Guitar Tuition

I specialise in patient, encouraging tuition of beginners from age 5 to 80+, though I am happy to continue your musical education started with another teacher. 

I am keen to discuss what you hope to achieve from music tuition and what your progress goals and aims might be, both short-term and longer-term. For my child students, I have a Music Stars scheme we can work through together; adults may have a particular piece of music in mind that they would like to be able to play.

Apart from meeting these targets, reaching a significant point in a tutor book could be an indication of progress, or performance in a student concert. When you are ready to enter for a guitar graded exam I will discuss with you if you would like to do so.

Most beginners will have a classical (Spanish) or acoustic guitar to learn on. However, I can teach you to play the electric guitar, either from the start or later on, once you have got “the basics” of guitar playing on a non-electric instrument.  However, I need to know from the start if you would like to play classical (“Spanish”) style guitar or anything else as it affects how I teach you to hold the guitar.

Classical guitar

You will see in the picture on the front of the “Guitar Star” book that there is a very different playing position for classical guitar than for acoustic or electric guitar.  You support a classical guitar on your left leg (on a footstool), whereas you rest acoustic or electric guitars on your right leg when you’re sitting down. 

Classical guitar music involves playing melodic lines (tunes), accompaniments (broken chord patterns) and playing a melody with your fingers and harmonic accompaniment with your thumb and other fingers. 

I can teach you to play a wide range of music, from early lute music, through timeless folk songs, the “classic” guitar composers of the early 19th century and more contemporary classical composers (or arrangements for classical guitar of pop songs, such as those of the Beatles). If you want to enter for a classical guitar exam you will need a classical shape guitar with either all nylon or mixed nylon and metal-wound strings.

Acoustic guitar

An acoustic guitar is bigger-bodied than a classical guitar and has a different shape, both of which make it difficult to support on your left leg to play. The other difference is that it usually has metal wound strings but sometimes some nylon strings too.  

Acoustic guitarists often play chords, either by strumming with a plectrum or playing individual notes from the chords with your fingers, but I will also teach you how to read standard music notation (as well as TAB notation) so you can play melodic lines too (a range of genres including folk, blues, indie pop, country and jazz, as wanted). 

With the fingerstyle technique, it is possible to accompany your own lead (melody) line with other fingers of the picking hand playing harmony notes. 

Some people use an acoustic guitar to play using a plectrum (pick): it is easier (less painful for your thumb) to strum chords but it’s not usually possible to fingerpick, too (playing melody and accompaniment at the same time).

Electric Guitar

If you have an electric guitar you will be restricted to playing with a plectrum, rock and pop style, but that suits many people.

I am happy to teach you how to strum a wide range of chords as well as “lead line guitar”, where you will need to be able to read standard notation.

You will need to bring a small, easily portable amplifier to lessons, as I don’t have one. You will also need the power lead for your amp and the jack lead to the guitar (easily forgotten!)   

Non-classical guitar exams

If you want to take an exam using an acoustic or electric guitar I can prepare you for grade exams:

  • the Acoustic Guitar grades (up to 5) of Trinity College London
  • up to grade 3 of Trinity Rock and Pop (exam board)
  • or up to Grade 2 of Rockschool’s exams for either acoustic guitar or electric guitar. 

For both Trinity Rock and Pop and Rockschool exams, you will need to be able to play in time with a backing track (“the rest of the band”) so you will need to do that in your practice time at home, too.

This requires access to a means of playing MP3 tracks downloaded from the internet, though it may be possible for me to put these onto a CD for you if you only have a CD player.

Whatever style of guitar you want to learn to play, in order to maintain progress in learning to play the guitar you will need to practice for short periods (5 – 10 minutes) every day whilst you build up a protective pad of skin on your left-hand fingers and get used to the correct posture required for guitar playing without strain.

For practice-time, you will need a music stand and tuner at home and children (and all classical guitar players) will need a footstool or equivalent.

I can obtain for you any of these or any other accessories needed at a discounted price available to music teachers: just ask! 

None of these needs bringing to lessons as I have a music stand, footstool and tuner at my house but you will need to bring your own instrument (in a protective case) and the book(s) and any sheets of paper I have given you to use in practice time at home;  the loose paper should be in a folder (which I can provide for you).