MARK CAVINESS Personalized ONLINE Guitar Lessons

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Introduction: “I Can Help You Learn Guitar!” in the simplest way.My specialty is “Personalized Guitar Lessons”and I have taught thousands of Guitar Lessons in Los Angeles,CA. and Nashville ,TN. and Online too. I have a lot of patience and experience and can help you to advance much quicker than you can by yourself. (You may find that you can get a sense of what I’m about as an Instructor by reading the Reviews on this page about me from present and previous Students.) I am a former Guitar Instructor at Musician’s Institute (Guitar Institute of Technology) in Los Angeles,CA. and have also taught at numerous music stores. I am currently teaching ONLINE Only and really want to help you learn what you want to learn. I teach all styles of Lead and Rhythm Electric and Acoustic guitar including Classic Rock(Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc.) Blues, Fingerstyle (Landslide,Stairway to Heaven,etc) Country,Jazz,Folk,etc. I encourage people to suggest songs that they like.. I can listen to it and figure it out and then show you your favorite riffs or the chords and rhythm etc..I can have you playing the basic parts to “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd pretty quickly or another song or riff. I knew Ed King guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd who wrote and played the great guitar parts on Sweet Home Alabama. He showed me how to play some parts of it correctly. He heard me play “I Know a Little” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and sent me a message that “my version beat his version!!”I was thrilled to get that from him!!! (You can hear me play it on this site under videos). I have Great Reviews on Thumbtack. I'm very flexible to accommodate different people’s schedules.. afternoons, evenings,etc. can be worked out..I have a lot of experience and enjoy teaching. I recommend weekly 30 minute lessons if you have not been playing long and 1 hour lessons for intermediate and more advanced players. I want the lessons to be enjoyable for both of us :) I look forward to working with you! Mark I like meeting new people.. and seeing the different ways that people learn.. sometimes theres more than one right way to do something.. I promote individuality in your guitar playing...Thanks! Mark

Overview

Hired 3 times

Background checked

25 years in business

Payment methods

This pro accepts payments via PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle.

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Reviews

Customers rated this pro highly for work quality, professionalism, and value.

Exceptional 5.0

11 reviews

100%

BB B.

Dec 28, 2011

I am one of Mark's older students. I decided to learn to play guitar a little late in life. I actually ran into Mark while purchasing my guitar, so when I found out he taught lesson, I decided to give him a try, and contacted him for a lesson. I explained to him that I have no musical background. Can't even read music, but Mark told me it is not too late, and don't worry about reading music right now. He taught me tablature, so I was able to play the intro to Sweet Home Alabama during our first lesson. I've been taking guitar lessons with Mark for the last year. I really enjoy them. Mark makes learning easy. He is comfortable to be around, and he keeps the pace at your level. Mark is very encouraging to his students. He is great at listening to a song, and showing you how to play it at your skill level. He even got me to play the electric guitar a few weeks ago, which I had no desire to do. (I prefer the sweet sound of the acoustic guitar.) To my surprise, I actually liked it. The lessons are pretty much about you. Mark will ask if you had any problems with something you learned in the last lesson and take the time to work on it more with you, or encourage you to try a different song, which will teach more chords, or how to be more efficient on finger movement. If you have a favorite song, Mark will help you learn to play it. Mark is a walking guitar encyclopedia, and really knows and understands music! Mark is very flexible and accommodating with his appointments. My lessons are usually around 8:30pm due to my work schedule, which is great for me. I would definitely recommend Mark as an instructor!

Lance M.

Apr 18, 2013

Finding Mark as a guitar teacher was a blessing! I had a strong desire about 2 years ago to learn guitar. I got inspired while backpacking around Central and South America. I met tons of people from all over the world with diverse cultures and languages. Seemed that everyone though shared the love and language of music. Communication through sound! I came back and got a guitar teacher. I was with him for 6 months and basically wanted to quit because of his teaching methods and energy. Then I found Mark! Mark reinvigorated my desire to learn guitar out first lesson when I hit a power cord to "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones. Mark's mellow nature gives him a lot of patience and will put any beginner at ease. He also likes to challenge me which has advanced me faster than i could have imagined. Guitar has become a full on passion for me. 2 thumbs up for my man Mark!!!

Joe R.

