Michael Ward Guitar Lessons

My teaching approach:

I'm a big believer in fundamentals. I teach students how to read music, theory, ear-training, technique, etc. Students will also learn how to play their favorite songs and play in the style(s) of music they find most interesting. Having a solid foundation in all of these areas will accomplish my personal goal of helping students develop the ability and skills to do whatever it is they would like to with music, whether that is just simply learning their favorite tunes for their own personal enjoyment, or if they have great dreams of one day becoming a professional musician.

My influences are:

Joe Satriani, Dream Theater, Eric Johnson, Greg Howe, Lester Young, Miles Davis, Larry Carlton, John Coltrane, Robben Ford. Too many to list really! I like a little bit of everything!

My guitar lessons take place in:

The teacher's studio

Guitar Techniques:

Guidance In Equipment Selection, Song Writing, Scales and Exercises, Music Theory, Reading Music, Jamming Skills, Improvisation, Performance, Slide Guitar, Fingerstyle, Open tuning, Rhythm guitar, Lead guitar

Your first guitar lesson with me might include the following:

I think it's important to get to know a bit about a student in their first lesson (i.e. their likes and dislikes in music, other activities, etc.). After all, you aren't just a music student, you're a person! We will go over all the basics: posture, hand position, holding the pick, some finger exercises to practice to get acclimated to the guitar, etc. Then, If time allows, we will learn a small part of an easy song so you can say you can play!

A guitar lesson with me might entail the following:

It's important to learn theory, reading, etc. So, for the first half of the lesson we will usually work on 1-2 different skills such as these. However, it's also important to stay balanced. Those skills are great to learn but we can't lose sight of the fact that we are here to learn how to play and create music. Therefore, we will spend the remaining duration of the lesson on a song or piece that the student is interested in learning.

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

My ideal guitar student is really simple: someone who wants to learn and will put forth a consistent effort every week. Some weeks you will have less time to practice than others and that is ok. The important part for me is that you make the most of the time you do have and try your best to accomplish the goals we set each week!