About
I can show you how to improvise any scale or chord on the guitar or piano without reading a single piece of music notation, tab, or chord chart, so that you can play the music that lives within YOU -- all within the comfort of your own home.
What do composers, songwriters, and jazz musicians all have in common?
They know how to improvise melodies and chord progressions through a highly developed ear.
I’ve spent a lot of time in college learning music theory, developing my ear, analyzing classical music scores, and increasing my music reading chops.
I was told this is how composers of old learned. If it’s good enough for the masters, surely, it’s good enough for me, right?
It wasn’t. All it did was burn me out.
I came to the realization that these practices were ideal for teaching people how to play *other people’s music* flawlessly but were pretty much useless for teaching a songwriter and composer of the modern era.
Instead, I’ve found that the answer lies with the Jazz greats (although I don’t care for Jazz).
Learning to improvise and playing by ear are the most important skills a musician of today can learn!
Maybe you want to become a songwriter, or a composer. Or maybe you just want to jam with friends or play along to your favorite songs by ear. Either way, the process is the same.
TLDR;
I can teach you to:
✅ Write your own songs and compose your own music
✅ Jam with friends
✅ Play any chord and scale on the fly even if you’ve never played it before
✅ Learn music theory by ear
✅ Recognize chords as clearly as you’d recognize colors
✅ Play freely and without restrictions in any musical key
Without:
❌ Studying “licks”
❌ Obsessing over complicated music theory
❌ Getting stuck on restrictive chord charts and scale patterns
❌ Doing exercises that don’t have musical context or application
❌ Learning other people’s music (unless you want to)
❌ Reading music notation, tabs, and chord charts
This is for everyone, whether you’re a beginner that’s never touched a guitar or piano before, an intermediate that knows basic chords and a few scale patterns, or if you’re advanced but don’t know how to apply what you know in a creative and uniquely you process.
Reviews
Ricky M.
Sarah L.
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Right from the start we begin by learning the topography of the instrument in an intimate way -- which is a foundation of music literacy that I've learned through years of lessons and music school that goes ignored because traditional systems favor sheet music.
This is done by mastering "half-steps" and "whole-steps."
From there, I teach you how to play any scale in any musical key by the fourth lesson (yes, really.)
Then I teach you how to make chords out of scales and where they fit into context harmonically.
The end result is full improvisational freedom so that you can compose, improvise, jam, write songs, or perform.
Everything is done by ear. There's no method book requirement (although there is a method book).
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have been playing guitar for 13 years. Out of those 13 years, 2 of them were spent learning music in college, in addition to receiving lessons myself for 4 years.
I began learning classical piano in 2016.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
$80 for 60 minutes.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Don't go for the cheapest insructor or the instructor with the best formal credentials like I did.
Instead, go for the instructor that can help you reach your goals.