Jul 30, 2020

I began my guitar lessons with another instructor initially. That first instructor told me, “to be this good ( he began to show me his skill level with a quick riff) I needed to start when I was 12 years old.” Not the most skillful way to inspire a 57 year old student who left his ego outside the door, leave behind the “air guitar” that we all played growing up, to begin a musical journey to play a real guitar! He also challenged me to learn about ten or more chords before our next lesson. I was so frustrated because I couldn’t remember all of them as I was practicing, so I called the music coordinator to assign me another instructor. I told her, I could not learn this way... Mark was assigned to me... Thank goodness! Lesson #1 At our first meeting while getting to know each other, he asked me if I liked the song “Sweet home Alabama”. “Of course”, I said! So he wrote down the chords for me to take home and began to teach me the intro to that song. I went home to practice what he taught me for the following week.. Lesson #2.... As I was proudly showing him the little progress I made, he began to play “the other guitar” in that song along while I was playing. Wow! I stopped playing and looked at him and said, “WE’RE PLAYING TOGETHER”! This is the second lesson and I’m already playing music with someone!!! THAT was a moment I will never forget! I am so glad I recognized very early on that the first instructor was not going to work out for me. Mark has made learning a fun and enjoyable experience! I told a friend of mine who has been playing the guitar for over 40 years that I’ve been taking guitar lessons. His reply was, “what a wonderful gift you’ve given yourself”. The experience learning with Mark could not be expressed any better than to say he has given me the gift of music! Thank you eternally.....

MARK CAVINESS Personalized ONLINE Guitar Lessons's reply

Thank you Joe for the kind words! You are very passionate about learning guitar and a very quick learner too. That’s a Great combination. I can hear your musicality developing more each lesson. I enjoy working with you! I may know more about guitar than you but I will leave the flying commercial passenger jets up to you since you are a very experienced Pilot! LOL!

Sandy S.

Dec 29, 2011

Mark Caviness is an amazing guitarist, and a wonderful teacher. I have studied guitar with Mark for a couple of years, and have found him to be a very patient and considerate instructor. He allows me to work at my own pace, and is very professional. It's also great that he can teach any style of music, so whether you prefer classic rock, heavy metal, blues, or country, you will be able to work on the type of music that motivates you. I would definitely recommend Mark as a guitar instructor. ss

Audra H.

Apr 17, 2013

As an adult student, I've enjoyed working with Mark immensely. He is laid-back and fun...and yet still challenges me to improve on a weekly basis. He's also flexible and great at tailoring my lessons around my own personal style and goals as a musician. I highly recommend him!!!

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Mark Caviness

FAQs

What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
My fee is $30 for half hour lessons,$45 for forty-five minutes and $55 for one hour lessons payable thru Venmo, Zelle or Paypal. Once a student feels comfortable and gets into a groove they may find it easier to pay for all the upcoming lessons once a month instead of paying for each lesson one at a time.
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I get an idea what level they're at by talking with them. Then I like to find out what style of music, songs and artists a person likes so I know what is interesting for them. I help students learn the styles, riffs and songs etc. that they want to learn..That's what makes people want to learn guitar..it should be fun..I encourage people to tell me their favorite songs and I can listen to it and learn it right then and show it to them..I do this all the time! I also teach music theory if desired and the different techniques of playing guitar.. I like and teach all styles. Classic rock is very popular. And then some people also want to learn how to improvise or jam over blues, rock or country, etc. I want to help people improve their guitar playing..
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I am a Former Guitar Instructor at the world renown Musician’s Institute (Guitar Institute of Technology) in Los Angeles,CA. I have taught thousands of lessons in Los Angeles,CA. and Nashville TN. which is the city I live in.I have taught at many music stores. I have performed live in many band and solo situations. The largest concert I played was in front of 30,000 people. I also have Studio recording experience and wrote the music for several documentaries that were aired on A&E. I spend a lot of time writing my own music as an artist and spend a lot of time on my vocals. I studied Vocal technique for 1 1/2 years with a Classical voice coach. I was a Volunteer Guitar Instructor for 3 years at a music school for low income youth called W.O. Smith Music school on 8th Ave. in Nashville where a background check is required so I have had that done there as well as for thumbtack.

MARK CAVINESS Personalized ONLINE Guitar Lessons

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