Kyle N. Music, Guitar, Music Theory, Songwriting Saint Louis, MO

I have been playing guitar for a decade now, and have never lost my excitement and enthusiasm for the art of music.  I wanted to pick up the instrument, like many others in my generation, after hearing Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".  I got a Squire "starter" guitar for my 14th birthday and immediately began taking lessons and learning songs.  I came under the instruction of Kurtis Van Allen at the (now closed) St. Charles Guitar Exchange.  Kurtis was not only a great teacher, but also a tremendous inspiration.  I was taken with his amazing ear and seemingly unending versatility from rock to jazz to funk to anything else that came his way.

During high school I joined Jazz Band as the guitarist, Men's Choir as a bass vocalist, and took Music Theory which I breezed through with flying colors.  My senior year I got together with some friends and formed the rock band (no caps) eighth wonder (go ahead and laugh, I do), blending hard rock, alternative, prog, and classic rock.  Our first gig was a battle of the bands which we won and was aired on television.

It was around this time in my life that my interest in music mushroomed drastically.  My musical taste exploded with the discovery of Stevie Ray Vaughan and the blues.  I became obsessed with the power of the genre, digging into it's history to find every gem I could.  It was also during this time I discovered Berklee College of Music (www.berklee.edu) through my teacher, Kurtis, who had spent a few semesters there.  I was driven to make music more than just a hobby, so I applied and, thanks in part to a letter of recommendation from Kurtis, was accepted.  The summer after my high school graduation I organized and put on the day-long music festival of local bands with friend and eighth wonder band-mate Tony Maitz called Small Town Heroes, renting out an indoor soccer field and inviting over a dozen bands to perform.

In the fall of 2002 I moved to Boston, MA and began attending Berklee, which I can only describe as eye-opening and incredible.  Every possible aspect of music was there for the taking.  Once classes start I began private lessons under the instruction of Joe Musella, who was a virtuoso in seemingly everything, and helped me bridge my taste from the blues to jazz.  My interest in jazz began and grew exponentially at Berklee, where my first semester I was plunged into jazz studies and had the fortune of catching clinics and shows by numerous Berklee professors, Pat Martino, and Pat Metheny, the latter of whom I also won a ticket to a small private show and got the chance to meet briefly.  During my first semester I also made it onto the Dean's List.  My time at Berklee was spent immersing myself in as much music as possible, meeting and catching performances by other musicians at Berklee and around Boston, spending as many hours I could each day practicing, and studying under some of the best professors in music including guitarists Jon Finn, Julien Kasper, Richie Hart (a pupil of George Benson), music theory and creativity professor Suzanne Clark, and Livingston Taylor (James Taylor's brother), to name a few.  I graduated in May 2006 from Berklee with a B.A. in Professional Music.

After Berklee I returned to St. Louis and began teaching at the Guitar Exchange before moving to Savannah, GA to help assist production and begin composing the score to "Like Clockwork", an animated action/fantasy film written and directed by Tony Matiz (release date TBA).  I returned home and in 2007 began seeking out musician's around the St. Louis scene, attending local shows and open jams wherever I found them.  I became a regular favorite at jams hosted by Buffalo Bob, a St. Louis blues legend, sitting in with some of the best blues musicians in St. Louis, who were all surprised someone as young as me had such interest and passion for the blues.  Recently I became a member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 2-197, formed my own group and am preparing to record an album of original blues tunes to be put out summer '08.

Lessons are driven by the student's interest.  For me, one of the biggest challenges in learning music was connecting the technical side with the creative side.  With every new piece of theory learned I try to show how it can be applied to playing and cite examples by other artists.  I also place emphasis on expanding musical taste and music history to keep interest and creativity fresh.  A good way to get out of a musical rut is to try out a style you might not have considered before, and without history we wouldn't have Robert Johnson, Miles Davis, The Beatles, Hank Williams, Jimi Hendrix, and on and on.  I draw lesson material from what I learned from, including my stockpile of books from Berklee, as well as my own insight and experience.  I do not have a timeline for lesson material, because every student works at a different pace, and speed is not the goal (consider B.B. King's guitar playing).  As long as effort and progress is being made I feel the student is succeeding, for patience is one of the highest virtues in a teacher.

Topics covered include: music theory (basic to advanced), improvisation, songs, ear training, playing different styles, creative application, music history, instrument understanding, music technology, student questions, etc.

My particular playing style is rooted in blues/jazz, but is not limited to that. In teaching students I try to tie creative/aesthetic qualities into concrete theory to not only keep them interested but also branch out and find new things.
Improvisation, repertoire, Ear training, Style Proficiency, creative application, music history, instrument understanding, music technology

Music, Guitar, Music Theory, Songwriting