Guitar Lessons in Ayer, MA

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I like for my students to develop a passion for music by showing them what can be accomplished with a little hard work and discipline. My method includes teaching them the fundamentals of music, such as reading, harmony, theory, and songwriting, while at the same time showing them how to play their favorite music while applying these fundamentals. Making the lesson fun is absolutely essential! I believe being flexible with my teaching style accomplishes this without being tedious or "boring" for the student. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Double Bass Electric Guitar

For beginners I go through the mechanics of the instrument and I try to select easy songs that help in basic instrument navigation. I also use basic sight reading as a method to get to know the instrument. I encourage playing along with recorded music. After basic mastery of the instrument is acheived I try to bring new concepts to the lesson each time. I make personalized backing tracks for each student to practice with. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Harmonica

My methods for teaching are directly linked to the desires of the student and what they hope to achieve by learning how to play an instrument. If a student is particularly interested in songwriting and composition, I'd be more inclined to emphasize the principles or harmony, counterpoint, structure and written music, whereas if a student is more interested in becoming an instrumentalist for a band etc., I'd be more inclined to emphasize rudiments, scale exercises and a jamming mentality. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

During that time, I've had the joy of working with students of all ages as a drum instructor at Northfield Mount Hermon, a music teacher at Greens Farms Academy, a general music and chorus teacher at Amherst Middle School, a summer music instructor at Deerfield Academy, and with continued private lessons. I've also recorded drums on over 20 albums and played hundreds of shows with a diverse group of artists across the country. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Drums Electric Guitar

For beginning students, I typically begin by teaching how to use proper technique and how to read music, chord changes or tablature. Once the student is ready, I will work with the student on pieces or songs that we choose together. For guitar students, I use songs as a basis for teaching scales, new chords and improvisation. For drum students, I use songs and solos as a means for teaching rudiments, grooves, fills and improvisation. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

I am a passionate musician with a love or teaching and learning. Throughout my my life as a musician I have made it my goal to study and play with as many musicians as possible. I graduated from Keene State College with a Bachelor of Arts where I studied education and classical guitar. I have had the opprotunity to learn from many fine mentors and carry their lessons with me. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

After the first lesson, I will break up lessons into warmups (stretches and fretboard exercises), the study of repertoire (learning melodies and chords), and the relevant technique (scales, picking approaches, etc) for which the music calls. Time spent discussing theory will likely emerge from the teaching of the song, but can be approached with a variable level of depth - students less interested in theory will still come away from a lesson with some awareness of what's making the music work; students more interested in theory are welcomed to dig deeper - with the awareness that theory may function as a useful tool to understand a piece of music, or even generate new material, but that the end-goal, ultimately, is to produce a piece of music; not a theorem. Read More