Guitar with Ryan H.

I am a professional guitarist and I perform with the popular Northwest Gypsy Jazz group, Pearl Django. I also am a founding member of Zazou, a Seattle based swing sextet and have my own trio that I play with as well. I’m just crazy about the guitar, you can ask my wife, and I love teaching guitar almost as much as I love playing it. My goal as a teacher is to help people reach their musical potential and have fun at the same time. I have been giving private lessons for the past ten years, and in addition to lessons, I offer workshops and clinics at festivals, in schools and with the Seattle Jazz Guitar Society. My specialty is jazz and swing, particularly Gypsy Swing and performing these styles is how I make my living, but I have a solid foundation and years of experience playing in rock, blues and pop dance bands as well as playing and studying American folk music styles like ragtime, bluegrass and acoustic blues. I am a self taught musician for the most part and am well aware of the common stumbling blocks and pitfalls that aspiring musicians often run into, particularly those learning on their own or through private lessons, and I know how to overcome those challenges having faced them myself. I know first hand how much time, effort, discipline and perseverance it takes to become an accomplished musician. *** Lesson Details *** I focus on the student’s musical goals in designing my student's lessons, whether the student wants to learn to accompany themselves singing, play contemporary pop tunes, flashy rock riffs, wailing blues licks, or study challenging jazz theory. I can teach standard notation, tablature for those who wish to learn to read music and I’m happy to work with students who prefer to learn by ear. I’m sympathetic to the fact that people learn in many different ways and I enjoy creating lessons suited to an individual’s learning style. *** Studio Equipment *** Amplifier, extra guitar for student use, computer, recording equipment, metronome, tuner, music stand, learning materials *** Travel Equipment *** computer, metronome, tuner, music stand, learning materials *** Specialties *** I teach various popular music guitar styles: rock, blues, jazz and folk. I specialise as a performer in Gypsy Jazz and swing jazz guitar and also as a teacher of that genre for students who are specifically interested in that style.