Guitar lessons in Denver.
Acoustic and electric, songs first. In your home or online. Founding rates from $60 an hour, every rate published.
Songs first, from the first lesson.
Guitar lessons here start with music you're actually interested in. Chords, rhythm, and comfortable hands come first, because that's what carries most songs. We learn from chord charts and by ear, not sight-reading, so you can pick up new songs on your own.
Technique, lead playing, and theory arrive as your playing asks for them. And the theory is plain music theory. Jazz is one palette of colors, and so are pop, rock, and R&B. We pull from whichever palette your songs are painted with.
It started with a guitar in a closet.
The summer after fifth grade, I got a classical guitar out of my mom's closet, and that was the seed of everything. By eighth grade I was serious enough to buy a black Fender with a Floyd Rose and a little practice amp, and I played that thing in my bedroom constantly.
Freshman year I tried out for jazz band and made the B band, not the A band, because I didn't know the difference between major and minor chords. My band director, Larry Kelly, said that was the kind of mud they couldn't have in the A band. He's gone now, and I think of that line with affection, because he was completely right. I understand exactly what he meant today, and getting you to hear what a chord is doing, so it's never mud, is half of what I teach on guitar. By junior year I was playing in church, mostly acoustic, leading music for small groups and youth gatherings.
Today, guitar is my instrument for exploring jazz and melody. As a rhythm player you're supporting harmony, comping in jazz settings or filling out an acoustic bed. On top of that you get to build melodies in linear phrases. That's the relationship I have with it, and it's the guitar I teach.
Beginners, returners, and kids.
Starting fresh, we get your hands comfortable and your first songs moving quickly. Coming back after years away, your hands remember more than you think, and we build on what's still there. Kids' lessons run 45 minutes, in your home, with a parent home.