David W
Instruments: Guitar, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Jazz, Rock, Blues, Reggae, Swing, Punk
David W
Instruments: Guitar, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles:
Jazz, Rock, Blues, Reggae, Swing, Punk
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
BA, Columbia International University, Music with a Guitar focus
I love guitar and can talk music for hours on end. My development as a guitarist took me from being an arrogant teen who "knows everything" to an undergraduate music major finding shortcomings in my playing every day, to finding new things to incorporate in my playing beyond the fret-board.
I have played in multiple bands in a rock, jazz combo, big band, and classical style I have taught and mentored other musicians for years.
Some of the greatest moments are seeing new ideas form, new accomplishments being made, and new friendships built.
I have been teaching in some capacity since college. I have directed a high-school praise team and taught guitar, piano, and recorder in a corrections institute. One of my earliest students was a former band-mate. One of the early lessons is the importance of practice. He saw for the first time my work ethic and commitment to daily practice. What I learned from the experience is the importance of demonstrating good music study habits and encouraging the students interest in music so that they can continue to grow and enjoy the guitar.
One thing I try to do is find out what my students goals are and what their skill level is. Based on that I can shape lessons to that end. I have taught students new to the guitar from "The Art of Guitar" by Grant Gustafson. I incorporate things more familiar to the student as well to keep it fun and interesting When I was going through school, I personally studied in the following books. I will pull from them based on the student's wants and needs. Berklee Press A Modern Method for Guitar The Jazz Guitar Study Series by Barry Galbraith
My first goal is keeping music fun. One of the easiest ways to start this is by knowing why a student wants to learn the guitar. With that, I can set realistic expectations from week to week and encourage them as they make accomplishments. I try to incorporate songs early on. There is some amount learning of chords and other fundamentals needed, but it doesn't take much to start playing. There are plenty of things to learn and if I'm not careful as a teacher, it could feel like it's just work. My thought is I keep it fun by keeping the music coming in tandem with the fundamentals so guitar continues to be fun and new.
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