Introduction: Spring into a free Zoom introduction session. We can discuss your ideal lesson plan & I'll show you how I can animate PDF's, fingerboards & writes TABs on-screen just for you as we speak. ( great for visual learners!).
Zoom makes it so easy to build your own library of digital documents:
Animated PDF’s, Tabs, MP3, videos, all yours to learn from for years to come.
Two basic systems to understand:
-How Music Works
-How the Guitar works
Those 2 broad subjects are broken down into the “5 Pillars of Making Music”:
MUSIC THEORY (How Music works, how chords, melodies & songs are built)
EAR TRAINING ( Recognise sounds&Patterns, Proper Voice training)
TECHNIQUE ( "Stolen" from your chosen songs: Flat or Finger-Picking/Strumming/Rhythm/Lead, Slide)
CREATIVITY (Style, Expression, Arrangement, Improvisation, tell a story on the guitar. )
PERFORMING.( Getting ready to share your music: recording or live)
My job is to create fun games that teach those subjects. You grow your musicianship while having Fun. If learning is boring, it just won’t happen.
I find that that is true for most.
You can keep on reading, or just contact me for a free consultation/lesson. You 'll be able to see why some of my in-person students said" Your Zoom lessons might actually be better!". It is pretty cool to write music on screen, or draw&animate maps of the guitar neck, while we talk.
That is is short story. Keep on reading for more details or just go ahead and contact me (any questions at all are welcome!)....Looking forward! Bertrand
I offer a unique, innovative approach to growing musicianship on the guitar. My system teaches not just guitar but how music basically works for any style. A step by step discovery makes it fun. It is flexible enough to welcome the student's own taste, personality, ideas, learning styles- and age too. Traditional styles like Blues, Country, Folk, Ragtime, Swing, Classical can be explored. Skills like sight-reading, ear-training can be added to the mix. In terms of techniques: finger-style, pick-style, strumming and even slide guitar can be developed with songs picked by the student. Cross-training can really be fun. In the end, I believe a good assignment strikes a good balance between being challenging and rewarding. You can see where it leads and that alone makes it exciting.
My Porte Sq studio (02140) has parking and is a walk to the Red Line. It is small but you can use there acoustics, electrics & amps, borrow from my music& books library. I also offer recording options
The big idea here is to free up the student's personal expression on the guitar. ("Learn the rules to better break 'em!")
Imagine that there is no obstacle between your playing and your feelings. Imagine that you can express how you feel freely and eloquently on the guitar. My job is to help you get closer to that ideal.
I want to mention that Self-teaching is great. "Stealing" from the greats t is a great thing to do. So is noodling around, daydreaming on the guitar, not knowing what you are doing. Much good can come from those activities. We can talk about how and why. So keep those going, at any stage, & whether you have a teacher or not.
So here how I break it down to three basic parts to work with:
1) How music works (theory, how pitches are organised, the musical alphabet. I have designed my own maps and worksheet to help make sense of it all.)
2) How does theory show up on the guitar (theory turned into real sounds you can recognise, identify by ear, by feelings and relate to songs you've heard. Ear training, (use your voice even if you don't want to sing in public) chords and melody start to tell a story, visual learners recognise shapes. You start to "hear in colour".
3) How to play with the flow ( Ergonomics, technique, body, breath, posture)
Focusing on those 3 things absolutely leads to growing your musicianship.
I have been working for years on a unique workbook. The one book that was missing in my collection, one that put it all together.
Right now it is a binder with maps, worksheets, grids, that helps the student stick to the plan.
At the same time, welcomes any spur of the moment ideas, songs to quote or cover. With a binder, you can add and enrich the book with your own creativity. We file those ideas in the right spot so in the end, the students end up with a very personal lesson plan and workbook.
It has been an absolute joy so far, and it keeps getting better.
It is never boring since it is never the same. All of my students are unique and I teach to that uniqueness. I do not believe in the "One size fits all" formula, though I have developed my own set of "secret recipes" that I tweak to the personality and taste of the individual in front of me. Since I offer various directions, a unique lesson plane can be devised. Also, I do recommend theory for the guitar program. It is a workbook ( binder) that teaches how the music system works, and how it shows up on the guitar. you get a solid foundation applicable for any style you choose to develop.
