About
I am a private guitar lesson teacher and singer / songwriter in the Emory and Decatur area of Atlanta, GA. A Georgia native, I grew up in Decatur and remain near Emory with my wife and pet bird. I teach private acoustic, electric, and bass guitar lessons from my in-home lesson studio and also travel to students’ homes throughout Atlanta.
Education:
I obtained my Bachelor of Arts in music composition and theory from Asbury College in 2000 with guitar as my instrument of focus. I then graduated with honors from the guitar musicianship program at the Atlanta Institute of Music in 2002.
Experience:
I have been teaching guitar lessons in the greater Atlanta area steadily since 2003. I am proficient on acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar, and ukulele and have a passion for music theory, composition, and arranging. I really enjoy helping students find new ways to excel at their instruments, develop musicianship, and expand their awareness and experience of music.I strive to make the learning process as painless as possible for my students, beginning with proper technique and selecting repertoire that reinforces the concepts we cover. As the student acquires more skill, I transition to a focus on performance and theory.
Teaching Style:
In my experience, everyone is different when it comes to learning music. Some people like to freely pursue whatever they’re interested in, and some prefer a more regimented approach. I try to strike a balance between conforming to a student’s learning style while at the same time gently pushing them to be as open as possible to things one might miss when becoming too focused, or not focused enough (as the case may be).
My ultimate goal with each student is to teach myself into obsolescence — that is, that every student acquires the skill to continue learning on their own.
I look forward to teaching you or your child how to have fun playing guitar!
I started playing guitar to support my passion for singing. Eventually that morphed into a passion for understanding the principles of music theory and applying them to the guitar. Most recently I have become fascinated by the process of musical learning and technique development. This last has direct application for how I interact with my students; I enjoy the work of helping them learn to practice well and therefore have more ability to have fun.