Joshua B.

General Info

• Certified Music Teacher

  Certified Music Teacher

  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: No
• In-Studio Lessons: Yes
• Ages: 5 & up

Subjects Taught

Bass Guitar, Guitar, Piano, Singing, Music Performance, Songwriting

Education

Belmont University - Music - 8-1996 to 5-1999 (Bachelor's degree received)
Muscatine Community College - Music/Arts - 8-1993 to 5-1996 (Associate degree received)

Specialties

I have been trained in classical and contemporary styles. My areas of specialty are in the pop/rock category, with country and soul music as well.

Lesson Details

Students can expect to learn how to improve their ear, and can decide their particular focus (do you want to just play guitar, or sing, or both with piano thrown in, too?) I believe in the fundamentals of a good warm-up, and repetition of scales is not always the most fun, but it does benefit in the end. Some students may come in with their own agenda of what they want to learn, and that's great. Want to learn how to solo on electric guitar? Let's go! But for those that want a well-rounded ... approach, I can teach you the fundamentals (at least up to intermediate levels) of voice, guitar, bass guitar, and piano.
I am known to be a very laid back teacher to an extent, however, some difficult pieces of music might require the student to be a disciplined individual. I will really just try to be as helpful as I personally can be, and show the student ways of approaching music he or she might not have thought of.
The student can expect after 3 months to have learned the fundamentals of their chosen instrument or instruments, scales, chords, and to be able to play through entire songs. The student will also be taught how to improvise- a skill I believe that is incredibly important, and not always dealt with in the classical field.

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About

I have always had a great love of good music. When I was a small kid I used to figure out movie scores on the piano (John Williams stuff like Star Wars, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark). Improving my ear was essential in doing this, as was taking lessons years later. I messed around with my parents' acoustic guitar, and taught myself to play (with some pointers from my uncle). When I was 16, I got a Gibson SG from 1959 that was completely redone, and my dream of playing electric guitar became ... realized.
Bands like The Beatles, The James Gang, The Beach Boys, and Hendrix were what got me on the path towards rock and roll. My classical influences actually remain in the music I write and play, and I often join friends and musicians on stage playing anything from bass to accordion.
I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Belmont University in 1999, and was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda (national music honor society) by the music faculty. Signed to Dualtone Records (Nashville) in early 2002, later that year signed to RCA/Victor in New York. Recorded debut album "Hopeful Fiction" alongside Ken Coomer (Wilco), Audley Freed (Black Crowes, Dixie Chicks, Jakob Dylan), Charlie Drayton (Keith Richards Band), Ian McLagan (Faces), and Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow). Despite glowing reviews from the press, the album was never formally released due to label consolidations and publishing issues. I am now finishing up the follow-up album with a much less stratospheric budget.
As a multi-instrumentalist and singer, I can impart to the student knowledge based on my experience learning a wide array of musical genres. Being trained in both classical and contemporary styles, I take a relaxed approach to students. I will try to find out just exactly what, as an individual, the student would like to learn, and then set about it in the easiest and most understandable way possible.

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