Saratoga, CA Blues Guitar Lessons

usician.

As an artist I have been featured on MTV, Rollingstone, BBC, NBC, VOA, ARY, Alt Press, LA times, documentaries and more. I have been playing guitar and recording music since childhood and am a classically trained sitar player and Indian classical vocalist.

I am a great teacher for someone who wants to write songs, or is into Indie, rock, pop, reggae, metal, hip-hop, and electronica.

*** Lesson Details/ What to Expect ***

You can expect a custom, fun and attentive one on one lesson. I am thorough and patient. I expect you to love music and put forth effort. I'm laid back, I will work as fast or as slow as you need. I prefer a total immersion technique and get my students playing right away. This boosts confidence and fosters interest because once a student enjoys playing you don't have to convince them to practice.

By the first lesson you will be familiar with the instrument and it's parts, and playing your first chord.

In 3-6 months you will be playing guitar with a greater knowledge of chords, basic harmony and be able to play scales and songs.

Once you have a foundation of chords we can explore more specific music subjects and lessons will become more personalized: songwriting, guitar tones, musicology, making a DIY record, shredding like a metalhead, I can guide you to help you achieve your goals.

I receive a very large number of student requests everyday, So to keep things organized please keep the following in mind:

Takelessons is a wonderful service that I use to handle all my payments and scheduling. I want to focus on the teaching, so they help with the rest.

I have a 24 hour cancelation policy, please give me at least 24 hour advanced notice, or you will forfeit your lesson credit.

All scheduling changes or time off can be requested right from the website for your connivence. it's super easy!

Use an email that you will actually check to sign up for notifications, it's not spam, it's to help us all stay organized.

Remember to please reserve your spot by paying in advance. (I have a waiting list of people asking me for those super convenient days, and times)

Online students please make sure you have the highest connection speed available to you. This will ensure you get the most out of the lessons.

*** Equipment ***

Please make sure you have your own instrument, and a note book or device to take notes with.

udent.

Teaching Philosophy -

My teaching philosophy is built on well rounded communication, explanation and examples. So, that a student can truly understand and learn a topic, surrounded in a very humorous, light and supportive environment.
Along with being provided good information, a student learns better and feels more motivated to learn when there is a balance of positive support and confidence building accompanied by constructive criticism and examples/information that can help a student assess what ever walls they may be meeting in their musical growth.

I understand that all students/artists have different goals they wish to achieve. So it is very important to me to accommodate each individuals needs and wants to help them grow in the fields they wish too; However, In that I have played music for a long time, I understand there are certain things that a student may not have been exposed to yet; It is important that while focusing on a students artistic goals they respect and are open to the suggestion and guidance of their teacher.

I truly believe music has an amazing influence on the world and has the ability to change peoples way of thinking. Therefore, I try and keep an open awareness to all music, so that I can understand all different musical languages utilized to communicate to people, and I don't believe I will ever know them all. I hold it to attention to influence my students somewhat similarly so that they can shape the landscape of how we communicate musically in the future.

I also try and be very patient with my students. Knowing that when I feel rushed, it makes information more difficult to comprehend, remember and allocate. I love watching the gears run in my students head, so I try and provide information that pushes a student but is within their abilities.

HUMOR is very important. I like to break people out of their shell by telling a joke and hopefully getting one back, so they feel more comfortable and free. One of a Artists worst enemies are nerves. Keeping things light-hearted and maybe even a little small talk can be very helpful to a students development and growth on a topic. After all, Art is meant to be fun and we should enjoy every moment of it, in fact we should enjoy every moment in life period.

I understand music requires focus and discipline and I have certain expectation of a student to understand that and practice. You can't buy chops, you can't buy music theory etc. you can get help but eventually your the one who must understand it and play it.

I am here to help you. Based on what I know and what I have extensively studied, I will do all that I can to help you achieve your musical goals. I am here to answer your questions and help you grow. I love teaching because I love sharing knowledge; As long as your seek it, it is here for you. Otherwise, I'd still love to hear some jokes.

