Our rigorous hiring process requires a completed application; an interview with
our professional recruiting specialists; personal and professional reference
checks; and annual criminal background checks for the duration of each teacher's
employment with us.
Background Check Complete
Criminal Background Check
In order to ensure the safety of our students, all teachers undergo a thorough
criminal background check, which includes: Social Security number trace,
multi-state criminal search and a nationwide sex offender registry search.
Levels: Beginner to Advanced
In-Home Lessons: Yes
In-Studio Lessons: Yes
Ages: 5 & up
Subjects Taught
Bass Guitar, Guitar, Music Performance, Music Theory, Songwriting
Education
Metro State College of Denver - Art, Art Ed - 2007-2011 (Bachelor's degree received)
Columbia Academy - Audio Engineer - 2002-2003 (Degree received)
Specialties
I am very open to styles, but I am very skilled at getting to know my students', their specific needs and how to scaffold a lesson to their needs. I can teach music theory fairly well, site-reading at a beginner level, but my ear is very attuned and I can improvise and learn by ear.
Lesson Details
Our lessons will be based on your needs. If you are the kind of student that needs to be pushed, you will be pushed in the right direction. If you are the kind of student that needs a relaxed lesson, that is how the lessons will be. What I do is take what you have right now, find out where you want to be and figure out what it takes to get there. I'm well versed in teaching all ages and I know how to pace the lessons appropriately. I also know, as a seasoned music and art teacher, that the
...
lessons need to be broken up in a way that challenges different categories of guitar playing. In this line of thinking, there will be exercises for muscle memory, including patterns for notes and chords. There will be time for working on songs that you love. There will be time for writing your own patterns and songs. There will also be time to feel comfortable and relaxed during the lesson! Finally, I will teach the scale, rhythm and chord theory that will get you playing at the level you want to play at.
Ben hails from a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. He grew up working hard, drawing and playing guitar. In his teens, he began playing shows in coffee shops playing cover songs. After high school, he moved out and travelled around Scotland, Canada and the Pacific Northwest, playing in bands, attending Columbia Academy in Vancouver, BC for audio engineering and teaching music in Portland, Oregon. His mostly self-taught career has landed him many shows around The US and Canada and the opportunity to
...
fly to remote areas to be recorded in many musical projects. What he has to offer you is how to be a comfortable on the guitar, how to become familiar with the guitar and, if you already are, how to take it to a performance level, how to write music that pushes you to the next level, how to record great sounding demos and how to get out in the public.
