Sean Borja Guitar Lessons

My teaching approach:

My lessons for beginners start with the very basics of the guitar's anatomy as well as the fundamental musical road map of the fretboard, all of which are meant to instill an understanding of the guitar that renders figuring out and playing your favorite songs a cinch. At the core of my approach to teaching is the love and passion of music as a means of personal creativity, expression and all around enjoyment. Our lessons will be mutually designed to fit the needs and skills of each student respectively. I have only three rules: 1) Relax!, 2) Stay in Tune, and 3) Stay in Time (rhythm).

My influences are:

Ultimately, my influences are and have always been my good friends and colleagues with whom I have been playing music for at least the past eight years. It is my firm belief that peers are the most invaluable sources of inspiration and influence because it is with them that you experiment with and grow as a musician -- not to mention learn a lot from directly.

My guitar lessons take place in:

The student's home

Guitar Lessons with me take place in the following areas:

Washington, DC

Guitar Techniques:

Song Writing, Scales and Exercises, Music Theory, Jamming Skills, Improvisation, Performance, Vocal Accompaniment, Fingerstyle, Open tuning, Rhythm guitar, Lead guitar

Your first guitar lesson with me might include the following:

In an introductory lesson, my goal is to first gauge a student's prior knowledge and acquaintance with the guitar and music in order to determine an appropriate and effective starting point. I have authored a beginner's guitar manual and workbook with which I initially asses ability and continue to work. It is ultimately helpful to draw from any prior understanding of music in order to solidify concepts and avoid unnecessary redundancies.

A guitar lesson with me might entail the following:

Our lessons will typically begin with a review of material from the last lesson and a road map preview of the lesson plan for that day. I like to field questions or concerns pertaining to issues with concepts or techniques encountered during practice, and then move steadily onto introducing new material at an appropriate pace devised for each student.

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

Ideal students, in my opinion, are those who find joy, excitement and reward in creating and expressing themselves through music. The key to mastering any instrument, and indeed any craft, is to approach it with a genuine interest and passion for exploration and discovery. Therefore an ideal student is one who is willing and eager to actively pursue understanding and refining the skills, concepts and techniques we go over in lessons.