As reading and learning from your computer is usually slower, I have tried where ever possible to keep the text down to a minimum. There is nothing worse than reading through pages of text trying to learn something that can be easily described by one picture, animation or movie.
All lessons through out this site have been developed by you, the learner. Over the many years I have been teaching, I have come across the same questions asked by students when showing them how to play different styles, songs, rhythm patterns, scales and techniques. Although no two students were ever the same they all had similar difficulties with certain songs or styles. I have tried to lay out all lessons in this style, but you are unique, so if there is anything you don't understand in a lesson, e-mail me about your confusion with that lesson and I will see if that lesson’s contents need reviewing and restructuring to make it more understandable.
What This Site Is?
- A step by step learning tool for you to be an accomplished guitarist.
What This Site Is Not!
- A Tablature site with thousands of popular tabs. (If you want a tab site then go to www.google.com and type in the name of the song you would like followed by the word "tab")
- A “learn how to play guitar in one day” site. (If you want to do something right then take the time to learn it properly. There are NO quick fixes to learning the guitar!)
Who is the creator of this site?
Some of you are probably wondering “IS HE QUALIFIED TO TEACH ME”, before you invest your time in my lessons. Without sounding clichéd, only you can answer that question! If this site makes sense to you, and you find it easy to learn from, then my job here is done. As for qualifications from universities or colleges, well I don't have the framed degree on my wall to say I am qualified. What I do have is years of solid experience, playing the guitar since 1984 and starting teaching in 1990. Music is my full time job. Music is what I have lived and breathed since I left school. I have never been unemployed or out of work. Music has always been good to me.
At night I work in bands, through the day I teach at schools, and in the afternoon I teach privately. As you can see, my life is just one continuous melody.
My teaching philosophy is to encourage the interest and passion that my students have for music, by allowing them to learn the guitar through their favourite songs. There is no use in trying to force sight reading and music theory on a teenager who wants nothing more than to be in a band just for fun. I have always found music can only be successfully taught once someone has been playing for a little while, and they start to love the instrument. As they improve on the basics, their natural desire is to become better, and at that moment they realise they need to know (and most importantly, want to know) the theory they initially despised!
Here are some details on me:
- Started playing the guitar at the age of 14 (1984)
- Learnt the piano at age 16 (1986)
- Worked in a restaurant playing George Benson, Chet Atkins and other guitar instrumentalists for several years
- Started teaching the guitar at the age 20 (1990)
- Joined my first band when I was 20 (1990)
- Still playing as a professional musician averaging between 100-150 gigs a year.
Some of my guitar style influences are:
- Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)
- Pink Floyd
- Eagles
- The Beatles
- Tommy Emmanuel
Some of my favorite artists are:
- Dave Mathews Band
- John Mayer
- Jeff Buckley
- Eric Clapton
- Supertramp
- Anyone with enough talent to write a good song.
Location and contacts:
Townsville > Queensland > Australia