Thanks for stopping by my personal website. This picture is one of my favorite guitars: a Taylor T5 koa acoustic / eclectric guitar. Its a great guitar and one that I use often. I am able to have acoustic sounds and electric sounds from the same guitar. Playing a guitar that stays in tune, sounds great, will help you become a better singer. In my voice lessons, I help musicians of all ages improve their singing/ plain skills. I teach how to breathe properly. And how to develop timing...

How young is too young to start private guitar lessons? Above is one of my youngest guitar students. Josh started at 6 1/2 years old. For some teachers, that may be too young. I think it's depends on the student. Josh has a desire to practice what we go through in our music books. He likes the songs that we agree to learn how to play ( his mom and dad are pastors ) I think he will be a future worship leader. It's important that I was able to help Josh learn basic guitar chords, strumming...

You You are never too young or old to begin private guitar lessons. Couple of teacher tips: Learn on a guitar that stays in tune, and is easy to play. Yes, your finger tips will develop calluses in the beginning. But this takes time. Decide what you want to learn: playing acoustic or electric guitar. What kind of music? Blues, rock, country, Christian gospel. Make some measurable musical goals that you can measure/ define. Example: I want to be playing in a band in six months. Or I...

Here is a picture of the four electric guitars that I teach with. I use a Gretsch Black falcon, a Taylor T5 custom koa, a  Gibson 335 dot and a Fender telecaster with a B bender. Each guitar has a unique tone and personality of its own. in my guitar lessons, we talk about how to get great tones from your guitar. It starts with the volume and tone knobs. Often we just start of with a clean guitar sound. This helps you hear and understand what the guitar can do. Later in our guitar...

Thanks for taking time to read my blog here. I've have a few new students who want to learn how to sing and play guitar at the same time. Or 5 string banjo, mandolin, lap steel or piano. It's possible, but one needs to focus on a few things. Voice lessons: one has to start with the basics: proper breathe control, support, technique and understanding music theory. It's one thing to stand and just sing. Quite another when you are playing an instrument. Vocally one must find the right key...

Lately I have been adding a lot of new students to my music lesson schedule. Starting with 5 string banjo, guitar, voice, keyboards and mandolin, it seems like everyone is ready to get back into private music lessons. One of the most asked questions I get is: " how much time should I spend practicing each day?" That's a good question and I will answer with the following: With a student roster of 25 students with ages ranging from 6 to 57 and above, all of our schedules are...

Learning how to sing properly takes work. For those of us, who sing in bands, churches, choirs, and teach, we can forget how important proper breathing exercises matter. Singing and voice lessons can help you reach your musical goals. Some topics I cover in my private voice lessons are: 1. Singing the vowels. A E I O U. Singing them in a major or minor scale, will help you understand how words sound and feel when we sing them. 2. Learning how to breathe properly when singing a song....

Thinking about starting guitar lessons this fall? I have a few openings here in Camas and Vancouver, Wa Above are four of my electric guitars that I teach from. Each has a distinct tone and feel. Let me offer an opinion about each: Fender Telecaster with a B bender. Yes, the B string bends a whole step high, when you pull down on the stap lock. It simulates the sound of a pedal steel guitar. This Fender is an American made Nashville: the three pickups configuration of a Strat, but...

Here in Vancouver Wa, we have a lot of good teachers who teach electric guitar, with private lessons. Playing electric guitar, is way different than playing acoustic guitar, for more than the oblivious reasons. Playing an electric guitar has the same similar characteristics like acoustic guitar: you have to be able to play chords, know music theory, be able to finger pick, and know your scales. Playing an electric guitar involves using a amplifier, pedals for effects, and...

Yes... Music theory can be challenging to understand. What's with all of the sharps and flats? The Nashville number system? What do you mean by the "tonic?" Will this make me a better musician? The short answer is yes! By taking music lessons, whether its guitar, piano, banjo, mandolin or voice, understanding the " why & how " of music will make your playing easier. And you will be able to jam aka improvise with others. Maybe you are a songwriter, and you can't find that " magical" chord...