About
My teaching approach: I have been a full time musician for my entire adult life. I graduated from M.I. with honors, and have played all over the world. I love teaching and helping people grow musically and personally. My influences are: As a professional musician I have been influenced by a vast number of artists. My guitar lessons take place in: The teacher's studio Guitar Lessons with me take place in the following areas: We have a great studio in Goleta where we teach and have band rehearsals. Guitar Techniques: Guidance In Equipment Selection, Scales and Exercises, Music Theory, Reading Music, Improvisation, Performance, Fingerstyle, Open tuning, Rhythm guitar, Lead guitar, Recording and Production, Song Writing, Jamming Skills, Vocal Accompaniment, Slide Guitar
My goal with each and every lesson is to encourage, inspire, and pass on information. We play songs together, learn new techniques, chords, rhythms, and scales. One of the most important things I learned early on is how to learn at a “neurological” speed (simply put: going so slowly that our body has time to learn the movement). It’s a very low stress, easy, “can-do” approach to learning and I’ve had great success with lots and lots of happy students over the years.
Specialties
Musical styles
Guitar style
Has instrument
Years experience
Able to read music
Lesson length
Student's age
Photos and videos
Reviews
Mariella S.
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
DRUMS:
Follow my 3 level drum method (called Drum-ology) to pursue your dream of becoming a great drummer. We start from the very beginning and go through a very methodical, fun, and practical approach that is time tested. You will learn to read drum music, play along with songs, and write your own chart to learn songs with ease.
GUITAR ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC:
From the very first lesson, the focus is on developing a relaxed technique. With my method you never play ‘till your fingers bleed', quite the opposite…it’s just fun fun fun. Through songs, reading, & playing along with my guitar method (Guitar-ology) we begin the process of developing your “musical ear”. As we are doing this we start adding songs that YOU want to learn. I find this a great way to inspire and to show WHY we practice technique and theory so much.
BASS:
Bass players rule, what else can I say? Becoming a good solid bass player is all about practicing classic bass lines, working on an easy grip, and developing right hand techniques like 2-finger, pick, and popping. You owe it to the world to follow your desire to play bass…we need you to complete the band.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Just a bit about me: I’ve been studying and performing music my whole life. I was taking piano lessons at 4 years old, and began trombone in the 6th grade school band. I started private drum lessons in the 7th grade and studied drums and percussion through high school and college and then went to MI (Musicians Institute in Hollywood) where I graduated with honors. After a “short 20 year” stint out on the road touring around the world as a drummer, singer, and guitarist/songwriter it was finally time to come home to Santa Barbara.I’ve been teaching in Santa Barbara since 2001 and continue to perform live in the area : )My goal with each and every lesson is to encourage, inspire, and pass on information. We play songs together, learn new techniques, chords, rhythms, and scales. One of the most important things I learned early on is how to learn at a “neurological” speed (simply put: going so slowly that our body has time to learn the movement). It’s a very low stress, easy, “can-do” approach to learning and I’ve had great success with lots and lots of happy students over the years.