Winfield, MO Bluegrass Guitar Lessons

Flat pickin to finger pickin and even chicken pickin!

Lets get pickin!

I hold a Masters Degree in Music, am a certified North Carolina Teacher, and have been playing the guitar for the past 15 years. We will figure out at what level you are currently playing within the first lessons and then decide together what you want to focus on. This is YOUR lesson, and I am here to guide you down the path that you choose.

I am an accomplished guitar player in a variety of genres and have extensive experience with different bands. I studied guitar at Southern Oregon University, and then went on to teach guitar and piano at the Able Music School in Auckland, New Zealand, and with the Musicality Network in Portland, Oregon. I am an actively performing musician and recording artist; in the past, I have played with bands ranging from acoustic rock to punk, jazz to classical, Renaissance to reggae, blue-grass to heavy metal. I am a recent New York transplant, and am looking forward to sharing my love of guitar and piano with a new set of students!

I started teaching private lessons while living in Ashland, Oregon, and have continued teaching private lessons through today. I also taught at the Able Music Studio in Auckland, New Zealand for 2 1/2 years and then through the Musicality Network in Portland, Oregon for 1 year.

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.

I have been teaching music lessons to students of all ages for over 15 years, including private lessons and undergraduate courses. I thoroughly explore all aspects of each exercise or song that I present to my students, highlighting the most important elements and takeaway points. Through a combination of playing songs, music theory, ear training, and personally tailored exercises to fit your needs, we will help you cultivate your instrumental "voice" and playing style.

I believe that learning music should be as fun and inspiring as it can be to play. We all have a vast wellspring of creative energy within us, and the goal of the relationship between the student and the teacher is to help nurture and develop that latent talent. For this reason, my approach to teaching music is highly individualized. I start out with the premise that the student has unique gifts and my job is to help them discover what those are, and develop and refine them in order to make beautiful and deeply satisfying music, through whatever instrument and in whatever style they are drawn towards.

Depending on one's starting level of experience, some basic exercises will be assigned to develop core skills, with increasing levels of technical challenge and complexity. Elements of music theory will be woven into practical lessons. Students will have the choice to incorporate material from popular and familiar music into their studies, and as they progress they will be encouraged to

If you want to be the best guitar player you can be, the first step is to study with someone who not only knows what they are talking about, but has the experience to back it up! My name is Olin Clark and I hold a Masters of Music degree from Michigan state university, as well as performing and touring professionally with jazz, blues, rock, reggae, hip-hop/rap, r'n'b, and pop bands. I have been teaching privately for over seven years, with students aged 4-60! I am educated not only in jazz, but in a multitude of styles of music, and I want to share what I know with dedicated students who love music as much as I do.

I believe that developing a personal relationship with my students is the most important aspect of my effectiveness as their teacher. I prefer to use both aural and visual learning, as well as demonstrating with my instrument and explaining with verbal communication.

Want to learn the blues? Improve your improvisation and learn jazz technique? Maybe you're just getting started and you aren't ready to make a huge investment yet. You have come to the right place. I am a guitar teacher, blues and jazz are my Forte but I can play just about anything from classic broadway to hard rock on the guitar. I love to form lessons around my students and what they need. My approach to guitar starts with basic music theory and ear training. This will help students understand patterns and structure in music and allow them to communicate with musicians onstage. From there lessons become about what you want and how I can help you improve your technique. So if you're ready to start learning waste no time and sign up for a lesson today. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.