About
I strive to help my students develop a practice that they enjoy. When you love practicing your instrument, even when the exercises get tough, you still enjoy it. I work hard to ensure that my students are enjoying their practice while getting better at the same time.
I like to teach not only technical and theoretical approaches to guitar and music, but also philosophical approaches so that my students can take the skills they learn in my lessons and apply them to all aspects of their lives. What does this mean? It means that some lessons we will focus mostly on technique and playing your instrument effectively, and other lessons, we will focus mostly on developing an effective mental approach to music so that you don't experience burnout and quit your practice.
I have been practicing music for 25 years, with guitar as my focus. Along with regular live performances, I have worked as a freelance producer, songwriter, recording engineer, artist coach, and songwriting instructor.
As part of my own continuing development, I am currently a private student of world-famous instructor Tomo Fujita.
I love witnessing my students' joy of music grow as they develop their skills and get better and more expressive on their instrument.
I also love students that ask a lot of questions because it challenges me to approach lessons from different directions to make sure that the student understands the topic effectively. When I have to answer a lot of questions, I'm also teaching myself new ways of thinking about musical concepts so I also get to grow as a musician through my students.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Before accepting a new student, I like to have a chat with them to understand where they are in their musical journey and what their goals are, both short and long term. This initial chat gives me an understanding of the student's abilities and their vision for themselves as a musician. If I feel that I have the skillset that is required to help that student develop towards their vision, I accept them as a student. If I feel that my skillset does not match up with the student's goals, I try to help them find a different instructor that may be more suited to their needs.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I was classically trained on piano at age 6, and at age 11 I began my training on guitar. Since then, guitar has been my primary instrument.
I have been playing guitar for 20 years and am a firm believer in continuous learning and improvement. I am currently a private student of world-famouse Berklee professor Tomo Fujita.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
$30 single half-hour lesson
$60 single-hour lesson
$200 4 single-hour lessons
$360 8 single-hour lessons
$110 4 half-hour lessons
$200 8 half-hour lessons
How did you get started teaching?
I started teaching when I worked as a freelance producer. I enjoyed sitting down with the artists I worked with and working through their songs to make them artistic and expressive. This led me to pursue teaching other skills I had. Now, I like to focus on teaching guitar.
What types of students have you worked with?
I have worked with mostly beginner to intermediate students.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Make sure that your teacher understands your goals and keeps track of your progress. When I was young, my parents made me take piano lessons, but my teacher never asked me what I wanted to play and would choose the pieces that I would work on. I didn't enjoy practicing the piano because I didn't enjoy the music that was selected for me.
I make sure that I understand my students' goals and that we are always working on something that the student will find useful and enjoyable.
I also keep track of my students' progress and after each lesson, I send the student a summary of the lesson, which includes the exercises we covered, what exercises the student should practice in the coming week, and anything else I noticed during the lesson that I think would be beneficial to the student.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
What are your goals with the instrument?
Are you picking up guitar to learn just one song to play for your significant other on a romantic date? Are you picking up guitar because you need a new hobby? Are you picking up guitar to pursue a long-term musical vision? There are no wrong answers--you just need to make sure you know what your answer is so that there is always a direction to your practice.