Banjo, Guitar & Music Theory Lessons

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. My most common types of jobs are giving private and group lessons for banjo, guitar, musical theory and ensemble performance. I also teach art and architecture. Being acquainted with these arts along with poetry and literature allows me to draw metaphors and analogies to increase musical comprehension.

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

A. Talk to the instructor on the telephone first and then come in for a trial lesson. Travelling a further distance to the right teacher is definitely worth it. Taking a lesson for an hour can be more beneficial than only a half hour. Practicing during the week to preparefor the next lesson is extremely beneficial. I also ask potential students to identify the musical styles that they love and want to learn. An instructor must be a great listener because that is what music is mainly about.

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

A. I would want to know how musically creative the instructor would be as heard through his or her ability to improvise and explain the theory behind it.
I would also want to be inspired by the instuctor's enthusiasm and awareness about how essential music making was to his or her life. This would be made even more evident by the teacher's active involvement in composition and performance involvement both solo and in ensembles. I would want to feel completely comfortable with my imagination and be inspired to create my own music and seek an ensemble of my own at the right time.

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

A. I teach musical composition with reference to theory, different styles, and language as well as the technical aspects of playing the banjo and guitar. I also focus on good posture and interesting excercises to enhance the fingering technique in both the right and left hands. I will spend additonal time as necessary to ensure an inspired commitment to playing the instrument to its full capacity through sensitive encouragement and by playing original and popular songs in the styles that the student is interested in performing. The banjo and guitar are capable of playing music in a most beautiful and haunting manner and my passion for the music that I compose and play is guaranteed to cause the student to discover and undauntingly pursue his or her own music confidently and passionately in a way that is just as they had imagined at the onset.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I love to find ways to inspire the student to become musical as well as versatile on the instrument of their choice. It is satisfying to discover new ways to have the pupil overcome the barriers whether it is finger and hand flexibility, posture and breathing, or any lack of confidence in his or her natural abilities. I also like to discover new music by working on songs that the pupil wants to learn and then together make performing that music a reality with the intent of developing a repertoire that we pursue together. By playing this music together, the student can benefit from an ensemble as well as solo experience in musical performance and composition.

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

A. Students want to know how long it will take to become acomplished on the instrument. I tell them that it is dependant on their committment on practicing and applying elementary theory on a good sounding instrument. Once the technique and posture is down and a good tone can be produced, the pace of learning the instrument stsarts to accelerate. Our selection of music that inspires the student also increases the rate of learning.
Students may ask what is the best instrument to buy. I help the student select an instrument to buy and assist in having any adjustments made to the instrument to make it easier and more comfortable to play. This also accelerates the learning process.

Students may ask about the easiest way to hold chords down or how to finger pick or strum and I encourage them to learn with baby steps so that their hands dance across the strings and fretboard free of having to support the instrument.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. Playing various musical instruments and then composing or performing with others gives me my greatest joy in life. Although I also was professionally employed as an architect and draw very well, the banjo and guitar especially was always there to not only soothe my jangled nerves but to take me into a total world of creative expression in story telling through music. As I began to give lessons and teach classes, I realized that my enthusiasm in sharing and listening to my students was providing me with the same degree of happiness. Noticing how my students became inspired and more musical made the sun shine ever so brightly.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Playing in a musical ensemble with weekly committments for rehearsing challenging music is a wonderful source of learning. My involvement in a band in which I play banjo along with female and male vocals, guitar, and bass has enhanced my ability to listen and know when to come forward and when to play with restraint and support. Although we may follow a set chord progression, we retain our spontaneity through improvisation and dialogue while playing in tempo with feeling and sensitivity. Continuing education in musical composition for film, poetry, and other temporal arts is also beneficial.