David

I am a self-taught guitarist of over 20 years and am technically proficient to an advanced level, there are very few guitar techniques that I'm unfamiliar with and I am continually learning more. I've performed in a variety of venues/situations, whether as a solo performer, in a band or as part of the accompaniment for musicals, each of which require different approaches and disciplines. I've also done plenty of recorded performances which also requires a host of different skills.

Tutoring Experience

I have been teaching guitar for over 10 years on an ad hoc basis with private students. I also currently work at Coleg Y Cymoedd, teaching live performance and music rehearsal skills for the last 2 years. I have helped students of all ages over the years go from complete beginners to accomplished players, as well as taking intermediate players and help them to learn more advanced techniques.

Tutoring Approach

My teaching method involves the same method by which I teach myself - focused practice and repetition. A lot of people try to run before they can walk, spending a couple of days learning chords then trying to play complicated lead parts. What you will work on with me, is having a solid foundation on which to build. We will work together to make sure that when you learn techniques, you learn them the right way first time. We'll do things slowly and smoothly, because slow and smooth equals fast in the long run.
Fundamentally though, we will go at your pace. Everyone learns different skills at different speeds, so there is no pressure to learn anything in a particular time frame, the key is for there to be progress little by little. Equally we will tailor lessons to your wants/needs as much as possible and so you're learning the type of guitar playing that most appeals to you.
A lot of tutors take an approach of getting you to go through guitar grades and whilst that is something we can look into if it appeals to you, I personally have never found grades to be worth anything and certainly not an accurate measurement of someone's ability/talent, so with that in mind, going through grades is not something I will be pushing you to do.
I advise for the first lesson (which is free) to be 1 hour so we can get to know each other and put together a bit of a plan for you. After that I recommend lessons be 30 minutes per lesson per week, as the main goal of lessons is for you to show me what you've practiced in the previous week and for me to then advise you on what can be improved etc., or if it's time for you to start working on something else. In my experience 30 minutes is more than sufficient to achieve this but if you feel you'd like more tuition then of course we can explore that.

Please note the rate shown on first tutors is an hourly rate. 30 minute lessons will be £15 in person or £12.50 online.