Chris C.

I have been writing songs for 8 years now, and have always had an affinity for the craft. I always pay attention to every detail I can while listening to songs I'm hearing for the very first time, as well as songs I've heard hundreds of times over. This attention to detail and a love for trying to understand what makes a great song great, has lead me to develop my lesson plans. I start out by giving my students the very basics of what they would need to write a song. I do this with the intention of influencing their artistic choices as little as possible. I then ask them to come up with an original melody, instrumental part, chord progression etc. and guide them through building onto that original idea until they've come up with a finished product that they can be proud of. I suggest certain creativity exercises that will also allow them to improve their ability to create on a more frequent basis since I've come to learn that one of the most common first obstacles seems to be starting the act of writing. All in all, in order to not get in the way of any creativity, I prefer to let my songwriting students lead the way creatively when it comes to songwriting. I let them do their thing, and guide them in the right direction, while also providing any insight that I might find helpful.

Once again, I like allowing my students the chance to skip over years of research and experimentation, so that they can learn as much as I can teach them as enjoyably and efficiently as possible. I first show my students beats and fills that they can apply to almost any song from their genre of choice, so that they can learn to play to songs and even just pick up on drum parts while listening to songs on Spotify or the radio. I then teach more specific techniques that allow them to personalize their playing while also improving their skills. While the drums are objectively the least complex instrument I teach, I have no problem providing my students with diverse, productive and entertaining lessons every single week.

I have the same philosophy with teaching Bass Guitar as I do with teaching Guitar. I streamline my years of studying the patterns and specialized techniques of the instrument to help my students learn as much as possible while also having the most fun.

After years of practicing and teaching myself certain techniques, I like to eliminate the years I took to learn them, and give my students a shortcut to the results I've reached. I have studied the instrument and noticed certain patterns regarding scales, chord shapes, chord structures, and general guitar parts, and I like to teach my students everything I know at an enjoyable, productive, and rewarding pace so that they can get the most out of what I have to offer. Whether they have been playing for years and want to push themselves to learn new things, or are just picking the instrument up for the first time, I am able to work with each specific student and shape my lessons around what I can see will work best for them.