Audio Engineering with Mark M.

The most important thing about playing guitar is having fun. Knowing how to play popular songs, jam with other musicians, and create your own songs helps you have the most fun possible. With Covid-19 still a concern, many students (and their parents) prefer video lessons. To make sure you get the most out of your lessons I use OBS software, with multiple cameras, and Neck Diagrams software to illustrate fingerings and musical concepts. With the ability to record and review your lessons, this can really be a great option instead of in person sessions. Learning the guitar can be a lifetime journey of exploration. Choosing a teacher is very important. I like to start with learning about the student to get an idea of their abilities and interests. When you really want to learn something, you need to approach an expert in that field. I like to say I've been learning to play the guitar for over 40 years now. No matter how much you've learned there's always more. How far you go on that journey is up to you, but I can help give you a start and the tools to go as far as you'd like. Even great guitarists have mentors that help push them to be better players. I still remember that first time I heard an electric guitar, a Fender Telecaster on a Twin Reverb, way back in 1978. I had been playing clarinet for 5 years before picking up a guitar. This gave me a great foundation in music and discipline. Besides playing guitar, I've run a recording studio, record label, and publishing business. I've played on TV and radio as well as a wide variety of live gigs. I was originally inspired by listening to blues by Mance Lipscomb and Muddy Waters with a desire to play guitar, but I quickly fell in love with Rock'n Roll and the electric guitar. I was lucky enough to hear the classic song's of the '70s before they were classics and had them imprinted in my receptive ears. I was their student and they were my teacher. I was living near Santa Cruz and doing a lot of coffee shop gigs when I met Bob Brozman, considered the master of National resonators, and became inspired to learn more about finger picking and slide from him. When I started my record label I worked with an old blues artist, Robert Lowery, that further deepened my knowledge of country blues. Before the digital era, when you made a copy of something, the quality was never the same as the original, though it may be good. By the time you copied the copy of a copy, it got completely lost. The same can be said about music: the energy of the original songs that inspired covers and variations gets diluted. You've got to connect the roots with the leaves to make them alive. There are hordes of guitarists that can dutifully copy other music they hear and present it nicely. Those that can also create original music and play their instrument in an original style are much rarer. Beginner or experienced, let me help you get more out of your journey learning the guitar.