Hillsboro, OR Classical Guitar Lessons

Time is spent on exercises, learning songs, and personal projects

I have three degrees in classical guitar. I've studied with many preeminent guitarists; Lily Afshar, Federic Hand and Douglas Niedt

From Bach to Segovia I am ready to help you dive into the vast repertoire of classical pieces. I will give you the proper technique to play intermediate and advanced top shelf studies

My private classes are fun, creative, and highly individualized according to the students abilities, goals and dreams. Students will learn many essential techniques of classical guitar, chords and arpeggios, sight readings, fingerpicking, theory of music and many of their favorite pieces. I also teach my students about the various styles of music, music history, introduce them to famous musicians, composers and performers as well as to help them to develop their own unique style of performance.

I like to format my guitar lessons based on what style of music my students would like to play. We could learn how to hold the guitar and use our fingers in the most efficient ways to build and learn chords, we could be tackling tabs and learning about finger picking techniques, or we could focus on songwriting, song structures, chord families, and theory. Whatever fit your style, you'll be able to play your favorite songs after we work hard together!

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 craft lessons that are tailored to YOUR musical interests, and bring over a decade of teaching experience working with students of all ability levels. I have taught in numerous styles, including blues, folk, jazz, rock, pop, metal, fusion, and classical. I create a sequential curriculum for each student based on your interests, that can include music theory, chord structure, scales, arpeggios, fingerpicking, strumming, and extended techniques including tapping, sweep picking, hybrid picking, harp harmonics, and more. All the while, musicianship and musicality are stressed! I hold Bachelor and Masters degrees in music.

I've been teaching in the Portland Metro area for over 10 years. I am knowledgable with many styles and very experienced with all skill levels. I have an Associate of Science in Music from North Idaho College, as well as musical instruction from the University of Oregon School of Music and Portland State University.

I've taught through Ethos Music Center, Youth Music Project, Chordination, as well as maintain my own studio.

My main objective is to find an angle that will help the student cultivate a love for playing the guitar. I incorporate classical notation as well as reading tablature, playing and understand scales, and helping you execute the style and songs that most interest YOU.

We will also be covering, but not limited to, how to transcribe guitar parts from recorded music, music theory, singing while playing, songwriting and guitar maintenance.

I also regularly perform locally and nationally. Past and present, I play with groups Ages and Ages, Rio Grands, Hockey, ...