Char Claassen Guitar Lessons

My teaching approach:

Having taught as many years as I have, I have learned many things along my journey. The most important is to let the student learn at their own pace. While I will encourage a student to try a more difficult piece, I never demand that they do so. My teaching tools are simple. I have two guitars, one a Hoffner which lives in my studio, the other an Ana Espinosa Rodriguez which was hand built in Granada, Spain. I take her to the studio from time to time to let my students experience what a truly wonderful guitar feels like. I specialize in classical music, but teach any and all acoustic beginners

My influences are:

Giuliani, Sor, Carcassi, Carulli I also listen to today's masters: Pepe Romero, Christopher Parkening, John Williams

My guitar lessons take place in:

The teacher's studio

Guitar Lessons with me take place in the following areas:

My studio at Schmitt Music Center in Omaha.

Guitar Techniques:

Fingerstyle, Performance, Reading Music, Music Theory, Scales and Exercises

Your first guitar lesson with me might include the following:

I ask questions. Have they played before? Do they read music? What has lead them to the guitar? What kind of guitar do they want to learn? If they are starting from literal scratch, we start with the staff and notes on the first string. I strongly believe that in order to play the guitar you need to know the notes on the page and where they are on the fretboard.

A guitar lesson with me might entail the following:

I begin by checking how much practice time the student put in that week. Scales and Giuliani Studies for the Development of the Right Hand are reviewed. I usually let the student pick what piece they want to work on unless there is something special about a piece that I would like to hear. I strive to keep the lessons relaxed and let the students put on their best performance.

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

I'm not sure that I have one. A great many students have passed through my studio. Some stayed for a short time, some for many years. I enjoy watching the growth of a beginning classical student who decides to stick with it and grows with the music and instrument year by year.