Purdys, NY Guitar Lessons

I have a Bachelor's degree in Jazz Guitar Performance from SUNY New Paltz, so you might say I know my way around the fret board.
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I will teach you to sing and play your favorite songs and write your own!

All styles - pop, rock, jazz, funk, classical, etc. Reading, writing and ear training.

I tried to teach guitar in the same manner in which I teach every instrument. First I teach students the rudiments of the instrument. Also I teach them how to read and a bit of music theory. From that point I like to follow the students lead. They bring in songs that they would like to learn, or possibly how to play lead guitar, or how to finger pick. At every point I try to point out general aspects of music that need to be learned from the material that they choose.

I started playing acoustic guitar when I was seven years old. I have been playing and teaching mostly bluegrass, old time, Irish, blues, and swing jazz styles for many years. I have taught both privately and have also done various workshops at festivals. I have taught guitar multiple years for instance at the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival in PA.
My students learn to have fun with music. Students can work on rhythms, melodies, improvisation, song writing, getting into and/or hanging on in a jam session, etc.

Dedicated, patient teacher. Email, video,audio recording support.
custom backing tracks and handouts.

Take lessons to learn guitar, music theory, reading music, and many other musical skills. I specialize in solo guitar, improvisation, finger-style guitar, arranging, music theory and knowledge of various styles of music.
Learn to play rock, jazz, blues, Latin, Brazilian, Classical, pop, reggae, folk, metal, really anything!
Music should be fun to play and learn, which is the focus of my teaching method.
I look forward to meeting and helping you to become a better musician!

The student will be instructed on the basics of proper playing techniques, music theory, and musicianship. They will learn to read music and also play by ear which will make them a well rounded player.

The first thing I do when I meet a student is to interview the student and find out why they want to learn how to play the guitar and what are some of their goals. Then I find out what style of music they would like to learn. I have the student come up with ten songs they would like to learn. I take this information and structure future guitar lessons around the essential elements of these songs. I design each lesson to teach the specific skills required to learn those songs. I create an organized binder guitar workbook and having a teaching degree I create all of the lessons to meet each students individual needs that include lessons on theory, technique, chords, rhythm, scales, arpeggios, songs, song form, and exercises etc. I use a color coded method to teach scales, chords and theory that I created that help students not only understand scales but also they are able to see visually where chords come from. I break down each song into easy digestible parts so students can learn a ...

We'll cover what we need to in order to get you playing your instrument. Guitar is a combination of physically playing the instrument and having your hands been in shape, mentally know the possibilities of what you could play on you instrument, using and trusting your ear to create music, and doing it with a great sense of time and feeling the time/tempo and playing with great feel and different rhythms. We will cover various aspects and get you playing and understanding what you're doing on the instrument so that you will have a great foundation and most importantly be able to play with confidence.