Education -

MUSIC
_Bachelors in Music - 2016 - Guitar Performance (Musicians Institute, CA)
_Associates in Music - 2011 - Guitar Performance (Musicians Institute, CA)
_Major in Music - (Academy for Visual and Performing Arts) - 2008
_Garden of Angels - 2003 - Performance Academy

DANCE
_Krump, Pop-n-Lock - 2012 - (Xtreme)
_Break Dancing - 2011 - (Fun.Krew)
_Traditional Brazilian Dance & Samba - 2014

MARTIAL ARTS
_Capoeira - Current - (Capoeira Batuque with Mestre Amen)
_Wing Tsun - 2013 - (Johnny from the Emin Boztepe School)

ART
_Graffiti - 2011 - (Fun.Krew)
_General Art - 2008 - (AVPA)
_Painting - 2003 - (Garden of Angels)

Much Love,
Azuri Zen M.

*** Lesson Details ***
I'm very disciplined but am also very light hearted. It's important for me to assess things seriously, so that one can understand a topic or piece of information.

I generate my lessons based on the individuals needs and therefore draw from various curriculums, sources and examples, such as : MI curriculum for ear training, Theory, Single string Technique, Reading, Rhythm guitar, Ted Greenes Chord Chemistry, Berklee Guitar Method, as well as The Real Book, other artist books(Eric Clapton, etc.) The Guitar Players Hand Book, Bach pieces and self developed curriculums, relative to the topic at hand and students personal goals, amongst many others.

-Beginning students within three months of consistent lessons should have the ability to solo and playing chords to songs that they are interested in and songs provided in the lesson along with a basic understanding of the major scale and its relationship to all of the diatonic music.

-intermediate students should have an elevated understanding of scale and chord patters along with the theory that explains modal relationships and use of these concepts.

-Advanced students should learn all of diatonic scale shapes and modes assuming they don't already know them in which case their specifically situation will be assessed

-Professional students I expect to have specific questions therefore where they grow should be largely subjective.

Overall, in a short amount of time on a scale of 1 - 10 I expect to in three months at-least elevate a students musical abilities one full point if not more.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Studio in home in private room with guitars, amps, piano, and seating.
Em's studio is family owned cafe with studio in finished basement with an office, recording equipment, and teaching space for acting and guitar.

*** Specialties ***
As a Musician I try and play as many styles and be proficient in as many as possible and therefore can play most. However, in the fields of blues, jazz, funk, flamenco and Latin I excel.

ty of North Texas’s One O’clock lab band in Spring of 2010.

As a Performer:

Andy is accomplished in jazz, classical, rock, r&b as well as well other styles of music. He has performed regularly with several jazz and original groups around the DFW area. He also has performed with and co-produced for recording artists from the Nashville, Miami and Washington D.C. areas. He also currently holds a position at First United Methodist Grapevine as guitarist, singer and part time arranger.

Service:
Andy also strongly believes that service to humanity is of the utmost importance. He has performed for and been a part of many worth while causes such as the Dallas Life Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes, Food For Hunger Organizations, Medi Send, as well as Habitat for Humanity.

ing college before moving to the Bothell store within the same organization. I also began teaching at the Andrew White School of Music around the same time. I teach beginners on both guitar and bass as well as jazz improvisation on guitar.

Jazz is a style of music I specialize in and I teach it like teaching a language as I firmly believe that jazz is a language. I teach improvisation to not only guitar, but to all instruments as the concepts are the same. Improvisation lessons are fun and interactive and challenge you to be creative, which is what art is all about!

My teaching method is very flexible, as I am very aware that students learning styles and goals vary greatly. I am a patient teacher who will work to help put a student in a position to be successful and achieve his or her goals through lesson plans and teaching methods tailored to meet the student's learning style. Seeing students succeed and have fun making progress and improving as a musician brings me a lot of joy!

