Guitar Lessons in Mchenry, IL

Instruments: Guitar Voice Trumpet

I have been singing since I was 6, playing trumpet since I was 10, and I picked up guitar in my early 20's. I am now 49 and have taught voice, guitar, trumpet for over 7 years from my cozy home. I have been part of many musical ensembles (in many genres) in my 30 year career and have session work that's currently located in the Seattle Rock Roll museum. I have performed in varying capacities over 2,000 times in my career, and my emphasis is to help musicians prepare for live performances. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Violin Acoustic Guitar

My music backround goes back to my pre-teen days with a toy guitar and singing in front of my second grade class. Formal training began in junior high with the saxophone which continued through high school and my college years at Fairleigh Dickinson University. I became interested in the guitar and played with many groups and ensambles. Then became interested in the violin and fell in love with it. I have been playing for the past fifteen years and teaching for five. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Bass Guitar Ukulele Recorder Euphonium French Horn Tuba Electric Guitar Djembe

In essence, my love of teaching stems from my Mom's love of teaching. She sincerely desired to teach my siblings and myself to pursue our highest dreams. It turned out that I did succeed as a star performer in music, on stages around the world. But also, when I decided to settle down, I added education to my 10-year plan. So, I went back to school for another master's degree, and taught music in CPS - performing three nights per week with my the Bartels/Benson duo, Connexion Band, Prohibition Orchestra, Bryan Skyler Trio, and other groups. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

I will typically use the first lesson as an initial assessment of the student's personality and his/her skills. I ask the student what they would like to learn with the understanding that I will provide some of my own technical and theoretical knowledge. I like to create general lesson plans before each meeting so that I have some kind of outline to follow. I try to adhere to the student's progress timeline with the understanding that they need to be pushed a little out of their comfort zone if they want to see improvements. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Electric Guitar

My teaching style is that I set a plan for every student I have. For instance, I will apply reading notes, but that will not work for each student, each student is different and would prefer another style of teaching. That's when i would test their own level of memorization. I would teach each student chord structure of memorizing maximum 2 chords. Once each student fully has the 2 chords memorized I would hand them a sheet of paper, giving them instructions on top of the paper, stating Now that you have mastered memorizing the chords I would want you to come up with a small melody by building a staff with a time signature and writing the notes on the sheet of paper. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Nothing is more rewarding than seeing one of my students develop a passion for music! Therefore, it's important that each student progresses at his or her own pace. I encourage this by setting realistic goals for my students at each lesson. Acknowledging accomplishments helps fuel student's desire to progress, and makes students eager to learn more. By trying to find out what inspires the student, I can successfully tailor my instruction to their wants and needs. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My teaching style obviously is contingent on the level and interests of the student I am paired with. When it comes to guitar and bass, it depends mostly on whether the student is interested in learning songs, or becoming a well rounded musician. If songs is the main goal, we'll start with the easiest levels of the styles the student is interested in and work our way forward, focusing on timing and rhythm at first. Read More