In the last decade, I’ve logged a million miles and thousands of hours of playing time as a sideman for bluegrass and acoustic acts. I’ve applied my talents to award-winning projects with top artists, adding fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and often vocals, to these albums. I've been so pleased to carry this background experience into my work as a teacher of these stringed instruments. It's such a great value to be able to answer what questions people have about the professional touring life! When involved in any part of the musical realm, it quickly becomes evident that everyone is unique in their learning style, and we all have an equally unique set of goals for our own music. My goal is to meet students where they are and guide them to a high level of enjoyment and understanding of the music they play. My wish is to give you a command of your instrument that you can confidently take anywhere, to any setting! On all instruments offered, I show students new skills through tunes and songs and add new variations to exercise ability and stretch the imagination. On the way, I strive to aid and challenge the development of students' ears in light, constructive ways. We’ll walk through the fundamentals together and go over techniques and exercises that help musicians get the most out of an instrument. We’ll listen in detail to the tone and quality of the music we produce, and adjust lesson material to the areas that will most benefit the student. And, we’ll focus on becoming stress and tension free players, creating clear paths for the music that you mean to play. I enjoy helping people enter new circles and find fulfillment collaborating with other musicians. These environments are where you'll have the opportunity to apply principles learned in formal instruction, and more importantly, where you get to create your own voice! Expect to hear some advice from me on being a team player... I’m always happy to provide quality tablature and other forms of notation when appropriate and have taught many the basics of the Nashville Number System. Yet, I do believe acquiring the skill of simply 'hearing and doing' to be a key milestone in the path to musical freedom, and I tend to devote some time to nurturing this trait. With practice and diligence, you can play anything you hear!