Louis V  

5

  5.0 (18)

Instruments: Guitar, Bass Guitar, Ukulele, Music, Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Gospel, Funk, Hip Hop, Flamenco, Reggae, Bossa Nova, Soul

I have more than 30 years of experience in teaching guitar and bass lessons. I’ve taught many different types of students—young children, senior citizens, and everything in between. I’ve taught and coached students who have just wanted to play a couple of their favorite songs as well as students who were looking for the necessary skills to get into various music programs/ensembles. I honed my music teaching skills by working for several North Jersey schools of music (Village Music in Butler, Bach to Rock Music in Riverdale, and Musician’s Corner in Pompton Plains) from 1988 to 2006. I also spent a couple of summers teaching at the National Guitar Workshop in Connecticut in the early 2000s. I’ve been teaching music privately for over 10 years, and with each passing year, I become even more passionate about what I do.

I know that every student has different aspirations as to why he or she wants to learn to play an instrument. The advantage of one-on-one lessons compared to a class with a set curriculum is that the lessons are catered to one student. I strive to put together lesson plans catered to each student—lesson plans that have students playing the music they enjoy as well as learning the necessary music fundamentals to become musicians. I believe that it is important for students to understand that music is a language that transcends their instrument of choice. When they understand that music is its own language, the possibilities that they were not aware of become open to them, such as easily learning a second or third instrument. If the student or parents request a set curriculum as in the book form, my main go-to book is The Best Guitar Method by Brian Rivers. It is a great book for all ages and covers the necessary beginner to intermediate topics that build a solid understanding of guitar and music fundamentals. It presents technical, rudimentary, and musical aspects in an easy to understand format. I have other books that I pull examples from for topics being studied as well. I often create my own custom lessons for which the students and I work on together to create a lesson plan that can be viewed via tablet or computer, or printed out in PDF form. I utilize technology such as video, slow down, and notation programs to facilitate lesson plans. I use the industry-standard music notation programs Sibelius and Guitar Pro to create unique easy to read lessons that cater to what my students are working on. I present a lesson plan as per how each student prefers to learn such as standard music notation, TAB, or diagrams; I believe that all are useful.