Monday through Friday afternoons
I teach private guitar lessons out of my home studio, which is
located in the Forest Heights neighborhood of Edmonton, Alberta
(not far from Capilano).
Lessons start on the hour, are 50 minutes in duration
and cost $45/lesson. I offer lessons
on a weekly basis or every other week, whichever you prefer.
There
are no contracts to sign or lesson semester obligations, you
may discontinue lessons at any time. Fees are payable by cash
or cheque. Payment can be made monthly or at each lesson (whichever
you prefer).
What
is your cancellation policy?
I
do not charge for cancellations if I am given reasonable notice of a student's impending absence. I do however, charge a $25 "cancellation
fee" if I am given less than 24 hours notice for a cancellation
(except in the event of sickness or just cause). I charge
full price for any "no shows" without notice.
What
styles of music do you teach? I am comfortable teaching folk, blues, funk, classic rock, blues rock, folk rock, alternative rock, modern rock, metal, punk, country, alt-country, singer-songwriter, classical and beginner's jazz.
I teach improvisational
lead guitar, rhythm guitar, fingerpicking,
songwriter accompaniment styles, altered
tunings, among other things. I'm open to new possibilities.
I also regularly work with students on singing
and songwriting, if this is something
that interests them.
What
will the first lesson be like?
The
first lesson will be really easy. We'll talk a bit about what
you want to do and what music you like. I'll ask you about
what sort of musical experiences you've had in the past, if
any. Since there are so many different guitar techniques we
could possibly learn and so many different styles of music
to explore, I find it helpful to start with a list of 10 of
your favourite songs. As a starting point this list of 10
songs can then help to inform me as to what techniques we
should focus on.
I may also give you a warm-up exercise to start building up
some calluses on your fingertips, and help build some strength
and dexterity in your fingers.
What
is your teaching philosophy?
First
and foremost, I believe that students should play the music
that they enjoy. This may sound obvious, but students constantly
tell me about lessons that they have taken in the past where
they have learned to play just about everything but what they
were interested in playing. I suspect it was the music the
guitar teacher liked, or whatever songs are in the latest
Mel Bay or Hal Leonard Guitar Method book. As a student of mine, you will
decide on almost all of the music that you will learn. Let’s
face it, if you’re not playing the music you like, it’s
not much fun to play.
I try and start with end in mind -- what is the music you
would like to play? What techniques do you need to know to
play this style of music? Once you are clear where you want
to go I can help you get there. I'm totally happy to suggest
music for you, but it's usually more meaningful to students
when they decide what music they want to learn.
Do you teach a specific method?
I use examples from many different guitar methods in my day
to day teaching to help address the different goals of different
students. There is not a set teaching program that all students
follow, it's a little bit more flexible than that. It all depends on what each individual student is
trying to achieve. For example, some fingerpickers can really
benefit from learning a few classical studies to sharpen up
their fingering technique. If a student likes this idea, I
might suggest some Mauro Giuliani classical studies to a struggling
fingerpicking student. If, on the other hand, a student wants
to play "punk rock", we might learn some songs from
punk bands from the past as a stylistic exercise, concentrate
on downstroke tremolo picking, power chords, and explore using
dissonance, noise and feedback to enhance a songs impact.
If you're trying to get into Grant McEwan on the other hand we'll be working on sightreading standard notation from any number of books, 7th chords, memorizing notes on the fingerboard and so on and so on.
Do you teach TAB or standard
notation?
I
teach both. If you are someone who wants to learn some songs
by your favorite bands or songwriters for your own pleasure
or to play in a band, I will suggest or provide an accurate
transcription of the music for you in either TAB or standard
notation. Most players find TAB easier. If you don't read
music I can still show you how to play it, but if it's complex,
it will take a lot longer.
If you are a very young student who has never read music before
I may suggest we work through at least 1 or 2 standard notation
reading guitar method books, although this is not a requirement
in my guitar program. If you wish to go to school to study
music in the future you will need to understand and confidently
be able to sightread standard music notation. If that is your
wish, we should work on it.
My
approach is quite flexible and totally customized to you or
your child's interests.
Are you just looking to learn some songs for around the campfire
or do you have professional aspirations? Do you want to write
songs? Are you working towards your first live performance
and need some help? Are you a professional already but want
to improve your technique or work on your songs for an upcoming
tour or recording session? It’s up to you. For each
goal there is a different curriculum.
Do I have to learn
to read music?
No
you do not. There are countless outstanding guitarists who
do not read music. I can work with you on specific techniques,
warm-ups, or scales, modes, arpeggios and chords using only
diagrams and "playing by ear".
What
qualifies you to teach music?
I have a great deal of experience both playing and teaching
music. I have been an active professional musician since 1982
and have been teaching guitar since 1992. I have been playing
music for virtually my entire life beginning with singing
songs with my mother on the piano bench as a toddler and studying
classical piano starting at age 6 with Edmonton church organist
Hugh Bancroft. These early musical experiences were followed
by singing in the school choir, playing alto and tenor saxophone
while in junior high school, more piano lessons, classical
guitar lessons, guitar lessons at Alberta College and hundreds
of days and nights spent learning songs off of records, tapes
and cds.
By the time I was 20 I was making records and touring with
a band named "Idyl Tea". Idyl Tea signed a recording
contract in 1990 and much more touring ensued. Since those
early days I have gathered many pertinent experiences playing
in the recording studio and the concert stage.
Mostly
I have learned to teach through trial and error as well as
independently studying music pedagogy and curriculum. I have
taught in a few different contexts starting with guitar workshops
for schools, at a guitar store ("Acoustic Music Shop"
in Edmonton between 2002 and 2005) as well as private lessons.
I taught visually impaired students for The Brail Tone
Music Society (in Edmonton) from 2001 until 2007.
I have found that many fingerpickers,
be it a songwriter, bluegrass or delta blues style guitarist,
all benefit greatly from learning a couple simple classical
studies. The composers of these studies were great teachers
as well as guitar virtuosos. Many of these studies were
composed with the express purpose of working on a specific
guitar technique. Some of them are also beautiful and
fun to play.
For the benefit of guitarists
who do not read standard music notation, I have made
some TAB transcriptions of several of these classic
guitar studies to share with aspiring guitarists.
TAB
Classical Studies for fingerpickers #1
Examples from Giuliani's
" 120 Daily Guitar Studies for the Right Hand"" new TAB transcriptions by
Everett LaRoi