Mike Hodges Guitar Lessons

My teaching approach:

I believe that learning to play guitar should be fun and entertaining as much as it is challenging. The instrument lends itself to a lifetime of study, and having a good foundation in the basics of theory, technique, composing, playing with others, and the importance of practice is vital to quality of the experience.

My influences are:

Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmy Page, Kirk Hammett, Dave Mustaine, Eddie Van Halen, Buddy Guy, BB King, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Angus Young, Tom Petty, Kim Thayil, and a list of many, many more.

My guitar lessons take place in:

The student's home

Guitar Lessons with me take place in the following areas:

Tucson and surrounding areas

Guitar Techniques:

Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar, Open tuning, Fingerstyle, Performance, Improvisation, Jamming Skills, Music Theory, Scales and Exercises, Song Writing, Recording and Production, Guidance In Equipment Selection

Your first guitar lesson with me might include the following:

The introductory lesson is almost always parts of the guitar, how to tune it, and very basic fretting and picking exercises. Except in the cases of unusual ability or prior learning, assessing playing ability at the first lesson is usually pointless. It would be like giving a driving test to a 14 year old.

A guitar lesson with me might entail the following:

A guitar lesson with me begins with a few minutes of warm-up, followed usually by the student demonstrating progress on the previous lesson. After that we typically take a few minutes to have a question and answer period about the previous lesson. Once that's complete, the new material is presented.

The qualities I look for in an ideal guitar student might include the following:

Older than 10, and interested in learning. Not there because 'Mom or Dad made me.'