My background in the guitar lies mainly in the field of folk, rock, blues and bass guitar. I have a teaching qualification and I also taught guitar for one academic year in a voluntary organisation where I completed the first year of a PGCE/Cert Ed qualification. I assisted with the running of music workshops at the Pilot Project formerly Newport Action for the Single Homeless. More recently I spent two years running Adult Education classes on a weekly basis from the Share Centre on Stow Hill. These days I give lessons to people on a one-to-one basis either from my home or if there is enough demand I am able to run classes at Ridgeway Community Centre. With regard to one-to-one tuition, I take on students from the age of eleven upwards, although the classes are geared to the post sixteen year old educational sector. Fees are from £10 per half hour. For further information regarding guitar or bass tuition or if you are interested in joining a class please call 07789641801. Alternatively I can be contacted via the form on this website.
I try to persuade each student that to learn a small amount of theory will improve their playing potential. Most people starting out on the guitar wish to play their favourite songs but with a knowledge of harmony, intervals, chord theory together with an understanding of the basics of rhythm and tempo they are able to work these out for themselves. Rather than make the student dependant on me to learn their favourite tunes I provide them with the means to accomplishing it for themselves.
I focus on a student-centred approach and as a teacher for me it is not all about grades and or text-book style study; rather it is the enjoyment of playing guitar and making music in a participatory way. We make mistakes along the way but learn by doing (a hands-on approach) rather than analysing every piece of information that is given to us in the score. In the past I have experienced direct control from the teacher (a teacher-centred approach) and although precise and professional it did not always enable me to learn the styles of music that were most appealing to me. I put the student at the centre of the learning process by equipping them with a broad range of technical and theoretical knowledge so that they will become a better and more well-rounded guitarist. There are scales and arpeggios,chord shapes, the basics of rhythm and tempo, tablature and various other skills to be learned. I look at improving your manual co-ordination and creativity by means of a step-by-step approach.
Be prepared to allow up to a month for each lesson to enable you to move forward with each area of technical development. Look at what you have got to do and break down each task into steps. If you are serious about the instrument first and foremost, it is essential to bring your sightreading skills up to a reasonable standard. This applies both to tablature and notation and in the long run it saves a lot of time. Second, make sure that you practise at regular intervals. You will go rusty if you don't practise at least a couple of times a week and also ensure that you allocate a certain amount of time to each area of technical development.
Some of my favourite composers for the Classical guitar
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