I’ve been playing guitar for 20 years and tutoring guitar for the best part of those two decades. It all started back in high school when I picked up the guitar because I wanted to learn how to play the music I was listening to, so I begged a friend to lend me his acoustic and set about teaching myself the basics.
It wasn’t long before I realised that the instrument I had borrowed was sonically challenged when compared to the weapons of mass distortion that my favourite guitarists were armed with (I was initially influenced by the virtuosic nature of rock and metal, especially the solos!) and shortly after this revelation I got my first electric guitar. I continued to plough through every guitar tuition book or magazine I could get my hands on and as I progressed, friends started asking me to show them what I had learnt. It was these somewhat informal lessons that got me hooked on tutoring guitar as much as playing it.
From there, I continued to teach myself how to play, took some guitar lessons and joined a few high school bands before moving to Manchester to study music. The next few years involved lots of learning, bands, gigging, a fair few recording studios, some fascinating people and more gigging. During my spare time I continued to tutor guitar, both privately and at local colleges, but it wasn’t until 2003 and a move from the bright lights of Manchester to the sunny spa town of Cheltenham, that I began tutoring full time and decided to use Guitology as my trading name.
Since its inception, the business has gone from strength to strength, with many happy students having progressed in leaps and bounds (some of whom have been regulars for years) and many recommendations making for a busy diary. I have had the pleasure of tutoring students of all ages and abilities and been fortunate enough to have helped some great budding talent go from absolute beginners to gigging guitarists.
Tutoring guitar brings me a massive amount of enjoyment and the buzz of helping someone go from can’t to can (be it playing beginner chords or nailing a lick) is a fantastic feeling. For me, a big part of it is what students bring to the lessons. Their drive to learn and progress, as well as their uninhibited creativity, is an inspiration that helps me to further my own knowledge and abilities - after all, nobody knows everything about anything, not even the most seasoned of professionals. As such, I still have lots to learn and develop, but I also have a great source of motivation and the ability to do something I enjoy. For all of this, I am very grateful.
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