What to expect

Just like anything, you get out what you put into it.  Past students of mine have achieved scholarships into prestigious schools like BERKLEE because they worked hard and passionately at playing.  Practicing 4, 8, and more hour's daily. Others just play for fun or are just starting out.  Practicing 1/2 hour a day.

I do not half-hazardly scribble out lessons touching on a spur of the moment subject.  I have seen too much of this when I was a young student and first started looking for instruction.  I would often leave lessons more confused than when I came leaving with a barely legible scribbled mess on a piece of dog-eared staff paper.  Then I found my first REAL teacher who always had an organized plan and practice system for me to follow.

All lessons are printed in publish quality handouts taken from books I have written or have been written for the sole purpose of the current lesson.  These lessons follow a specific step by step order introducing the student to necessary subjects to succeed in learning the instrument and building techniques, tools, skills, and knowledge to play.  Please see the practice schedule for the individual subjects you want to focus into as you progress and learn.

What do YOU want to play?  After good basic foundation has been started I ask my new students to make a song and band list so I can see what THEY want to play for music.

Students are shown songs they wish to learn note for note just how the artist played the composition. 
Some times variations or "watered down" versions are presented to beginners if the original music is to complex.   

Also special CD's of the material studied are made so the student can practice along with music at different speeds (while maintaining the pitch of the music) 1/2 speed usually to start and then increasing by 5 to10% each track until the normal tempo is reached.  Ear training exercises, modal, scale, arpeggio, improvising, and many other "extras" are also given to students on CD's to study with.

My colleagues and I agree the questions and statements we cringe at most when we get a student from a bad teacher are:

What is a metronome?

What is a scale?  Or yes I know my scales. (Student plays 1 scale pattern not realizing the inversions should cover the entire neck) this is sometimes worse.

I never started to read music...  should I have been?

All I have done is read music out of this book.

All I have done is learned Songs from Tabs.

These are not questions the student should be embarrassed at asking because it is of no fault of there own.

If for whatever reason you are unable to schedule lessons with me or there were no openings at the time of your inquiry.         PLEASE try to choose a competent teacher!!!