Jeremy Milligan Guitar Studio

First and foremost we need to establish what the students goals are.  What type of music do you want to play?  Is there a particular song that you would like to have as a goal?  From there, I have to determine what the student already knows and make a plan for getting the student from where they are to where they want to be.  

Bachelor's in Guitar Performance from Keene State College

Master's in Guitar Performance from the HARTT School of Music

Certified for books 1-8 of the Suzuki Method

30 minutes = $25 per lesson

45 minutes = $35 per lesson

60 minutes = $45 per lesson

I have been teaching in some small part since I was learning in High School and College.  I started by teaching a few lessons out of my house, then found a job teaching at the back of a local music store.  I then moved up to teaching at Community Music Center's in Northampton and Auburn MA, then teaching at Keene State College and Greenfield Community College.  I found, when working at the music store, that I had a real affinity for teaching small children, which led me to persue my certification in the Suzuki Method of teaching Classical Guitar to young students, starting at age 4!

All types.  I currently have students raning in age from 5-65.  They study everything from Classical Music to Classic Rock, Jazz, Pop, Country and Blues.  Some have been very talented students who come to playing ver easily, and some have worked for years to learn to play simple country songs.  The imporant thing is to know that EVERYBODY CAN LEARN THE GUITAR!  You just need a good teacher who understands the steps to get you there.  

I always enjoy the first time I get a young student set up and hold thier guitar really well.  The parents love to see thier little one looking like such a pro!  I always take a picture and show the student and they always love the way it looks.  They get really excited to see what else they are capable of.  I recently had this experience with Henry, my newest Suzuki student who is 5 years old, and it made my day!

Make sure you do your homework.  Experience matters!  Education Matters!  A teacher with a lot of years studying and teaching music will have many more ideas about how to get the necessary skills and info across to you in a way that will work for you.  Every student is different, and a teacher needs to be able to adapt to find the path that works best for each individual student.  That ability takes years to develop as a teacher, and can save the student months and years of wasted effort and lesson time.  Also, you should learn the music you love.  There are a lot of ways to play guitar.  Don't let your teacher tell you you "should" learn Jazz because it's good for you, like eating your peas or something.  Practice takes time and effort and it should be spent learning to make music you love.  

Have a clear idea of what you would like to learn.  Have a song in mind to use as a goal, no matter how challenging a goal it might be.