Terry Tschaekofske

Introduction: Private guitar lessons tailored to your strengths, weaknesses, and goals. Beginner to advanced, if you want to improve your playing, I want to help. - Beginning to advanced - All ages - Rock - all styles: Progressive, metal, and more - Blues - Jazz - Finger style and chord melody I specialize in: Technique The better your technique is, the more you will be able to do musically. Learn tricks and tips to help improve your technique, and thus your playing. Theory Want to write your own songs, improvise your own solos, or just understand what you are playing? Learn theory and increase your understanding of music. Knowledge of theory is a vital tool for musicians. Study basic to advanced principles. Improvising The art of creating a great solo or a cool improvised vamp is one that will dramatically increase your musicianship and knowledge of the fretboard. Learn basic licks and understand how and when to use them. Increase your awareness of rhythm, melody, and harmony. Study chord scale relationships, develop lead techniques, and apply them to your solos. Sight Reading Sight reading is an important skill that many players overlook. I strongly suggest my students to learn to read. If they choose not to, then I won't push it. However, if you want to be a serious musician, then sight reading is a must. Over 30 years of private teaching has allowed me to develop a method of teaching the skill of reading music that anyone can learn. It is easy, fun, and covers a variety of styles. The program covers the entire fretboard, encourages creativity, and helps with improvising. Finger Style and Chord Melody are two of the most rewarding styles to play, and when combined with an acoustic guitar, it becomes a natural experience that helps one become closer to the instrument. Play finger picking accompaniments or study the elusive chord melody style. Learn basic finger picking patterns and simple classical techniques, move on to inversions to create smooth voice leading, and add walking bass lines, drones, lead lines, and counterpoint. Learn ways of arranging tunes in different styles. Fees for half hour weekly lessons are $80.00 per month, or $135.00 for two months, and are held at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden. I love teaching others how to create music, a lifelong joy that they will be able to share with other people. Bringing music to the world brings me great pleasure.