Local In-Person Guitar Lessons in Uxbridge, West London
The internet is an incredible place - we have access to 1000s of videos, websites and articles about every subject imaginable, and yet, having a coherent, integrated and straight-forward learning experience based on online content is still a challenge.
Even with all the resources we have available, it’s still difficult to beat in-person guitar lessons, where you can talk to your instructor, have them in the same room guiding you with your playing and addressing mistakes before they become a problem.
The other big benefit of local guitar lessons is that in addition to traditional 1-2-1 lessons, we can provide group based lessons where you can jam and play guitar with other students - something that’s impossible to learn from a video online!
Our Approach To Helping You Learn guitar
Having taught 100s of guitar players, we know that while every person is unique, there are approaches that work and approaches that don’t work. We’re here to help guide you through your guitar journey, providing a structured and effective path to take you from where you are today, to where you want to be as a guitar player.
Whether you’re a beginner getting to grips with the basics, an intermediate player wanting to tackle the world of music theory or just looking to be able to play your favourite songs; we’re here to help you, with a collection of proven teaching strategies and approaches that will help you make consistent progress.
Local Lessons based in Cowley, Uxbridge
Teaching from my home in Cowley, Uxbridge, we are very accessible by:
- The 222 bus
- The Elizabeth Line in West Drayton
- The Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines in Uxbridge
- Free parking on the adjacent road after 5pm Mon-Fri and free all day Sat-Sun
The Challenges Every Guitarist Faces
The biggest challenge every guitarist faces is: They don’t know what they don’t know. When teaching we help the student through the challenges they are facing and help them avoid the challenges they don’t know exist.
All problems that a guitar student faces can be broken down, trained, and then integrated. It’s a simple procedure that all top-level guitarists use:
- Identify the specific problem. Is the student struggling with a particular hand? Which hand? Which exact part of the music?
- Isolate the problem and carefully train it at a slow tempo
- Gradually increase the tempo ensuring the student is playing accurately
- Integrate the problem section with the transitions either side at a slow tempo, training back to a the full tempo.
When students face challenges, we guide them through this process, explaining every step and helping them with every note.
Learning Guitar And The Expectations We Set Of Ourselves
Guitarists frequently have problems with the expectations they have of themselves.
You may have found yourself trying to learn a piece of music, found it challenging and that it took you a long time, so you reach the conclusion that you are not talented or maybe not capable of learning that piece of music and give up.
But what if the progress, or lack of progress you made with the time spent, was completely normal? In this case you gave up not because you were not capable, but because you severely misjudged your ability.
The psychology of expectations is something we help students with at every step, often without them realising it. By helping them set realistic expectations of themselves, they are able to easily feel good about their playing and make consistent progress.
Student Success Stories
Students that we have taught from scratch have gone on to:
- Performing reguarly at open mic nights
- Writing their own songs
- Attending a prestigious contemporary music school in Vienna
- Composing and recording their own rock guitar instrumentals
- Releasing their music on Spotify
The 5 Keys To Effectively Teaching Guitar
We strongly believe that there are 5 keys to succesfully teaching a student, and helping them progress on their guitar playing journey:
1) Students learn by doing
Lessons involve the student doing a lot of playing. We are not there to show off and demonstrate how much we know, we are there to get the student playing.
2) The student should not worry about how they reach their goal
A student should never have to worry about how they reach a goal, they just need to set it and practice. How you reach a goal is our problem, not yours. Aslong as you are prepared to practice, we’ll help you reach where you want to go.
3) Students need to be challenged at an appropriate level
A beginner should not be given a chord chart and expected to play it, and an advanced student shouldn’t be playing Oasis songs (unless that’s what they really want!). Students need to work on material that pushes them just a little beyond their current ability level.
4) Your comprehension is our problem
If a student does not understand, we need to change our approach until they do. We all make mistakes when learning something new, and a subject as challenging as music leaves plenty of room for mistakes to be made. Aslong as the student is putting in the effort, so are we, finding new approaches and methods to help students learn and understand.
5) No Talent? No Problem
Students should never be concerned with whether or not they have talent. The students only concern should be scehduling and doing their practice. Effective lessons help the student make progress, regardless of any perceived talent or not.
We don’t believe in talent. We believe in practicing the right things, the right way at the right time. And that’s what we’re going to help you with.
Expectations of Our Students
We expect our students to take the guitar seriously - which means having fun! And doing their practice.
We put a lot of care into teaching and creating effective and exciting lessons, and we expect our students to put in the effort with diligent daily practice.
Meet Your New Instructor
Sam has been playing guitar for over 20 years. Developing an interest in the instrument while at school, Sam completed a masters degree in astrophysics before pursuing the electric guitar more seriously. He has released two albums, is the first electric guitar player to have performed Bach’s 1st and 2nd cello suites, released several classical string quartets, and his book “How to Practice Guitar and Train Your Creativity” has sold over 16,000 copies world wide - and continues to sell well.