Dan's Mark Music Productions

My teaching approach:

I emphasize learning 2-3 songs a lesson, and my lessons are between 1-2 hours. The songs are usually standards in country, rock, jazz, easy listening, and pop that help to lay the foundation for the later alternative songs which I also cover very shorty after the first lesson. I recreate the atmosphere the pros learned in: whereby we learned the songs we were expected to perform with other professionals and aspiring performers. I do this in the living room (mine or yours) where we all started.

My influences are:

Myself (I've been a songwriter and performer my entire life - over 40 years), John Denver, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Jimmy Page, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Lynrd Skynrd, The Allman Brothers Band, The Beatles, Dan Fogelberg, REM, John Prine, Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, James Taylor, etc.

My guitar lessons take place in:

The teacher's studio

Guitar Lessons with me take place in the following areas:

Boise

Guitar Techniques:

Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar, Fingerstyle, Performance, Improvisation, Jamming Skills, Reading Music, Music Theory, Scales and Exercises, Song Writing

Your first guitar lesson with me might include the following:

After going over the tuning, I start out with a simple 3-4 chord song. If the student is proficient in their chord changes and has a feel for the rhythm, then we go onto more complex material - that lesson. However, the student's challenges are usually one of two things - problems with chord progression and problems keeping the time. I have developed techniques that assist the student in learning to make chord changes in time and with confidence, and also to strum or finger pick in the style of the original artist or later as an alternative to the original artist.

A guitar lesson with me might entail the following:

The first lesson is mostly about learning the tuning the guitar, the fret board, and the first open chords the student will need to know for his/her first songs. Afterwards, we learn 2-3 songs per lesson until the student's repertoire is plentiful enough to just play songs they know and work them towards perfection. I also play piano to the accompaniment of the intermediate or advanced guitarist so they can learn to carry the weight of the rhythm guitarist in a group.

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

The ideal guitar student is one that comes prepared to play the songs he/she learned the week before, having set aside at least 30 minutes a day to practice. Also, I expect the student to be communicating with me about songs they'd like to learn with the internet links to a version of the song so I can know the song myself, and have the chord charts ready. I always send the student home with the lyric and chord chart sheets for that week's lesson.