About
I absolutely love teaching people how to play the guitar. I love watching their eyes light up when they have learned to play their first song well. I feel like I am very patient with my students and I hope they have fun when they come here to take lessons. I teach students how to actually read notes on the staff and not tabulature. I believe that if someone only knows how to read tabulature they are not getting to learn how to properly play any instrument for that matter. When you learn how to read music and you pick up a song that has the actual notes written on the staff it's a 98% chance that when the person wrote the notes on the staff you will be playing that song as the composer actually wrote it. Because it will have the proper timing written in it as it's supposed to be played. And you can also know what key it's played in because you will know how to look at the key signature and because you have learned how to read music you will have learned how to read what key signature you are playing in. I teach my students how to transpose from one key to another and the different positions which are the keys ypu are playing within that position or key signature. I teach students after they learn the above how to play classical style guitar or fingerpocking style music. Now I do teach my students how to play classical music but then I also teach them how to play fingerpicking rock and Beatles music and folk songs and country ,Pop Celtic , Jazz ect. I have been teaching students how to play the guitar for 58 years and I feel like I give them a good foundation for learning how to play the guitar. And I really believe that when I have finished teaching them howvto play by learning how to read actual note and when we get to where after they have really learned how to read and know the note on the guitar thdn if they happen to find a song that is written in tabulature they will at least will know that even though they might be looking at numbers when they put their fingers on the numbers they will identify them as the actual notes and not the numbers they are looking at.but hopefully they will be looking for songs that have the actual notes written on the staff and not numbers. But either way they will know what they are playing and what key they are playing it in
This is an easy question. I absolutely love watching kids and adults learn to play actual notes on the guitar and how excited they get when they have actually learned their notes well enough so when they have learned the songs I have given them to practice that week and they come back the following week that their eyes light up and this big smile comes across their face because they had just played it and we had just sat down and played it together. I always play along with my students and sometimes after they have been playing for a while I will get the student I am teaching and my next student who might have showed up.a little bit early and have them and myself play some classic rock together and we will play and sing songs together. That's when they really have some fun. So I like to let them find out that yeah they are able to play along with other people. I just love teaching and I have the best job anyone can ever have. Like I said I have been teaching for 58 years and I can honestly say I have never dreaded having to teach a day since I first started when I was 12 yrs old and I taught my neighbors 8 yr old son how to play the guitar. And I have been teaching ever since .
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
I teach students how to actually read music by starting off playing songs on the first lesson . I am very patient with all of my students and I have always tried to make sure that when a student takes lessons from me that they are never stressed if they happen not to be able to get a lot of practice in that particular week for some reason and they can still come to their lesson knowing that I will understand and not be hard on them for not getting a chance to practice . sometimes things happen that we don't always get a chance to do what we needed to do . like I tell them if you don't get a chance to practice then we can always do it again the next week . I just believe that a student can do a lot better if they are comfortable with the instructor . it is hard to do anything if you are nervous around the person who is listening to you play your song . I also play play my guitar along with them every lesson .
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have been teaching since I was 14 yrs old . I started taking lessons when I was 9 yrs old and took until I was 14 . then I decided that I really wanted to teach . so I started teaching out of my home . when I was 16 my instructor called me and wanted me to substitute for him while he and his wife were on vacation . so I taught for him every time he was out of town along with my students that I had at home . he had started teaching in Elizabeth city , North Carolina at the music store there . he had a heart attack and had to give it up but he called me and asked me if I would be interested in teaching the students he had started . I said of course . I built my students up from 10 to 65 in less than a year . I stayed in Elizabeth City from 1970 to 2015 . I taught in every music store that came and went . I owned my own music store there in the mid 80s . I also owned a music store in Chesapeake , VA in the early 70s and taught there as well as in Elizabeth city . I have 51 yrs of teaching experience .
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
yes I charge $3p for a hour lesson . the students come at the same time every week and I do charge for missed lessons.i will make up the lessons if you miss by either rescheduling or adding an extra 30 minutes to the lesson for 2 weeks.
How did you get started teaching?
I use to go over to my cousins house and her brother would get out his guitar and they would sing together . I thought I want to learn how to play the guitar and I asked my parents if I could take lessons . they said yes . I loved it from the time I started lessons . I would practice every day for hours . then after I had taken for 4 yrs I had a neighbor ask me if I would teach their child how to play . I said sure . so I started teaching him and when I saw his eyes light up when he played his first song I was hooked.I knew that was what I was meant to do and have been doing it ever since . I have never not wanted to go to work because I didn't want to teach . there have been times that I couldn't go to work because of a health issue but I never have taken a vacation because I would rather be teaching. And that is the truth .
What types of students have you worked with?
I have taught students from the age of 7 to 80 . I have taught students with different disabilities and different cultures . I love teaching anyone who is interested in learning . &i when we start I will take it at their pace . and if they find out it is too hard I will try to find something that might be easier . I will do my best to make it as easy as possible for them .
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
please find a teacher who teaches you how to read music and sends you home with music to practice for that week . then make sure that they can play the songs with you . also find someone who has patience and that doesn't get upset if you can't play the song as well as they do or if you didn't get a chance to practice . sometimes teachers forget that just because they can play the song doesn't mean that the students can . after all if they student could play as well as the teacher they wouldn't need to take lessons . and try to find a teacher who is teaching because they actually love it and not because of the money . believe me if they are teaching only because it is a job they have no business teaching .
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
ask the teacher if they teach them how to read music .2.ask them if they are going to send them home with music to practice that they were playing during the lesson . 3 don't let a teacher say well I will showyou what to do then you can go home and practice it . first of all most people especially if you have never had lessons before won't or can't just remember what the instructor has shown them by the time they get home . a student absolutely needs something to take home with them so they can have something visual to look at and practice . also make sure that the person who is teaching you or your child has a good reputation . you do not want to take lessons or leave your child with anyone who isn't reputable .