If you’re interested in adult lessons you’ll want to know more about my credentials:

I’ve been a working professional guitarist in Colorado for over twenty years and have been adjunct faculty at CU Denver and Metro State University. I hold a Bachelor of Music (classical guitar), a Masters in Jazz Performance and Pedagogy, and a Masters in Education.

From small jazz gigs, wedding bands, classical wedding ceremonies, musical theater shows, corporate gigs to small rock club shows I have played them all. Please look me up on all the streaming services to have a listen. You can also go to my personal website and see more.

Below are some general thoughts on teaching.

“The guitar is the easiest instrument to learn the wrong way.”

-Dale Bruning

The guitar is an amazing instrument.  It can be found in just about every musical setting.  From folk, classical, jazz, heavy metal, country, and everything in between it is truly ubiquitous.  In many ways it truly is the world’s instrument.  But with this flexibility come challenges.  In addition to the quotation above my mentor Dale Bruning also often quotes another famous cliché:  “the guitar is easy to play, impossible to master”.  The unique challenges the guitar presents demand that for it to be learned efficiently, it must be taught systematically.

We are all “self-taught” and only those that play truly understand this fact.  When it comes to the heavy-lifting of learning to play musical instruments we do it alone.  However, it is the quality of the information we are teaching ourselves that is key.  If the information you are teaching yourself is organized haphazardly, illogically, and out of sequence the result will be a delayed learning process that will hinder progress and diminish enjoyment. Teaching the guitar in a systematic yet fun way allows students to improve not only as guitarists but as complete musicians.

My challenging job is to keep the learning fun and spontaneous while always conveying the importance of serious practice and study. I truly believe that passion combined with discipline leads to a lifetime of joy.

“Those who can teach, must.”

– John Clayton

I believe that life is short.  We have limited time to improve ourselves and enjoy what we love. With this in mind it seems clear that the more efficiently we can improve at the things we love, the more time we’ll have to enjoy them.  Learning to play music on any instrument is an incredible and intimidating journey.  It is extremely rewarding to help someone attain the satisfaction and realize the joy of expressing themselves musically.

The real wisdom however is coming to appreciate the process of learning.  Those who learn to love the process of daily improvement and can embrace the beauty of focused repetition are the joyful ones.   I try to emphasize this idea as much as possible.

What will you learn?

The most efficient way to improve is to focus on and learn the music you are passionate about. Your job as student is to be disciplined and fiery in your approach to practicing and learning. My job as teacher is to make sure you are learning in an orderly way with an eye towards mastery. We will use the music you love to learn the foundations of music theory and the guitar itself. What you will learn:

Technique (classical or plectrum-style)

Fundamentals of Harmony, Melody, and Rhythm

Sight-reading

History of the guitar