Lessons

+++ I have now relocated to Orkney (April ’24) and will be teaching from the Orkney Music Rooms. Online lessons may be available on Zoom for existing pupils however +++

I provide private guitar tuition in a variety of styles, and also offer electric bass tenor banjo and ukulele tuition.

Every pupil is different and I structure lessons to suit the needs and aspirations of each individual. Some learners respond to a structured academic approach while others thrive on a more informal approach, but both should be about enjoying and understanding music through playing guitar.

The more structured approach may include:
Trinity Rockschool syllabus up to grade 8 and beyond to diploma level
RGT electric and acoustic grades
Jazz guitar tuition and jazz theory
Classical guitar
Preparation for SQA school exams

The more informal approach may include:
Learning current and classic rock and pop tunes
Improvisation, learning and analysing iconic guitar solos and using them as inspiration to be able to create your own
Playing in bands, and how to interact effectively with other musicians
Using all aspects of guitar technology, ie effects pedals, amplifiers, recording equipment etc
Transcribing and ear training, enabling you to analyse and learn tunes on your own
Scottish traditional music for guitar and banjo

I make extensive use of computer learning software and have a database of tens of thousands of notated tunes and am constantly updating this with my own transcriptions. I am happy to work on any tunes requested by the student.

As I mentioned earlier, no matter what your learning style is, you have to enjoy your lessons, and that is my ultimate goal, to enable you to learn guitar effectively while having fun.

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions at all – thanks for looking!