Guitar with Adam G.

I am from the Woodridge, IL area, and my strengths lie in guitar performance, songwriting, and music theory. I have a strong education and performance background as well as two years of private lesson instruction experience. *** Lesson Details *** I am generally interested in helping the student reach his/her goals as a guitar player or songwriter, as well as encourage a better understanding of music theory and how it applies to the music he/she wants to make. My lessons mainly focus on technique, music theory, and song structures. I also am flexible enough to accommodate children's needs, and I aim to make every lesson enjoyable for students of all ages. I am the perfect instructor for the beginning guitarist, or for an experienced player who wants to add more music theory knowledge to their fretboard or better develop his/her songwriting skills. My lessons generally follow this formula: 1. Warm-Up = exercises that develop better technique, dexterity, and coordination. 2. Study = learning about scales/modes, chord progressions, chord charts, musical notation, and theoretical concepts that further the student's skill on his/her instrument as well as developing better musicianship in general. 3. Songs = selected by myself, the parents, and/or the student. This is meant to give the student a better context for his/her "study" assignments, as well as add a level of fun to the lesson. *Please note that this formula is based on my general practice, and I will tailor the formula to accommodate the student's needs and the parent's wishes. *** Studio Equipment *** Lessons take place in living room with keyboard, guitar, amp, chords, music stand, etc. 1 cat and designated parking for "guests". *** Travel Equipment *** I bring to the lessons my guitar, music stand, tuner, capo, workbook, tabs, lesson sheets, worksheets, iPod, iPod player, and amp/chord (for electric guitar). I expect the students to have a functional guitar, pick, replacement strings, and amp/chord (if needed for electric guitar). *** Specialties *** As a guitarist with more than fifteen years playing experience, I have a strong background in songwriting and rock guitar structures, as well as an education background in composition, theory, and performance. I have recently graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Music degree, earning a 3.8/4.0 GPA overall. In addition to my academic courses at Columbia, I studied guitar performance under Fernando Jones (renowned Chicago blues guitarist), conducting under Bart Bradfield (conductor of the Columbia College Chorus), and composition under Marcos Balter (prolific contemporary composer).