Guitar Lessons in Ellenton, FL

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Harmonica Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

At Five years old, I began learning the piano. I learned to read music and play reasonably well. Then, baseball came along. As I entered high school, I learned the guitar, starting with a Silvertone guitar with the small accompanying amplifier. I had sung in the church choir, so my Boy Scout friends then became my band mates during the 60's In the 70's, I went on the road with a talented rock band opening for large acts including the Allman Brothers Band and The Who. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Besides having an extensive career as a performer, I have always maintained 10-30 private students ranging from beginners to professional musicians. I can teach and play almost any style of guitar, and I always teach reading music, music theory, and proper technique along with any particular songs the student is interested to learn. As a University student, I began teaching at local music schools and found that it's a wonderful way to share knowledge and experience, and also to be around youth and become aware of how differently young people now experience music and acquire knowledge. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Acoustic Guitar

In regards to my teaching style, I tend to tailor it to the individual. Strict method adherence can leave students suffering. I do not teach using sheet music as I have inabilty to read myself. I do not believe sheet music makes a great player. I do believe it is a skill but it absolutely does not hinder the ability to become an amazing guitar player. In fact, a lot of the biggest guitarist cannot read music. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Mandolin

Seeing students excel at their instrument of choice is most rewarding. My goal is to help my students understand music so deeply that they can play any instrument they want. They need to know two things about their instrument. 1.How the instrument is tuned. 2. How to get sound out of the instrument. Mistakes are a prerequisite for learning. They have to be made in order to learn what is correct. I teach my students to practice like they are performing. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Flute Clarinet Recorder Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I am not a teacher who uses specific method books. I use books based on the student's musical preferences or sometimes none at all. A good technique is always emphasized. My area of expertise is Sight Reading. This is an essential aspect of learning to play any instrument. A good sight reader is always able to learn their pieces faster and be better performers. A typical 'first lessons' for beginners is the exploration of the instrument, its tonal qualities, how the instrument works, and the creation of their own music on the instrument. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Drums

Worship Band, Rock band Random Encounter (not currently), USF Drumline, Orchestra, Jazz band, Afro-Cuban hand drumming, contracted songwriting/composing. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Ukulele

The first step of teaching an instrument to anyone is accurately finding out how experienced they are with the instrument. As far as beginners go, when I was taught piano I used Alfred's Basic Piano library, among other similar books. I felt nothing was forced or unnecessary with those books, and it gives a good opportunity to set a nice goal-oriented pace with moving on up in skill level all the way to the upper intermediate level. Read More