Music School

Since January 2010 I am available again for private tutoring for guitar and jazz theory. Places are limited so if you are interested, make sure you book your spot fast. In addition I can be booked for workshops. Learning to play an instrument should be fun! If you’re not having fun while you learn, then why bother to do it? Learning a musical instrument can feel daunting at first, so it helps to have a teacher that wants you to feel relaxed and build your confidence as you learn.  Playing the guitar, as with any instrument has certain technique requirements attached to it. There are left hand and right hand techniques that have to be mastered.

How am I going to make it fun?

By teaching you music you love to play. Before the first lesson, we’ll discuss the music that you like. The lessons will teach you how to play the guitar, centred around the music you like the most. Lessons comprise of a healthy and pleasurable mix of, technique, theory and songs. We’ll take it one step at a time. It’s important to get things and in the right order or it can be confusing – we’ll focus on acquiring new skills one by one, in small chunks so that you can progress confidently. Student levels may vary from absolute beginner to highly advanced.

Teaching Younger Students

Should a guitar course for younger kids simply concentrate on having fun, or should it just be concerned with teaching proper technique?  In my view it should be both. My passion is to get kids involved in making music. I also believe that the process of learning should be as much fun as possible. Be that as it may, any music course should instruct properly.

Playing the guitar, as with any instrument has certain technique requirements attached to it. There are left hand and right hand techniques that have to be mastered and coordinated. There are matters of posture that you want to address before bad an ultimately harmful habits are developed. Naturally you don’t want a young student to develop bad habits that will be hard to break later, but I don’t personally believe that a kid has to be pounded over the head either.

My ultimate goal as far as instruction is concerned is to get private lessons with a good teacher who understands kids and knows how to stimulate their enthusiasm without losing sight of instructional matters, progress and exam requirement (if applicable) . Nothing beats one on one teaching. Your child gets instant feedback. Having said that, I acknowledge that especially for younger students the group environment may better suit their overall needs and desires.

My  teaching  always maintains a balance between teaching beginning technique, having fun and making and keeping your child enthusiastic about playing guitar and making progress. Making music is (supposed to be) fun. The problem with many beginning students, especially kids, is that practicing is not experienced as fun. My feeling is that if one could make it more fun in the beginning for kids, AND he or she actually learns something while having fun, there is more of a likelihood that your kid will want to continue. All of us in the business of teaching music to kids have a responsibility to get them to understand the fun and passion that is music in order to get them and keep them involved.

Jazz Theory /Jazz Improvisation

Jazz music is by many considered as something to forget about, too hard. Many are turned of by the seemingly difficult harmonies. This is not necessary. Jazz music is not the witchcraft some make it out to be and anyone with brains and ears can make a good start at learning how to play jazz music and improvise.

You will find that there is way more logic  to all these tunes than you expected an moreover you will find that the theoretical basis will assist you in many other styles of music as well.

Jazz theory and improvisation lessons focus on – as could be expected – the theory but also matters such as re-harmonization, substitute chords, phrasing, different styles, analysis and conceptualisation, communicating with fellow musicians (playing and listening at the same time) and more. Bring your singing voice as there will be some singing involved in these lessons (don’t worry your voice can never be as bad as mine). Jazz Theory and Improvisation lessons could well assist you in preparing for your admission to a conservatory or jazz school.

Applied Jazz History

Jazz draws back on a rich history and musical tradition. It has undergone several stylistic changes an therefore we can now speak of dixieland, swing, bob, hard bob, post-bob, free jazz, cool jazz, big band era, jazz rock, fusion and many other developments.

Learning from these traditions is a great extension on top of jazz theory and helps the student to understand the underlying lying traditions, timing, arrangements, repertoire choices and more practical aspects such as improvisation styles, phrasing, timing within the context of specific traditions. Probably the best known musician to incorporate ‘historical’ research and application in his playing and teaching is Wynton Marsalis. It is from within this deep consciousness of the different traditions that actual freedom of expression is born.