My teaching is centered on your aspirations and dreams of playing guitar, and I draw upon my decades of experience in higher education to make them reality. Although I have taught numerous children and teenagers, I specialize in adult education and have successfully led many adults to achieve their personal goals on the instrument. In fact, there are countless adults who wish to learn the guitar but are afraid of embarrassment or simply feeling uncomfortable stepping outside their area of professional expertise. I understand this and work hard at providing a supportive and encouraging environment for success. Contrary to the endless advertisements on the internet, there are no shortcuts to musical success. However, there are plenty of paths that lead nowhere. Students often struggle for years on their own, unnecessarily. Let me, an experienced professional, guide you to success in the shortest time possible by knowing which avenues of instruction lead to the best and most rapid acquisition of guitar skills and musical abilities. Please, don’t struggle on your own. Register now for a free Meet & Greet session.

Sometimes. For children 12 and under, I believe that in-person lessons are the preferable route. There is mounting evidence to the limitations of online education for this age group. Although there are numerous online music teachers attempting to sell you on the premise that online lessons for children is equal in quality to in-person lessons, I would approach this sales pitch with great skepticism. A quality music lesson is about much more than simply learning to play music. At its core, especially for children, it is about the fundamentals of human interaction, and learning the skills of social interaction is not easily achievable through a computer screen, if at all. With this said, there are certain conditions where online lessons for children could make sense for your family. For example, you are in a rural area with limited access to quality instruction, or perhaps your child has certain health issues that limit mobility. In these types of situations, among others, an online music lesson is preferable to none. If you believe I would make a great teacher for your child, contact me, and we can discuss your personal situation.

As adults, we are busy. Frankly, at the end of the workday, we are often physically and mentally tired due to the demands of everyday life. Although we may wish to learn a new skill like guitar playing, the thought of driving a 40-minute round-trip to a music studio after an already exhausting workday is a barrier many adults cannot overcome. Online guitar lessons provide a solution to this problem. From the comfort of your own home, you can take a lesson from me, a highly experienced professional, with minimal fuss or effort. No traffic. No long commutes. No hassle. Furthermore, you still get top-notch music instruction and coaching. For a busy adult, it is a no-lose proposition. However, like anything in life, there are tradeoffs. In-person instruction does offer certain benefits that are difficult to match with an online experience. For example, playing duets together is not yet quite possible through most online services. There are a few additional minor considerations as well, but all are manageable through careful, thoughtful instruction. Particularly for adults, the tradeoffs are often worth it.

Aside from 25 years of practical experience in both performing and teaching, I hold the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts (Music), Hamline University. Master of Music (Classical Guitar Performance), College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. Doctor of Philosophy [A.B.D.] (Higher Education Leadership), University of Dayton (Expected Spring, 2025).

$165 for 30 minute weekly lessons: $330 for 60 minute weekly lessons. Lessons are billed on a monthly cycle, not per lesson. Each month usually consists of 4 lessons, sometimes 5. Occasionally, some months may consist only of 3 lessons if the student’s lesson day falls on a U.S. federal holiday, e.g., Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Christmas Day, etc., or if the Teacher takes pre-scheduled time off from teaching. No fully paid month by the student will consist of less than three offered lessons. Register here for free Meet & Greet session.

Well, some of this information is exceptionally good, but a lot of it is terrible. For beginning and intermediate level players, it is often extremely difficult to discern the quality material from the utter garbage. Furthermore, while just about everything one needs might be “freely” available, finding it and piecing it together from random websites is a tiring and thankless job. As a busy professional or dedicated homemaker, do you have time in your life to waste? I don’t—and you probably don’t either. My job is to provide you with a workable pathway to advancement as quickly as possible. In other words, I want you to play real songs and acquire quality guitar technique with as few roadblocks and missteps as possible. Teaching oneself in isolation through self-study is entirely possible. However, for most people, it is a painfully slow process and can be awfully boring. Furthermore, unless you are in a financially precarious situation, don’t waste your precious time scavenging for “free” information. Buy quality learning materials and find a knowledgeable and experienced instructor, like myself. Register now for a free Meet & Greet session.

