Guitar Lessons in Richardsville, VA

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Bass Guitar Synthesizer Ukulele Keyboard

I am very easy to work with and incorporate FUN into my lessons. My primary goal is to see my students enjoying music and liking what they are doing. This will get them to work more towards their goals as they grow through adolescence and into high school and college. Since each student is different I try to focus on reading their reactions to the material in order to to determine what they are understanding and what they are not. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I believe the single most important part of a musician's work begins in the ear. Building a foundation in aural training, and understanding what you're hearing, will allow any student to then approach an instrument with clarity and patience. For most students at beginning or intermediate levels, I'll use a dual-curriculum approach to develop ear training/theory understanding alongside technical skill and practical ability. I create my own lesson plans with each student's needs in mind, in order to help them follow their personal path to musical success. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For beginner students who have never held an instrument or don't know anything about music we'll go over basic guitar fundamentals we'll talk about different types of guitars, how to hold the guitar in classical and folk style positions, how to press your fingers on the strings (because there is a way), body parts of the guitar, basic music concepts such as beat and rhythm, how to read music both standard and tabs, basic guitar exercises, and a few fun songs once the fundamentals have been practiced enough. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Saxophone Bass Guitar Ukulele Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I love to see my students overcome challenges in music. My music teacher used to say, "nothing is hard, or difficult, just challenging." If students learn how to practice effectively on their own, learning new music becomes easier over time. I teach my students how to approach a certain rhythm, phrase, or fingering and the techniques to do so correctly such as by slowing down and practicing with a metronome, our muscle memory will be able to play it up to speed once it's learned. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

I never want to pressure or overwhelm a student with too much information or expectation, because instead of the instruction being seen as a challenge, it is interpreted as an unenjoyable command, and that discourages the student from practicing to meet their goals, instead of motivating and inspiring them. What I find works best is relating lessons to popular current music, further exploring the bridge of dynamics that make up the songs that the student enjoys. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

Every student has different goals ,wants and needs..and it is for this matter that an individual and personal approach is needed to address those musical aspects,catered and tailored specifically geared towards their learning the instrument.I use various resources at my disposal: books,mp3s and videos and my many years of experience and knowledge of performing and teaching. For classical: I use the Matteo Carcassi Method Book, Fernando Sor and Mel Bay's Complete Method for Classical Guitar. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I started teaching private lessons on guitar and bass in the mid-1970's, after playing for about 10 years. If you want to learn to play, you have to practice. It is a physical and mental exercise that is a significant challenge to any beginnner and and on-going project that you can work on for your entire life. That's why I emphasize, encourage and enable you with many methods and techniques to keep yourself focused on praciticing, rehearsing and performing so it becomes part of your daily routine. Read More