Guitar with Shane S.

Welcome to Penny Lane! Over the last ten years I’ve had the privilege of teaching in several private lessons studios, countless public schools in the Chicago metro area and built an online community of students around the country. What I’ve found time and time again is having a defined lesson curriculum, combined with flexibility and patience has yielded me consistent results in helping guitar students and retaining clients for years. As a private lessons instructor I’ve helped hundreds of students grow their playing abilities using a step-by-step approach aimed at making growth fun, yet challenging under the surface. My lessons have put me in the practice room with curious five year olds, structural engineers, students with learning or physical disabilities, doctors, the coolest Australian family, teenagers, combat veterans with PTSD, full-time musicians and so many others. Through teaching a wide variety of students I’ve learned that being flexible is one of the single greatest skills a teacher must have. Generally, students learn differently and at a varied pace, so my approach is to adapt to the student rather than being rigid. Through my work as an educator in Chicago Public Schools I am tasked each year with creating engaging curriculums suited for elementary students in general music, guitar and rock band style classes. Teaching in a group setting has taught me the value in classroom management and being able to sell the “musical vegetables” to younger students who might not understand why we’re repeating the same exercise. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing a group of 3rd graders crush “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin. In addition to my pedagogical approach to teaching, I am aware some students simply want to learn songs they like and aren’t interested in learning from a solely fundamental standpoint. I am, of course, happy to teach with this in mind. Whether the lesson is taking place at your Chicago home or online, I think you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll go from learning how to hold a pick properly to full songs, scales, solos and to getting up onstage for the first time. I am currently taking on new students from ages 6 (younger on a case-by-case basis) and up. Reach out and let’s get an introductory lesson on the books! All the best, Shane Skidmore