Message to my students
1. Learning music is a long, never-ending journey. If you approach it with that mindset, you can progress step by step and build a solid foundation. If you're trying to learn a specific song, technique, or set of chords just to play songs quickly, it can hurt your musical foundation. Impatience is one of the biggest obstacles for everyone.
“I want to play in a rock band in six months!”
“I want to play in a church band in three months!”
“I want to see results after just four lessons!”
“I’ll take lessons once a month and I want to write my own song by the end of the year!”
Sorry, but that’s not realistic. I could probably help you achieve those goals if I skipped all the essential components of learning music. But my goal is to guide my students in the right direction so they can truly enjoy and understand music.
2. “I’m good at strumming. I just want to learn how to fingerpick.”
“I just want to learn sweep picking.”
If you want to be a good guitar player, your rhythm needs to be solid, and your music knowledge should be strong enough to understand what you’re playing. Everything is connected. If you want to learn fingerpicking, we need to ensure your strumming rhythm is tight and your chords are accurate.
If you want to learn sweep picking, we need to make sure you’re comfortable with basic scales like the major, minor, and pentatonic scales, which are far more important than mastering sweep picking arpeggios.
3. “I want to learn progressive metal.”
>>> Can you play easy Metallica songs accurately?
“I want to learn neo-soul guitar.”
>>> Can you play basic pop music with 7th chords and understand how they’re constructed?
“I want to learn J-Rock.”
>>> Have you listened to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, or Jimi Hendrix?
“I want to be a great guitar player like John Mayer.”
>>> Have you learned or played Eric Clapton or B.B. King?
You need to listen to, study, and play the foundations of music before diving into subgenres or modern styles. Once I feel you're ready, we can tackle any genre you want. But don’t rush.
4. If you follow my curriculum, you’ll be able to play any song you want—and even write your own.
If you just want to learn specific songs, I can teach them to you, but keep in mind that you’ll only be able to play those songs. Ask yourself what you really want to achieve.
5. Don't practice things you haven't learned from me yet. It’s much harder to teach intermediate players who’ve developed bad habits than to teach beginners. If you want to become a skilled guitar player, you need to learn how to position your arms, hold the pick, and strum correctly. Once you’ve built good habits, it’s much easier to progress. If you’ve developed bad habits, they’re tough to break—sometimes even impossible.
6. YouTube can be useful if you use it properly. Watch performances from legendary guitarists, music theory videos, and gear reviews.
But avoid watching shredding videos from influencers or taking tips from unqualified teachers who post quick one-minute lessons. Don’t practice what they teach without understanding the reasoning behind it. YouTubers don’t know you, but I do. I can pinpoint your weaknesses and the areas where you need to improve.
7. I can’t stress enough how important it is to listen to good music. Explore the best albums from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Just Google “100 best albums of all time” or “100 best guitar solos.” Listen to blues, jazz, rock, funk, classical, metal, and every kind of music.
If you only listen to one style, it’s like eating McDonald’s every day—it’ll harm your body. Similarly, sticking to one genre will limit your musical growth. Surprisingly, just listening to great music can improve your guitar skills. Don’t restrict yourself to one genre. If you’re unsure what to listen to, always ask me.
8. If you’re struggling with certain phrases or rhythms, go back to basics and focus on the fundamental foundations. The answer is usually there. Don’t rush—play slowly and accurately, then gradually increase the tempo.
9. Music theory is one of the most important foundations of learning. Understanding guitar fretboard notes, chords, scales, and intervals helps you see how music is constructed. If you get the theory, you can create your own music. If you don’t understand it, you’ll have to memorize everything.
10. Guitar is one of the easiest instruments to start, but the hardest to master. Those who understand this remain humble. I’ve been playing guitar for 35 years, practicing 5-10 hours a day, and I’m still learning. Be patient—don’t expect results in just six months.
If you rush, it puts pressure on me too, and it’s harder to find something fun when a student just wants to move quickly. It’s like fast food.
I focus on teaching what’s truly beneficial to students who are patient. That’s like eating healthy food—it’s worth the effort. And again, it all starts with building a strong music foundation.
11. I can adjust the difficulty and intensity of lessons for you. If you just want to have fun, I can teach you more enjoyable stuff. But if you’re determined to become a great guitarist, I’ll teach you the tough stuff.
Becoming a great guitar player requires tackling challenges, practicing difficult techniques, and sometimes doing boring things.
If you want to be healthy, you have to eat well, even if it’s not always tasty. The same goes for guitar—you have to embrace the tough and boring stuff to grow.
If you’re a hobbyist and want to have fun, but my lessons feel too intense, just let me know. I can easily adjust.
12. Trust is key in the student-teacher relationship. I’m not just a local guitar teacher—I have 30 years of experience, having taught thousands of students. I’m a professional guitarist who performs and records, and I’m also a songwriter and music producer.
When I ask you to work on a specific issue, practice a tough exercise, or learn a particular song, there’s a reason behind it.
In our first lesson, I’ll identify your strengths and weaknesses and plan lessons for the next 3, 6, or even 12 months based on your musical goals.
Please don’t tell me, “I watched a YouTube video, and the other teacher taught this differently.” They don’t know you. I customize lessons based on your unique needs, abilities, and weaknesses. Students should trust me and my curriculum. I also trust that my students trust me. This mutual trust ensures the best results.
13. I don’t just teach guitar skills—I teach music. Guitar is just one tool for expressing and creating music. You’ll learn chords, scales, and even piano to understand how music is made. You’ll sometimes learn to sing melodies while playing them on guitar. You’ll also learn drum beats to understand rhythm, and play bass guitar to understand its role. This holistic approach is unique to my lessons.