Rob Bourassa Guitar Studio And Guitar Lessons Online Live
About
My goal is to give the student the ability to teach themselves and play what they hear in their head. I teach rank beginners and make sure they get the proper exercises to start with but many of my students are professional guitar, banjo and ukulele teachers as well as award winning musicians who study with me from around the world. I have been teaching a unique method of fingerbard theory and ear training which enables the student to get the big picture on their first lesson. I have recorded with many artists including Brian Setzer, Drake Bell and Maria Muldaur and have done commercial sessions as well. I don't allow people to focus on a specific genre with me until they are able to play a simple melody and accompany it with chords in any key without hunting for notes.
I have done nothing but teach music, record and perform for most of my adult life. My favorite thing to do is help people who have tried and have failed for years to finally overcome their problems and see that it isn't impossible.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
I walk them through a quick test and see their needs and start them with one of three courses. The goal is to make sure that no steps are skipped in the student's development. They should have confidence that they are on the right track by the end of the first lesson and see the big picture.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I only had a couple years of college and Psychology 101 taught me more than any music course I had, since I was already playing professionally since my early teens. Studying the mechanics of the cognitive process helped me develop my teaching method. Being a poor teacher early on was also helpful because I saw where the quantum leaps came in my students progress once I developed a proper method.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
My pricing is high for my area. I charge $25 for a half hour lesson but I also provide a video at no extra charge which the student uses to practice with till the next lesson. I don't require any scheduled frequency. If a student wants to take a lesson and wait three months while they work on the material with the videos, they are welcome to do so.
How did you get started teaching?
I was playing professionally at 13, doing weekly radio shows and live performances in local spots and summer tours. I developed a proficient enough technique to attract students and was teaching at that age daily after school as well as Saturdays. I was a lousy teacher because I let the student run the lesson and didn't have enough experience to get them to a level where they were able to teach themselves, which is really a teacher's job. I opened my own studio after high school and have done nothing else but record and perform for most of my life.
What types of students have you worked with?
Since I was able to play any song on demand in any key without searching for notes, many professional players have studied improvisation with me. It used to be only the local teachers and pros that would see me at workshops or concerts, but since YouTube came along, I have been attracting many people in the industry. I have worked with Disney and Nickleodeon kids who's management contacts me to develop their musicality for a project. I also teach Grammy award winning artists and musicians with platinum albums. It is strange to think that a rock star would not be able to play a simple song like "Happy Birthday" without hunting for notes and making mistakes, but many can't and lots of them have contacted me to pick my brain and let me develop a lesson plan for them.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
I took my wife to lunch.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Get the basics first. Reading notation and tableture is not the first step. Imagine trying to teach a child to spell the word "Mommy" before they learned to say the word. That would be backwards, but that is what happens when the teacher begins by having the student associate names with notes before the student learns to play the notes by sound and feel. This is the most important step and is almost always ignored. The problem is much like giving that same child a pair of crutches when they are trying to learn to walk. It may seem easier but it will hamper the child's ability in the long run. Music is an auditory art and the ear and finger connection must be developed before one starts using vidual aids. Imagine skipping kindergarten and going right to college. That's what most instruction is like. Nobody has any idea of how destructive this is. Most people can learn to read music in a very short amount of time if they have memorized their scales in the order of the circle of 5ths and understand key signatures.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Ask yourself what it is that you would like to do. Then, think seriously about what is needed to get you there. Lots of people want to learn a certain style or genre. Here's the big question;
WHAT GENRE DOESN'T REQUIRE ANY ABILITY IN BASIC MUSICALITY?
The answer is, there is none.
Ask a teacher to play a simple song such as Take Me Out to the Ball Game or Happy Birthday and then ask them to transpose that song to several keys. If they failed or struggled even a little bit, they haven't mastered the instrument themselves.
If this is the case, ask yourself how you expect them to teach you to master something they have been unable to do themselves.