First things first!

Learning to play the guitar is a fun and inexpensive way for children and adults of all ages to develop musical ability and music appreciation. Playing the guitar encourages creativity, music interpretation, improvisation and composition.

In addition, learning guitar can help young people develop, social skills by encouraging interaction, work ethic by setting performance goals, problem solving skills by developing methods and practice techniques, motor skills, hand-eye coordination and psychomotor skills, and self-motivation and self-esteem. Not to mention its a fun and healthy passtime to be enjoyed for a lifetime.

This website outlines my approach to guitar instruction including the bells and whistles I offer that other providers may not. My hope is that you can make the best informed decision about whether the guitar is the right instrument for you or your children.

Guitar Lessons Overview   top

skill level?  :  where?  :  when?  :  how much?  :  acoustic or electric?  :  practice materials?

Below I present the overview in the form of common questions one might ask when considering guitar lessons. If you have any other questions, by all means, contact me.

1) What skill level do you teach? up
I offer lessons both for the beginner and the intermediate guitar player. If you're an advanced player, let's talk. As a life-long student of music myself, I'm sure there's more than a thing or two left for me to learn. Advanced players may need partnership more than instruction in order to continue develop their abilities. I am not a classical player and was not classically trained. If you are interested in learning classical guitar technique, visit the Lincoln Music Teacher's Association or call XXX-XXX-XXXX for a referral.

2) Do I need my own guitar? up
All guitar players need their own guitars, because air-guitar is not the same as practice. I can provide an acoustic guitar for use during lessons. If you have an electric guitar, I can provide an amplifier for use during lessons.

3) Where do you offer lessons? up
My wife, Jenny, and I live at 3445 P Street here in Lincoln, right in the center of town. We offer our home as place for practice, but I can probably come to your home if that's more convenient. Lugging my amplifier all around town might help me keep the pounds off.

4) When do you offer lessons? up
I work full-time for a prominent consulting company here in Lincoln, so lesson times are generally restricted to evenings and weekends. However, I do have some flexibility in my work schedule such that I could give afternooon lessons on occassion as well.

5) How much does it cost? up
My fee is $15 per half-hour lesson. The first lesson is absolutely free. Of course, I'm flexible. If you prefer longer lessons, or shorter lessons, or would like to sign up for a lesson package or cannot afford $15 lessons, the fees are negotiable. We can work something out. The fees are outlined in detail further on down the page,

6) Should I, the beginner, learn on an electric or acoustic guitar? up
There are differing schools of thought on this age old question. The beginner's hand is not strong and not accustomed to quickly forming itself into the shapes required by chord progressions and scales. Since the neck of the electric guitar is thinner than the average acoustic's and its action is usually better, some argue that basic techniques are easier to learn on the electric guitar. However, the electric guitar is more delicate and sensitive to mistakes. Every error is amplified. Plus, if you can play the acoustic you can play the electric without too much adjustment. So, in the end, its up to you. I recommend both.

7) Do you provide "take-home" materials for students to use for practice? up
Yes, of course. While some materials are pretty standard for all students, chord sheets and scale notation for example, most materials are customized particularly for each student. They may include short exercises to aid the student's development of a particular ability or they may include a song that the student would like to learn its entirety. Materials will be provided during lesson times and via download from the students only section of this website (coming soon).

Lesson Content   top

the guitar  :  basic technique  :  the fretboard  :  notation & tablature  :  favorite songs       chords & progressions  :  scales

Lesson content, of course, varies according to the student. I want each lesson to be fun as well as informative. I outline below a few of the subject areas that we will cover. Although I feel it's important not to allow the student to wholly direct the lesson, I'm flexible depending on where you are and where you want to be as a player. Hey . . . I'm a musician. Anyone can learn the concepts neccessary to play the guitar, but how much practice the student dedicates to the instrument will determine how good a player he or she will become.

Don't read the outline below as though we progress from Lesson 1 straight to Lesson 2 and so on. Each lesson will contain a fun mix of important musical concepts and rocking the house loudly!!

1) Guitar Basics up
We'll learn about the anatomy of the guitar, from the tuning keys down the fretboard over the pickups and onto the bridge. We'll learn about basic guitar care and maintenance, how to tune the guitar, how to string the guitar, etc.

2) Basic Techniques up
Here is where the student begins to learn to play the guitar. We'll cover how to hold a pick, how to fret a note, how to form a chord, and how to strum the chord. We'll also begin to learn hammer-ons, pull-offs, bending, sliding, and vibrato. All the while, exercises and songs will aid instruction.

3) Learning the Fretboard up
Playing guitar is not all glitz and glory. There is a little book work to do as well. Allk guitarist must become intimately familiar with the fretboard. First, it's hard to play in C# if you don't know where the root is. Secondly, it is nearly impossible to communicate with other musicians about the musical attempts one is making without referencing the notes one is playing.

4) Reading Standard Notation and Tablature up
Every guitarist must be able to read the footprints left by other musicians. Now honestly, not every guitarist needs (or wants) to learn to read music per se, but every guitarist must learn to read tablature. Translates written music into fretboard finger positions. A moment to learn, a lifetime to master.

5) Favorite Songs up
Then, just when you thought you were bored, we learn your favorite songs! Bring in your tape, album, CD, eight-track or mp3, we'll locate or create the tablature and you'll be well on your way to jamming out your favorite songs!

