Camp H M Smith, HI Blues Guitar Lessons

Learn how to play various types of blues guitar.

Blues style guitar

I have been working as a professional musician since 1987. In that time, I've played many roles alongside a wide range of established and emerging talent, from around the world, including band leader, accompanist, music producer, composer, arranger, co-writer, teacher, coach and mentor. Along the way, I have continued to pursue my passion for education, teaching private music lessons to amateurs, professionals and hobbyists from all walks of life.

I have taught blues guitar lessons, for many years, including classes at the National Guitar Workshop.

It’s always a very special time a guitar student wants to learn about the blues. As an improviser, this is one of my favorite topics to teach.
We will listen to the great blues guitarists, discussing their individual sound and technique. Lots of time will be spent learning scales and basic harmonic principles. Most importantly though, we will jam! It’s not easy at first, but I promise to keep the vibe easy-going and positive.

Kenny has been playing guitar since the age of 14, has received awards and grants from the Canada Council, and is an instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His approach to teaching guitar helps students learn quickly and maximize musical potential.

I'm a guitar player and singer songwriter from Montreal, Canada, have been living in Chicago for five years, and have been playing electric, dobro, and acoustic guitar in the studio and on the stage for 20+ years. I play fingerstyle in a variety of tunings and am also a proficient flatpicker covering folk, bluegrass, electric, blues, and country picking techniques.

Whether you are a songwriter looking to improve your basic skills to perform a wider range of material, or a flatpicker looking to refine your improvisation skills or learn fingerstyle and open tunings, I can help you learn the correct approach to help bring your playing to a new level.

We all have within us, the ability to be an excellent player. ...

My lessons are catered to the individual student. Typically half of the session is spent on technique/fretboard harmony and the other half is spent on learning music/songs. I have found it is best for younger students (12 and under) to learn from a book - for added structure).

A major priority of my guitar teaching is to have students making expressive music every time they touch the instrument.

I begin by working on tone production on the open strings of the guitar, so that students are able to produce a full, beautiful tone on the first day. From there, we study left- and right- hand techniques in the context of real pieces of music, giving students the chance to apply the mechanics of guitar playing to the expression of musical ideas. At the same time, I work with students through progressive studies and warm-up exercises that have built-in expressive goals, so that they can learn to rely on their own ears to further refine their playing.

As I believe that a good guitarist is, first and foremost, a strong musician, I fold a number of diverse activities into weekly lessons, developing skills in music theory, ear training, sight reading, composition, and improvisation, all of which reinforce the acquisition of strong technique.

Guitar lessons with me can be in whatever form you would like to learn. Music Theory, learning to play your favorite songs, learning how to play with musicians, learning how to find a band, learning how to record, learning how to perform in front of people, or any style of learning you want. It’s entirely up to you, my goal is helping you find yourself as an artist or find yourself something to pass the time. It’s up to you.

My style of teaching makes it unique , where I will try to keep the class as fun as possible, try to inspire them to learn guitar with passion and interest. Also, I want to share my knowledge to the best of my abilities, and teach students in a right direction to achieve their goals. I have 8 years of teaching experience, so I have lot of good tricks to learn your favorite thing in Guitar.