Guitar Lessons in Skokie, IL

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I'm a graduate of Northwestern's Bienen School of Music and have been playing and performing music since childhood. I hold two degrees, one in Music Performance for Classical Guitar, and the other in Cognitive Science; both affect my teaching method--in different ways, of course! I think one of the most important things when starting out as a musician is to have the intent and drive to practice (encouragement counts for quite a bit too!). Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar

Learning to play an instrument can be extremely overwhelming, so it's important that the student sets his or her own pace. My role as a teacher is simply to guide students along paths they choose for themselves. At the same time, I push students to explore ideas that they may not have thought to explore for themselves. For example, as a predominantly rock and blues oriented musician, some of the most profound growth I've experienced has come from learning the basics of classical theory. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I gave my first private lessons for guitar while I was a sophomore in high school! A few of my friends always wanted to learn to play and I gave it my all to try and teach them! What I gained from that experience was that nobody learns the same way, so I've kept that as my teaching mantra for the past decade! I have been professionally teaching for the past 3 years, but have been teaching and tutoring for the past 10 years. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

After one summer there, I knew I would have to return for many more. Every summer I am astonished by how much fun students can have in just 3 weeks while they are working and improving their playing. The real skill I try to teach all my students is how to enjoy practicing. If a student can learn that, they will have a way to enjoy themselves for the rest of their life. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Violin Cello Viola

“I am a professional musician and violin, cello, and viola teacher with over 25 years of experience in Europe and the United States. I teach students of all ages and at various stages of their development as musicians, including helping them prepare for University auditions, study for their own enjoyment or prepare to join a local community string ensemble or orchestra. My teaching philosophy is that of encouraging and inspiring my students to do their personal best in a creative, positive and enriching learning environment. 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

For beginning students, I usually suggest the Hal Leonard Guitar Method as a way of learning the fundamentals. For students starting with more experience, or once a student moves past the Hal Leonard series, I like to offer custom lesson plans designed to fit the individual student's needs. As a Berklee College of Music graduate, I pull from the same coursework that was taught to me, while offering room for any styles or techniques that we find works best for the student. Read More