There is nothing more frustrating for a student than feeling like they're treading water trying to teach themselves. My goal is to make the learning process as fun as possible! One of the ways I do that is giving the student the opportunity to experiment with improvisation and explore the instrument during lessons and for when they practice at home to supplement the more formal training. This helps students develop their own individual sound on the instrument from day one, is fun and interactive, and gives the student the chance to be creative when learning a new instrument..

or free play, are some of the concepts at the core of my teaching style. My strong communication skills are used to dispel any mystery in the instrument, how it works, and making music with it. No matter the skill level of the student, there is always something new to learn or a new way to approach the instrument. I have extensive experience with music production technology including equipment, DAW software, and recording techniques, incorporating these into your lessons if you're interested. I am also versed in synthesizers and sound design.

My lessons are always customized towards the individual, but stress the ability to make music even with very little technique. Building on simple riffs, easy chord changes, and practicing slowly to instill confidence and keep students interested. I often incorporate popular Beatles or Taylor Swift songs to teach chord changes and song form. Working on reading music for piano students and tablature for guitar as well as lead sheets for both. I can also show you how to interpret "cheat sheets," those lyrics with the chords above them that you get from the internet, that are always a little bit wrong.

Having finally reached a place where technique is no longer a hurdle to making music is a reward equal to the amount of time and effort that was required to reach this level of proficiency. I find great joy in showing people of all ages that music can be life-enriching, expanding one’s appreciation of the arts, providing opportunities for new friendships, and creating a sense of accomplishment with every new song learned or skill acquired on a musical instrument.

eve Vai Sam Ash Best in Shred competition.

I find a student's strengths and weaknesses using various ways to encourage each student. I am very patient, kind, flexible, and enthusiastic and I love working with children as much as adults. I strongly support basic skills: sight-reading, pitch and tone.

I have 25 years experience teaching kids and adults guitar. Also performing live and in the studio.

*** Lesson Details ***
My objectives: to help students powerfully communicate through the essence of music and aid the development of children and adults by finding their strengths and weaknesses and to develop their skills and show their musical talents. I emphasize basic skills, good sight-reading, guitar technique, and theory.

Lessons are held at either your home, or mine using composers from various time periods that speaks to the individual student.
Also,I do prefer to work weekly with my students.
A beginner lesson may be 10-15 min. for warm-ups and scales, 10-15 min. theory and rest playtime. In three to six months the student will be able to read sheet music and should be able to perform simple songs.

An intermediate lesson has more focus on music and technique from a specific genre. A specialty is preparation for guitar auditions or doing live or studio gigs.

I enjoy teaching children from age 5 up to adults.

*** Specialties ***
I teach the basic skills very strongly, and also encourage students and challenge them, as well.
I also have new techniques for teaching Electric, Acoustic & CLassical Guitar.
I do prefer to teach a weekly lesson.

with you!!

If your interested in a serious learning experience and having fun in the process, please give me the opportunity to enrich your life with the language of the human race.........the language of music !

ots, and a definite nod towards ambient, dub and world music. His influences bounce from future soul group Hiatus Kaiyote to future dancehall group Major Lazer, with a touch of Jah Wobble in between. West likes to personalize already existing material as a viable form of new expression like in his cover of Thunder. Jesse is known to write more progressive improvised music too, like Twitter Chatter. A song which the great arranger and jazz composer Brent Wallarab helped to write. It begins with a simple motive and mutates over an ever changing form. Like much of West's writing, the composition is grounded in world influences including Brazilian jazz and Afro Cuban music among other things.

Jesse holds a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies from the Jacobs School of Music. He has studied Afro Cuban and Brazilian music with Grammy nominated artists and educators Michael Spiro and Wayne Wallace. West has also studied jazz improvisation with the renown improviser Walter Smith III, and studied improvisation and pedagogy with the legendary educators David Baker and Pat Harbison. Jesse has also studied music technology and and audio engineering. West ran live sound in addition to playing bass for the US Navy Band earning him the prestigious Navy Achievement Medal. He hopes to be an inspiration to aspiring composers who want to find their own voice. West has taught a private studio for over a decade and coached high school bands both in Indiana and California.