Private Electric Guitar tutoring lessons Studley, VA.

"I have been taking guitar lessons with Nick Russo since February 2018. In my opinion, Nick Russo is a terrific musician and an outstanding teacher. He is an active gigging musician with an encyclopedic knowledge of music theory and music history and is well-versed in various types of music including,but not limited to classical, jazz, metal, folk, world music, etc., etc. Nick comes from a musical family and is very passionate about music, and this comes accross loud and clear in his lessons.He lives and breathes music.

I came to Nick after taking lessons for several years with another teacher. I liked this teacher very much, and the lessons only ended because the teacher moved to another geographic location. Although I did like this teacher, the lessons were starting to get stale and repetitious. When I started working with Nick that feeling was turned around. Lessons with Nick are very stimulating and interesting. Although Nick knows sight reading and theory well, he places a great emphasis on aural (ear) training. I have worked with him learning intervals, scales and songs, using my ears instead of my head. It’s a little hard to explain, but it’s a very organic kind of way to learn music. You learn the instrument more intuitively and I have had a number of’ “aha” moments when some pattern or connection or aspect of theory makes sense in a deep way. In the time that I’ve worked with Nick, my knowledge of the fretboard, and my ability to figure things out by ear has improved tremendously although I still have a long way to go.

Nick is also an incredibly kind and compassionate person, and he has shown a great deal of patience when working with me. If I don’t understand something he will try to break it down or present it in such a way that it finally makes sense to me. He has also worked a lot with me on my technique, and has tried to help me play more efficiently and ergonomically. Earlier in my guitar playing career, I developed

tendonitis in my left hand from playing. In addition, I have chronic lower back problems. Nick has made numerous helpful suggestions so that I don’t exacerbate these problems or injure myself again. One suggestion that was particularly helpful was to use a bass guitar strap for my electric guitar. Because the bass strap is much wider than a regular guitar strap, the weight is more evenly distributed across my back, resulting in less back strain.

I began my lessons with Nick face-to-face, but this changed to video due to the coronavirus pandemic. We utilize Skype and it seems to work pretty well, although there’s no substitute for meeting in person. Nick seems very adept at working in this modality. For example, he will have me position the camera so he can see how I am playing something. He will also provide close-ups of his own fingering to show me how he is playing something. In addition, Nick sends his students notes regarding the most salient points of each session. This is something he did even prior to the pandemic. Nick allows me to audio tape the sessions, and when I am able to go through the tape I gain an even deeper understanding of whatever was covered.

In short I feel that Nick is great person and a terrific teacher and that I was very lucky to have found him. I would recommend him to anyone with no reservation."

"Greg taught my son Daniel. Daniel came a long way during his lessons with Greg. Good teacher."

"Greg is a knowledgeable and seasoned musician who does his best to teach and inspire other individuals. Money and time well spent!"

"Nils has been working with our son for a little over the past month, and we are very happy in finding such a talented teacher. Our son has some music background, having taken some guitar instruction in the past, so Nils was pretty quick to pick up on where he is musically and right off the bat work how to adjust to his needs. His lessons are a good mix of theory and application, and we can see how they (the lessons) are progressing in terms of complexity and reach. While we, the parents, are very happy to let them work out the lessons themselves, Nils has taken great care in keeping us in the loop, and we certainly appreciate that as parents. Certainly looking forward to how these guys progress!"