Guitar Mentoring (Lessons)

 

Guitar Mentoring with Socrates T!

“I love teaching, and I am committed to giving you the best guitar guidance possible”.

• In a rut?

• Know “a little”, ready for more?

• Beginner looking for a strong grounding in fundamentals?

• Looking for an experienced, patient, encouraging teacher?  

• Just want a few lessons, with no ongoing commitment, maybe to fill in some of the gaps in your playing or understanding?
  (and of course you can take as many lessons as you wish).

• Learn lead or slide guitar in 3 lessons! 
  

Blues-Rock-Folk-Slide R+B-Open Tuning-Meditational Steel String -Acoustic-Electric Chords-rhythm-lead 

Everyone has music inside them. I take great pleasure in helping to bring out the music inside you. Whether you are a beginner looking to learn as quickly and easily as possible, or an intermediate player wanting to move up to that next level, I will do my best to help you realize your highest potential.

As someone who has taught guitar for 38 years, someone who practices meditation, qigong,  yoga and massage, what i am offering goes way beyond the usual guitar lessons of put your fingers here and learn how to read. That is why i am calling what i am doing

Guitar Mentoring

What you can get from me is a deeper understanding, deeper insight and guidance, both into the mechanics, and into the more mystical aspects of making music, and of course, you will learn great technique.

• learning how your breathing has a very important effect on your playing
• learning how certain keys are better at certain times of the day
• learning how to create moods and feelings in the audience
• and more

My strengths as a teacher include:

• patience
• ability to explain things clearly and simply
• systematic, methodical, complete approach
• encouraging
• experienced-42 years playing, 38 years teaching
• sincere desire for you to learn.

Beginners will learn

• Essential Chords
• Proper use of hands
• Use of the pick
• Roles of left and right hands
• How to get clarity and great tone
• Simplified music theory
• Basic song progressions
• Basic Rhythms
• And more

Intermediate students will learn

• Advanced picking techniques
• Many sounds from one chord
• How to clean up your sound
• How to create dynamics in your playing
• Barre chords
• Alternate chord positions
• How to play lead
• Mixing lead and rhythm
• How to play with other people
• How to use and create open tunings
• More advanced rhythms
• And more

I have been teaching guitar for 38 years and I have developed my own system, a system which has worked very well for many students.

The emphasis is on fundamentals, particularly how to use your hands, and understanding the fretboard, so that when you find the root note, you also know physically which scales and chords start from that note. I do not teach students to read, instead they learn to play by ear. I do teach Jay’s simplified 5 step music theory, which covers the basics, and which is presented in a practical manner, which will help you play better immediately. I use a unique approach to teaching scales, having students use an open tuning which really brings out the sound of the scale. Of course I also teach the scales in standard tuning. My teaching is oriented mostly to steel string players, both electric and acoustic, mostly in the styles of rock, folk and blues. I am not a jazz or classical teacher, although I do enjoy those musics.

Play the Blues!

I love the blues, i’ve played a lot of it, i’ve had too much of it.
I know and can teach you a lot of great blues styles, licks, rhythms, lead, slide, electric, acoustic, you name it.

LEARN SLIDE OR LEAD GUITAR IN THREE LESSONS

the basics of lead or slide are very learnable. i can teach them to you in three long lessons!.

SONGWRITERS!
LEARN TO WRITE SONGS!
LEARN HOW TO SPICE UP THE SONGS YOU’VE ALREADY WRITTEN

as a songwriter myself, i love helping others with their self expression. There are a few really simple “tricks of the trade” which can really help you, even if your technique is limited.

LEARN TO PLAY WITH OTHER PEOPLE
Sooner or later you will probably want to play with some other musicians. There are some tips I can give you which make it a lot easier.

Learn to Jam
Do you love the way some players can just get a flow going? That can be you. It’s a lot easier than you think.

GUITAR LESSONS FOR BUSY PEOPLE
Do you only have 15 minutes a day to play? Want to make a lot of music without a lot of practice? Using open tunings it can be done. You won’t sound like your favorite band, but you will have fun and sound good.

GUITAR INTENSIVES CRASH COURSE

If you are only in town for a short period, or if just want to do a lot of learning in a short time, you can take as many lesson hours as you can absorb in the time available. For the right person this is a great way to go.

ALL DAY SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
If you and perhaps a small group of friends want an all day class, or even several days, you are welcome to book me out for that day or days. We will totally immerse ourselves in the guitar.

My teaching style has evolved in many ways over the 38 years that I have been teaching. Typically I prefer to give longer lessons of one and a half or two hours, rather than the more usual one hour, although I am also available for that. The longer format gives us the chance to cover each topic in depth. In my system I compare guitar playing to juggling, in that there are really only four or five different elements, the trick is getting them all going smoothly at the same time. In 12-20 lesson hours I give students a complete understanding of the basics of my system.

As you can see there are a lot of different teachings I offer. I love teaching, and I am committed to giving you the best guitar guidance I can.

Contact me today!
Socrates T!