As a performer and teacher, I specialize in classical guitar focusing on the music of Spain and Latin America. However, I teach a wide variety of acoustic guitar fingerstyle favorites from artists such as the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Kansas, Jack Johnson, and many newer artists as well. Additionally, many of my students choose to learn fingerstyle arrangements of Disney songs and various Broadway show tunes, such as those by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which sound fantastic when played well on the guitar. I also work well with aspiring rock and metal guitarists (of any age) who feel that they are missing and/or lacking certain skills, like having a strong rhythmic foundation or knowledge of music theory and how to apply it. At Xavier University (Cincinnati), I taught one of the longest running dedicated college courses in the country to the study of heavy metal, Heavy Metal: Music, Culture & Politics. I am a recognized scholar in the academic study of this music, its history, and its culture. Furthermore, I have taught guitar for over 25 years, and in that time I have learned to help most students with just about any style they wish to learn including blues, country, folk, and acoustic finger-style. I do not teach jazz, funk, or reggae. Although I have taught all three styles to various students, there are other teachers who are better suited to these genres than myself.

There are no easy answers for this question. Simply put, the newer your computer and the faster your internet connection, the better online experience you will have. You need at least a 5 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload speed for your internet connection. Higher speeds translate into better quality audio and smoother video connections. Also, if using Wi-Fi at home, the fewer people using the internet at once will provide better results. However, I highly recommend using an ethernet cable connection to directly connect to your router. Click here to check your connection speeds with speedtest.net In terms of an acceptable computer, it is probably best to use one not older than seven years. Video and audio processing in combination with internet connectivity requires your computer to work hard. A slow, older computer will hamper the quality of the lesson experience. If you have questions, contact me, and together we will see if what you have will work. Ipads, tablets, and smartphones can also work for lessons. However, I really don’t recommend using cellphones because the screen is just too small for the information and video that I will be transmitting to your screen. In general, the larger the screen, the better the experience. Furthermore, I highly recommend purchasing a microphone other than the one included with your computer, especially if it is older. The computer-based microphones are often okay, but an upgraded one improves my ability to hear the sounds you are making on your instrument, which allows me to give higher quality feedback to you for your improvement. This does not need to be expensive; a microphone priced between $30-60 dollars will often provide excellent results. The newer iPad and iPhone mics are surprisingly decent. Headphones can also improve online lessons by providing better audio than your laptop speakers. I have found that open back headphones are best for online lessons, but any type of headphones can make the experience better. However, first address internet speed concerns and computer hardware issues rather running out and buying a new pair of headphones. This can be addressed later.

Here are a few additional suggestions which may help: 1. A good video camera makes a positive difference. If your laptop is newer than 2020, it probably has a decent camera built in, which should be good enough to get started. However, an additional investment for about $150 dollars can payoff in terms of your broadcast quality. Again, this is not a priority. 2. A USB microphone may or may not be necessary. (Some newer laptops have decent mics built in.) I have heard improvement in audio quality from students who spent as little as $35 dollars on a new microphone. If you wish to spend more, you can. One particularly well-respected mic for online lessons is the Blue Yeti, which is available for about $100 dollars. 3. Lighting helps your camera capture better images. Please be sure to be in a well-lit area during your online lesson. A small investment in a ring light that you position behind your computer will enhance what I see on my end. There are lots of options here, not just ring lights; it’s just an easy solution. Again, additional lighting is not a necessity to get started but something to think about moving forward. 4. Make sure that your electronic devices are charged ahead of the lesson; this includes laptops, tablets, phones, and possibly headphones. Also make sure that your devices that need to be plugged into outlets—are indeed plugged into outlets. Moreover, check all USB connections if using additional mics and cameras. 5. Give yourself a few minutes to get situated in front of your computer before the lesson begins. Turn it on, check connections, load up Zoom and check its settings. Get comfortable. 6. Don’t forget to tune your guitar before the lesson, and gather any materials that you may need, e.g., sheet music, tuner, metronome, and a nail file/sandpaper. 7. I would recommend giving yourself about 20 minutes of prep time before your online lesson to address the above concerns. Once you become familiar with the process, everything tends to go smoothly, but occasionally you will encounter some last-minute tech issue that can feel stressful to solve under pressure. You can remedy this by simply giving yourself enough prep time before you begin your lesson. As a bonus, if everything is running smoothly, you will then have 20 minutes of warmup time to go over your music before we meet. This is always beneficial to having a great lesson.