Teaching

 

Teaching guitar is an important part of my life and something I am passionate about doing.

I have many years of experience teaching all levels of guitar students, privately and in small groups.  At one point in my career, I was the Adjunct Professor of Guitar Studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.  My teaching philosophy can be summed up by the great jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker:  “Master your instrument, master the music, and then forget all that shit and just play.”

 

More often than not, students never get beyond their musical training.  The training unfortunately becomes confused with music and the training is presented as such.  For example, there are legions of guitar players who spend time learning scales and then play those scales over a piece of music and call it “improvisation.” Sometimes with great technical speed. Of course, this is not music, but merely a demonstration of someone’s knowledge of scales and physical prowess. 

 

My role as a teacher is to propel you beyond the training and to the creation of your own personal music. It is extraordinarily important to understand that what you learn about music and your instrument are only tools that will assist you in ultimately creating music from within yourself without conscious reference to those tools.  Think of the learning process as training wheels on a bicycle.  Eventually, those wheels will come off. Perhaps a better example is learning to read, write and speak your native language.  Do you think about all the rules you learned as a child when you do those things? Of course not. You do them effortlessly and spontaneously. That is the point in your musical development where I want to take you.  There, you will no longer be merely a guitar player, but a musician.  In fact, you will no longer be playing the guitar but rather the guitar will play you, the true instrument.

 

Remember, music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom, interpreted through your instrument. If you do not live it, it will not come out of your instrument.  If you must always refer to what you learn about music when you play, rather than listen to the music within yourself, there will always be a boundary line to your music.  There is no boundary line to art.

 

So, how do we embark on this journey?  In broad strokes, I want my students to have an extensive understanding of scale and chord construction and the relationship between the two.  I want the student to internalize rhythm, which can be achieved by diving right into polyrhythms and right hand development. Left hand development consists of minimizing movement to help focus the mind on listening to the music within yourself rather than the physical aspect of playing your guitar.  Reading music is encouraged (not just tablature) as well as being able to identify the notes on the guitar fretboard.  Also, exercises that help you listen to the music within yourself as well as experiencing various types of music and playing styles.  Of course all of the above is styled to your specific needs and current skill level.