Guitar and Theory Tuition - Overview
*For tuition and materials, check out the Learning pages, and for performance demonstrations, check out the Music page.
Q1. What ‘style’ do I teach?
My experience with various styles of guitar playing and tuition is loosely summarised as follows:
My experience with various styles of guitar playing and tuition is loosely summarised as follows:
Rock is the dominant one, as I’ve spent more time playing/teaching it than any other style. It is also the style in which I can most confidently guide advanced students beyond intermediate levels.
In the beginner-to-intermediate stages though, Rock, Metal, Classical, Jazz, Blues, Folk etc have so many factors that compliment or borrow directly from each other, that competent guitar tutors should really be able to guide students through their first year or two without necessarily ‘specialising’ in the student’s stylistic preference, and without compromising their progress. *That being said, I have no hesitation in referring students on to a more appropriate tutor if I don’t think I’ll be the best fit for them, or if they surpass my ability to help them progress further. Call or email me for a chat on this subject if you have any such queries in selecting your guitar tutor and I’ll be happy to elaborate. Q2. Why do I need teacher if I can get it all from YouTube?
No matter how ‘in-depth’ or informative they may appear to be, online tutorials are no substitute for a real person of demonstrated competence guiding you through the process.
This is especially evident in (but by no means limited to) the early stages, where, if left to your own devices you can end up with bad habits and inefficient approaches that can stall your progress for years if left unchecked – trust me, I’ve been through it and corrected some crippling bad habit’s over time that never would have troubled me if I had a good teacher's guidance from the outset. Online tutorials will NOT make you honest with yourself on a regular basis, regarding evaluation of what you really sound like when you play and what you really know about what you’re supposed to be learning, to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself. This is essential if you want to keep getting better, and become a musician that other musicians will want to work with, and, most importantly, become a musician that people will want to listen to! Good teachers help students to self-evaluate on a regular basis. I have recording gear in my studio and record most lessons for this purpose, so we can go back in time and listen for progress or see what needs work. I always encourage students to record themselves regularly in their own practice time too, as the sooner you get confident with this the better. Having a tutor also formalises your learning process, providing you with a sounding board for all your concerns as they arise, and a continual series of meaningful reference points to aspire to. It can be very difficult to find meaningful reference bench-marks to work your way up to on your own. Finding something you want to be able to play is easy, but if it’s several levels beyond your current technical ability, then what do you start with to take your first step? This type of problem is what a teacher exists to help you solve, and they can provide you with a coherent plan of attack to guide you through. Q3. There are hundreds of guitar teachers in Adelaide, so why choose me?
Apart from the good reasons identified above, I’ll never be the type of lazy tutor that tells you to ‘practice more and you’ll get it’, without first correctly identifying ‘lack of practice’ as the genuine answer to a problem. I experienced this type of lazy tuition myself as a young student, and every time I’ve solved a technique-related problem on my own since, I’ve vowed not to mislead my future students in the same way.
I’ve always been the type of student who thrives on specific information and instruction, not vague references and 'show-off' demonstrations that are difficult or impossible to interpret with any real accuracy or genuine insight. I’ve been obsessed with properly understanding the finer technical points of guitar playing for well over 20 years now. As a result, I have deep knowledge of the mechanics of what we do and know how to explain them. Not all guitar teachers have this essential area covered in depth, so if you feel you’re not getting the answers you need from yours, do get in touch with me and I can certainly help. So, from me you can expect informed, accurate, considered and tailored tuition, that strives to help you identify and achieve your guitar playing goals with genuinely good results in the shortest possible time. |