Stephen Wood Guitar Lessons

My teaching approach:

Guitar is a fun instrument. My lessons follow that concept. I teach using standard music notation. Tab is covered, but rarely used. I studied at Berklee College of Music. I have done numerous studio sessions and gigs. I tailor my lessons to each student's, individual progress and goals. Method books are supplemented with a wealth of other materials.

My influences are:

Joe Perry, Joe Pass, Hendrix, Segovia, Chet Atkins, Lenny Breau, Derringer, Pat Travers, Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt, Jeff Beck, Ted Greene, Nils Lofgren, Rory Gallagher, Trower, Ana Vidovic, Larry Coryell, Ralph Towner, Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bach, Giulianni, Peter Green, Todd Rundgren, Prince, Mingus, Art Blakey, Cheap Trick and Jimmy Page.

My guitar lessons take place in:

The teacher's studio

Guitar Techniques:

Guidance In Equipment Selection, Recording and Production, Song Writing, Scales and Exercises, Music Theory, Reading Music, Jamming Skills, Improvisation, Performance, Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar, Fingerstyle, Vocal Accompaniment.

Your first guitar lesson with me might include the following:

If they are a beginner, I cover the parts of the guitar, sitting position, how to hold a pick, left hand position and very basic musical terms. Note reading does not start in the first lesson. They are shown a right hand picking exercise and a left hand exercise. Two, one finger chords and one, two finger chord are shown to them. I have them play a 12 measure song using them. They leave the first lesson with a song to play.

A guitar lesson with me might entail the following:

We start with their warm up exercises. Then I will listen to them perform the prior week's assignment. If I feel they have a good grasp on it we move on, if not we will work on the problem areas. I might give them special exercises to help them overcome certain issues. If I feel they have practiced their homework diligently, we work on a fun, non-method book song of their choice.

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

One with a true desire to learn and will put the practice time in to achieve their goals.