Guitar Lessons

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. The best advice to give anyone considering taking up any instrument is firstly to ask yourself how serious am I about learning, how dedicated am I willing to be, how much time am I willing to dedicate to practicing to overcome the hurdles you're going to face, and how good do I want to become as a player. Some people just want to learn basic chords and just be able to fiddle around on an accoustic guitar and learn some basic songs they may enjoy. Others have the desire to truly become a serious player with serious skills to match. This one takes serious dedication, numerous hours of tedious practice, and the tenacity to never give up and the drive to overcome the challenges involved in training your hands and mind until playing becomes second nature. The eventual rewards are well worth the effort it takes to get to this level. But any level you strive to be at is ok if that's what makes you happy. Not everyone has the desire to become an expert lead guitar player, whether it be rock, country, or whatever style you're into. Many are content to just learn chords and be able to write their own tunes. Everyone is different in their desires and goals musically. I personally wanted to become an expert lead guitar player that could improv over any style of music and do it at a level above and beyond average. Thanks be to God for blessing me with a natural talent for guitar and the ability to reach the level I always dreamed of. I can now look back on players I once idolized growing up who inspired me to become the best I could be, and I have since become a better player than the guys I idolized. We all have different talent levels and goals we want to meet in the type of player we want to become. There is no right or wrong with playing music regardless of your instrument of choice. We are all unique in our talents and abilities so follow what's in your heart and strive to become the best at what interests you most whether that desire is to be the most smoking lead guitar player that ever walked the face of the earth, or a great rhythm player with mad songwriting skills who can write riffs and use chords like nobodys business. Do and use what God has instilled in you, discover your strengths, realize your weaknesses, and build upon your strongest points and what you ultimately want to be as a player.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Don't shy away from the basic theory of scales, modes, and chord construction and how all of these things blend together. For intermediate to advanced players who have neglected to take the time to fully learn the basic theory about modes and how they correlate to chord construction, just know that this alone will improve your understanding and ultimately your abilites ten fold. And the good news is that it's not as complicated as people often beleive it will be. The best advice I could give a serious player would be to learn the 7 basic modes which are Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolean, and Locrian. With this knowledge alone you can play lead guitar over any style of music just by selecting the proper mode for the type of chord progression being played over. It's all a matter of training your ear on the mood of each mode whether happy sounding as in a major scale, which is the Ionian mode, or sad sounding, which most commonly is the minor scale or Aeolean mode. The other modes listed also fit over these "happy" or "sad" sounding chord progressions, but they give a different type of mood and stand out from the standard major and minor scales most widely used by players in rock music, or country etc. Blues scales are the least complicated scales to learn, but they are really a tapered down version of either the minor/Aeolean mode, or the major/Ionian mode. Most rock players use the minor pentatonic (or blues scale), and country players use the major pentatonic (also blues scale). The cool thing about it is that these are exactly the same scales. The only difference is which note you choose as your root which determines the mood of the tone based on the chord progression being played over. This subject requires experimentation by playing along with one of your favorite bands music and improvising lead playing using these modes, or pentatonic scales, to truly get the feel, sound, and idea of what sounds right with any given style of music.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Because I have a natural talent for music, guitar in particular, and I've worked hard to gain the knowledge I have.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. Passing on a lifetime's worth of knowledge to others and seeing them benefit from it.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. What are your rates? $15 per half hour, or $25 for an hour
Who are your influences? Van Halen, Nuno Bettencourt, Blues Saraceno, Warren DeMartini, Steve Lukather