Music lessons

Learn acoustic or electric guitar!

Acoustic and Electric Guitar

Beginning guitar students will learn the basics like chords, strumming, timing, chord progressions and simple songs. Some guitar students want to focus more on lead while others will prefer playing rhythm guitar. Typically, both styles are taught and one ends up being emphasized. More advanced students can learn alternate tunings, how to read and play tablature (tabs), improvise and write/play/record music. Feel free to bring songs you want to learn, otherwise I have tabbed hundreds of songs/licks already. Plus, I can tab many songs/licks on the spot during your lesson as I teach you how to play guitar.

An important part of playing an instrument is being able to improvise, which is the act of expressing yourself creatively through music. Click Improvising Made Easy For Guitar and Bass to see a book I wrote. New bass and guitar students get a free copy.

Bass

Bass guitar students will focus on a variety of techniques and songs. I believe it's important that bass guitarists actually play their instrument instead of being lazy and playing whole notes all the time. In fact, some of the best bass guitarists were first 6 string guitarists who learned to play up and down the neck. Taking this knowledge and inspiration to the bass guitar usually gives them an advantage.

Beginning bass guitarists will practice playing notes at different speeds (e.g. eighth, quarter, half and whole notes). Students will also learn the four main techniques of lead guitar, along with plucking, slapping and popping. Bassists will learn how to play in proper timing as they play with drums and other songs and instruments.

No lazy bassists in here! I'll teach you improvisational techniques, solos, fills, walkdowns, etc. More advanced students will learn songs and licks from bass tabs.

Music lessons, cont.

Learn piano or keyboard!

Piano and Keyboard

Beginning piano and keyboard students start with the basics. These music students learn time signatures, dynamic signs and how to play the different types of notes. All piano students will learn how to read music and play by ear.

Some piano and keyboard students learn through Alfred's Basic Piano Library Books. These structured books have many different levels and after we assess your skills, I'll suggest a level for you. The Lesson and Theory books are extremely helpful to some students.

Along with the basics and these supplemental books, I teach students numerous songs from all different genres. If you have a particular song (or genre) you'd prefer to learn from, then please bring it (or suggest it). Whether you enjoy classical, pop, rock or religious songs, you can learn many of the valuable fingering techniques from your favorite songs.

One unique aspect of my piano and keyboard lessons is the improvising part. Students will learn how to match tones by ear and effectively play by ear. Plus, you will learn to improvise in any key and even create original music.

Drums

Most drummers will focus on timing, rolls and rudiments. As the leader of the rhythm section, timing is critical and will be emphasized. Plus, learning now to effectively use all of your drums and cymbals is taught.

Drum students can learn to read and play drum tabs. More advanced students will learn to play drums while being accompanied with bass or guitar (giving you a good feel for playing with a band). If you're already playing in a band, you can bring in your own songs or covers to work on.

Music lessons

Music lessons, cont.

Free chord chart!

Guitar setup