Seattle, WA Acoustic Guitar Lessons

all levels from beginner to advanced fingerpicking

Award-Winning Teacher - Networked/played with various members of Heart, Bad Company & Former Queensryche. Learn Your Favorite Songs Quickly & Accurately.

Acoustic Guitar is one of my specialties..

Acoustic guitar is a skill unto itself and requires specific knowledge that is quite different from electric guitar. After several decades of acoustic guitar experience, including teaching at the university level, I'm comfortable with the fact that I can effectively guide you to your desired goal!

Thank you!

Students can expect lessons catered to their unique learning styles, goals, and trajectory. A potential ultimate goal is to help students develop instrumental skills and a musical literacy so they can achieve whatever their musical dreams are.

I have been playing acoustic guitar for eleven years. My styles on the acoustic range from folk to bluegrass to gypsy swing. Acoustic guitar is a great way to start. It builds finger strength better than electric guitar and it teaches beginning students the fundamentals of control.

I teach beginner all the way advanced students who are looking to improve as musicians or learn the guitar from square one. What's most important to me as a teacher is helping you achieve your goals in music. I have a decades plus worth of experience teaching and playing guitar and am currently an active member on the Seattle music scene performing at various venues around town; As an educator, I have 8 years of experience teaching students of all levels and styles and my focus for the student is tailoring lessons to best meet students' goals and putting them in the best possible scenario to achieve them.

For students who have played an instrument prior to our lessons, I try and shape a curriculum entirely based upon the specific goals of the student, and I rarely use text books although I use a lot of exercises and educational material when appropriate.  I feel learning to play and transcribe songs and solos to increase a students self reliance and confidence is my most important job.  Most students come to me looking for structure so I try and provide a clear path to their goals. For students with no prior music experience I use text books, and exercises to strengthen their technique, expose them to musical ideas, and give them a foundation for basic theory.  After that is accomplished I move into a curriculum that is more personal to their specific goals.

A major priority of my guitar teaching is to have students making expressive music every time they touch the instrument.

I begin by working on tone production on the open strings of the guitar, so that students are able to produce a full, beautiful tone on the first day. From there, we study left- and right- hand techniques in the context of real pieces of music, giving students the chance to apply the mechanics of guitar playing to the expression of musical ideas. At the same time, I work with students through progressive studies and warm-up exercises that have built-in expressive goals, so that they can learn to rely on their own ears to further refine their playing.

As I believe that a good guitarist is, first and foremost, a strong musician, I fold a number of diverse activities into weekly lessons, developing skills in music theory, ear training, sight reading, composition, and improvisation, all of which reinforce the acquisition of strong technique.

Hello, I’m Tony. The way I instruct my students is I first find out why the students want to play the guitar. What are their musical interests and what are their main goals. I want my students to feel as though the guitar is a fun instrument and can really make an impact in your life and the people around you.

My lessons begins with my getting to know your objectives with guitar and music in general. That way, I can shape our lessons in a way that will keep you most engaged and help you make the most progress towards your own personal goals. There are many exercises that I personally believe will make anyone a better musician, and I will make that advice available, but if they arn't relevant to your ambition then you will in no way be obligated to fulfill them. These lessons are for your enjoyment, because music should never be a chore. I am personally a proponent of the application of music to investigate mindfulness, study philosophically, and have fun!