"When I teach private lessons in guitar, each class is a little different. I tailor everything to the student's needs. I'm a fairly versatile musician. I play a lot of different styles: jazz, blues, rock, even country. So every class is going to tap into those experiences. If the student wants to focus on playing pop or blues, then I'm going to use my experience performing in those worlds."
"During lessons, I'm not just talking about the mechanics of the music. I try to prepare students for life after Berklee. I impart my experience as a professional musician, so that they'll know what they're going to run into in the real world."
"I also focus on being aware of your sound as it applies to amplifiers, guitars, pedals, and effects. As a guitar player, your sound is as important as what you play."
"Most importantly, I try to teach students how to be musical players. A lot of students focus on technique, how fast they can play, how impressive their chops are. But in many circumstances, in the real world, those things don't matter as much. The people who hire you for gigs want you to be musical."
"I also teach a contemporary styles ensembles. Over the course of the semester, we play everything from modern pop to straight-ahead jazz and everything in between. In ensemble playing, you need to be generous musically. You need to listen to the other people. You have to play like a team. If you're not playing as much for the other people in the group as for yourself, that's a problem. You have to have musical humility, to think about the song first. The song is the focus, not the guitar solo."
