Dave F. TakeLessons Instructor music, guitar, bass, rock, metal Van Dyke Dr, Austin, TX

I started playing music at an early enough age that I don't actually remember starting.  Voice was my first instrument, and at 18, I had a 4 1/2 octave range.  I studied formally in public schools, but didn't get much from it.  Frustrated, and in a lower income family, I pursued music independently and have done so since then.  At 18, I could play keyboards, easy piano, clarinet, guitar, and sing.  In the 16 years or so since then, I have pursued primarily rock and metal guitar, but I have branched out into other interesting fields with bass and drums.

I've been in several informal bands along the way, none of which you will have heard of.  I have instructed several friends along the way, and in each case the instruction was highly successful. 

Due to my personal views on the current state of music education, I decided to avoid formal music study at all costs.  Since I play non-traditional music, it stands to reason that I would not view any traditionalist music study program as beneficial to me.  Now, I believe that my experience, attitude, and abilities can be put to good use bringing up another generation of guitar players.

Frustrated with the teach-yourself-music industry, I developed a sequence of learning that emphasizes student involvement and interest, and at no time am I willing to force a student to learn something that is not a building block along the way towards learning the music they really want to play.  I've played just about every kind of music there is to play, from Fiddler on the Roof to the Devil In Georgia, up to Number of the Beast and Master of Puppets, and I can give students the building blocks they need to be successful in any of those fields.

I use my own custom curriculum.  I'm a big fan of the Montessori method, and I don't believe it's just for teaching kids.  It works on adults too.  In fact, it's how adults learn on their own, the silly part is the idea that kids need some standardized tests to learn.  In the first month, the focus will be on learning basic building blocks that are used in all kinds of music, but most applications will be in rock and roll.  This is primarily because it's what I know best, and it's what students are usually interested.  I can and will customize for students interested in other kinds of music.  After the first month, the student decides where we go, and what we will learn, and I will show the student how to use the building blocks he has to learn the music he wants to learn.

I'm pretty laid back, in general, but I do expect the student to practice outside the lesson.  The lesson itself is structured to serve as an example of how the student should structure his practices, but I only really care about how the student practices during the first month.  During the second month, the student is expected to work out for himself how he'll change his practice structure to provide the most benefit.

My goals are simple.  At 3 months, I want the student to be able to write his own music in the genre he loves the most, play at least one song within that genre, and have at his disposal a number of stock riffs from standard songs within that genre.  The student should be able to analyze simpler songs within that genre, and use the tools he has to understand simpler songs within related genres.  Finally, the student should be able to improvise basic rhythm and leads within his preferred genre, as well as in parent genres (for example, a student studying rock should be able to play the blues riff and jam with it).

At 6 months, everything's different.  The student should be able to competently write music that is beyond his ability to play, and be able to set goals and structure practices so that he will be able to learn how to play the music he wrote that he can't play.  The student should be able to analyze more complex songs within any genre, and should be well-equipped to learn just about any song he wants to learn.  The student should be equipped with the tools he needs to play in a band, and hold his own even in a band that is more technically skilled than he is.  He will be able to learn music in a group and keep pace with learning, although he should understand that technical competence with a song doesn't equate to learning.  The student should be familiar with the difference between performance, practice, and rehearsal, and be able to function in each of those roles in a group, or by himself.  Finally, the student should have developed a number of his own original stock riffs that he plays and loves to play.

I specialize in metal and rock and roll, but mostly metal.

music, guitar, bass, rock, metal