6) Chords and Chord Progressions up
There are gazillions of chords to be made with the guitar. There are major and minor chords - each with different voicings and finger positions. There are the suspended and augmented chords, the seventh, ninth and thirteenth chords, the barre and the power chords, the slash and the diminished chords. Where to play them and What effect do they have?

7) Scales, Modes, and playing over Chord Progressions up
There are several common scales that the proficient guitarist can master. We will learn and practice the major, minor, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Locrian, the harmonic minor, the Lydian flat-seven, the whole tone, diminished, pentatonic major and minor, and the blues scales. We can get into arpeggios. Don't be afraid of the long strange words. With knowledge of the variation among just a couple of scales, you'll be soloing in no time.

Instruction Methods   top

strength building  :  playing with rhythm  :  practice materials  : : all important fun  :

Every student is different. Each has his or her own goals. Sometimes his or her goals are his or her parent's goals. Whatever the case, we'll outline how to reach those goals as best we can. I believe that guitarist should learn to play the songs they like to hear on the radio. It is motivating and its fun. I also believe that those songs can serve to aid the student in the composition of his or her own material. I want the student to learn to be creative and expressive through music, not only proficent at playing an instrument.

Here is a basic overview of the methods I have found to be effective instruments of instruction. Each lesson may contain one or a combination of the methods outlined below.

1) Strength Building up
Everyone's hands are shaped differently. It takes time to build the strength required by many chord positions. Also, the beginner's hands will get tired and technique may suffer. The trick is to keep the student interested through the growing pains. I believe it is more important to achieve a clear voicing of the chord or note the student is attempting to play when he or she attempts to play it, than it is to exhibit flawless technique. We will never sacrifice fun at the expense of picture perfect posture.

2) Playing with Rhythm up
When he or she is ready, we will begin to practice with the aid of a drummer. The drummer is a part of my home studio. Imagine you are listening to a simple scale: Doh - Reh - Mi - Fa - So - La - Ti - Doh. Now put any drum beat to it. Hear how the notes sync up to the rhythm of the drums. Listen to how the player begins to improvise around the beats of the drum. Playing with a rhythm, even if its just a few notes, will aid the student in learning to play music in time and with other musicians.

Most lessons are taught in little practice rooms adjoining retail music outlets. The instructor usually doesn't provide rhythm to aid the sutudent's musical development. When learning scales, I will provide accompaniment so that along with the drummer, the student will playing real music immediately, not endlessly running through exercises.

3) Practice Materials up
I try to set myself apart from other guitar instruction outlets in a number of ways. One of those ways is the production and use of take-home materials for the student to use to build his or her knowledge of guitar music. Many guitar teachers say goodbye after the lesson and tell you to practice what you learned in class. I feel that take home materials provide a concrete reminder of that lesson as well as new material the student can use to excel on his or her own.

4) Information, Cool Location and Fun up
I don't intend to spend entire lessons on one subject or one drill. Why? Because, fun is the most important part of learning music. Playing well takes practice. And practice takes persistence. Persistence takes motivation and without fun, the student's interest will wane. I'm a fun guy with a lot of good positive energy. Don't take my word for it, see my references.

I will present and reinforce information that I feel is important for the student's development. In addition, I will learn the student's music - Punk to Pop, Country, Rock, or Religious - so that I can better help the student learn his or her favorite songs. And finally, those little practice rooms that instructors rent from retail music outlets are not very inviting. I believe that if the student is comfortable he or she will risk failure more easily and therefore learn faster. View some pictures of our home and you decide if you'd rather practice in a little room or hang out with me at our place.

Digital Capability

Digital Recording Overview

Home Studio

Custom CDs

Digital Recording Overview   up

Playing guitar is great. But listening to a recording of yourself can be fun and rewarding. Unfortunately, time inside a professional sound studio is outrageously expensive. I have been fortunate enough over the years to learn a bit about digital recording. I have put together a rudimentary recording system that utilizes my PC, state of the art recording and editing software, microphones and a keyboard synthesizer.

Have you ever wanted to record a little ditty for your significant other? Haven't you always wanted to hear yourself on CD singing and playing your favorite songs? The process requires a significant amount of sound editing, but the fun stuff can start anytime you're ready.

Listen here if you'd like to hear a few sound samples. It's not quite studio grade, but I think you'll agree that it's not too bad . . . and the price is right!

Home Studio   up

I offer lessons in my home. This affords my students and I a couple of things over that which you might recieve from other guitar instructors. First, because most guitar teachers offer there lessons at a musical instrument outlet, the lessons are given in cramped little rooms in the back of the store. Here we can relax in the open atmosphere of our home and we have plenty of room for music stands, amplifiers, and the like - not to mention refreshments! Secondly, because I work out of the home, the student doesn't have to help the teacher pay rent on the practice space. This saves you money on every lesson.

I currently use the following components in my home recording studio:

• Peavey Envoy 110 40 watt transtube series amplifier;
• Alesis Sr-16 16-Bit Stereo Drum Machine;
• Cakewalk Audio Pro 9 Digital Recording Software;
• Dance Factory music creation software
• Optimus MD-1200 Custom Tone Synthesizer
• One acoustic and one electric guitar; and
• a metronome and digital guitar tuner.