musical knowledge and technical proficiency on the instrument. All the while I take into consideration what style the student is interested in. I try my best to incorporate the students interests from the beginning, and as the student reaches a higher and higher level, we work more concentrated in the direction of their interests.  Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Music Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

From my experiences teaching in classroom settings, I have come to realize the importance of setting short and longer term learning goals for my students and adjusting these goals together with them as we work towards reaching these objectives. Sometimes the goals are very specific, like mastering a particular concept, or practicing towards a specific audition, and some, more general, like developing certain techniques which then need to be further explored and practiced by the student. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele

I use several different method books for teaching. The books I typically use are Alfred's Basic Guitar, Mel Bay's beginner books as well as Hal Leonard's melody books. I teach beginner students the basics of how to properly hold their guitar, hand and finger placement, and simple note reading and chords. For more advanced students I teach theory and how they can apply it in order to be more creative. Read More