Skylar E. TakeLessons Instructor Guitar, Music, Beginning Music Theory Carsonhill, Austin, TX

ABOUT ME:

 I began learning guitar at the age of fifteen with only the internet, a tuning fork and my dad's acoustic.  Since then, music and my guitar have become the best part of my life.  Learning on my own was a very slow process.  I can remember times getting to a plateau or learning block and being frustrated because I could not figure out the next step.  However, my desire to learn the instrument and play music kept my hands on the guitar and I kept progressing.  Now that I have a better knowledge of how to play the guitar I want to help others who are seeking the help from more experienced players that I once sought.  I continue to learn every day and can't wait for the opportunity to play some music with you!

MY PHILOSPHY:

I believe that in order to learn an instrument you have to have THE DESIRE TO LEARN.  It is important that learning is always fun to the person or student.  It is this desire to learn that causes one to pick up the guitar for that extra twenty or thirty minutes before bed, or right before school.  As long as you have the guitar in your hands you will keep progressing.  Once you learn that next chord or next step, you are on the way to becoming an even better musician.  With that in mind, in order to learn you must always expect to practice and do a little jamming.

An INFORMAL LEARNING SESSION is something I feel is very important to learning process.  This goes along with the point that music and learning should be fun.  Sometimes in a formal learning experience, I feel the student at times may feel forced are pressed too hard to learn the instrument.  I believe this should be avoided and prevented by both the teacher and student.  You as a student should never expect me to force you to learn, nor should you expect me to be too lenient.  This does not mean there will be no structure to the lesson, rather it means that the lesson will be more loosely governed so the student feels like he/she is enjoying learning and not just focused on a strict practice regiment. Being comfortable in your learning environment is great way to get the most out of your lesson.  The teacher and student both should share the positive learning experience.

SELF CONIFIDENCE is an absolute necessity in order to learn just about anything.  Simply put, one has to believe they CAN.  Believing is very important to the learning process and an absolute necessity when trying to achieve the next goal.

MY MUSIC EXPERIENCE has come predominately from my desire and passion to learn blues music.  At the age of 15 that is the sound I naturally gravitated towards.  I loved hearing B.B King solos and old scratchy recordings of Robert Johnson.  There's a lot to learn from blues history and blues music, and I believe every person who attempts to latch onto the blues will benefit in a positive way.  Naturally, loving the music makes me love teaching it.  It inspired me to keep listening and keep playing, causing me to pick up other instruments such as the harmonica to play a little blues harp. 

I am a laid back and easy going teacher. However, I do expect the student to learn and will reinforce the necessity of practicing.  The student should always expect me to be interested in their progress and general desire to learn. 

After the first couple of months a beginner student should expect to be able to read tabs, play all general Major and Minor chords, use of a pick or finger picking style, play basic major scales, and maybe even write your own songs! 

An intermediate student after a couple of months should expect to be able to tune the guitar without an tuning device, play basic major and minor scales, know basic music theory and chord progressions, and be able to identify notes on the fret board.

At the end of the lesson we will always review and set goals for the next lesson.  Also, there will always be some time for a little jamming!

I have sought to progress primarily in Blues, and folk/singer-songwriter types. I am skilled playing acoustic as well as electric. I also play harmonica and bass.

Jourdanton HS - - August 2000-August 2004
Univeristy of Texas at Austin - Government/English - Aug 2004-July 2008

Guitar, Music, Beginning Music Theory