Holiday Gift certificates Shop Now!
BA, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Guitar Performance
2015 - 1st Place in Pumpkin Fest Talent Show (Boykins, VA) 2015 - 2nd Place in Battle of the Bands (The Library, Chapel Hill, NC) 2014-2015 - Performed with UNC-Chapel Hill Guitar Ensemble (Chapel Hill, NC) 2012 - 1st Place in Virginia Boys State Talent Show (Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA)
I'm a well-rounded and extremely passionate musician who loves sharing the ability to make music with as many people as I can. In 2017, I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a focus on Guitar Performance. Perhaps my favorite part of being a musician through most of the past decade has been having the opportunity to play with other musicians of all different backgrounds and experience levels, from fresh-faced rappers to regionally established folk acts to spectacular guitarists with decades of experience and international master classes under their belts.
My current formal teaching experience came about in college. I gave several acoustic guitar lessons to some beginner guitarists in Chapel Hill. However, the majority of my instruction experience has come about more informally. As a songwriter, composer, and bandleader in multiple Chapel Hill-based music acts, I have spent much time teaching other musicians the best ways to play certain pieces of music. Additionally, I have often showed these musicians helpful exercises and aided them in using practice strategies that are efficient and proven to yield results.
My methods will depend to a degree upon each individual student's musical tastes and ambitions. For example, I would put much more focus on developing picking hand foundations for a classical guitarist while the fretting hand would receive more early attention for the metal shredder. This said, there are common general goals that can be set for all guitarists as they track and improve their skills. The guitar is a physical tool, and it is learned as such: the student learns how to handle the tool, how to carry out the various uses of the tool, and how to apply the tool's uses to the art they wish to create.
Simply put, music is one of the greatest forces for good in this world that I have had the pleasure to experience. I'd like to give to my students the ability to find the same joy I have found in it, and this is my primary focus in any teaching situation. Because of this, I make it a point to learn what influences and inspires each person I work with so that I can better put myself in their shoes and get an idea of what stylistic avenues they may enjoy pursuing. This in turn sheds light on which technical aspects will be most important to them as well as what kind of music theory foundation from which to teach.