Testimonials:
"James is a great guitar teacher - combining his musical talent and technical ability with an engaging and patient approach. He plans out the sessions with great care and the children always look forward to lessons." Jo Straw – Parent of two pupils. "James has great abilities on the guitar, an open mind musically and a relaxed demeanour which makes him a great communicator. I would have no hesitation in recommending James as a guitar tutor." Stuart Ryan - Head of Guitar BIMM Bristol, Guitar Techniques Magazine.
“I have been learning the Guitar now for just under two months, during which I have a handful of lessons with James. I improve with each lesson that I have with him, which I find engaging, fun and extremely vital in my learning experience of this instrument. James brings energy, passion and a wealth of expertise to each lesson, which always has a structure and has content tailored to my ability and interests. I would highly recommend James as a Guitar teacher to anyone and I look forward to future lessons with him myself.” – Rob Allan, Guitar Pupil. I am an experienced and versatile guitarist with a First Class (BA Hons) degree from BIMM Bristol in professional musicianship (specialising in guitar and teaching). Whether you're a complete beginner, an advanced guitarist, or anything in the middle I can help you towards achieving your musical goals! I've been teaching for over 7 years and I love it. There's great satisfaction for me in helping others to enjoy guitar as much as I have and still very much do, and seeing students progress is a great feeling. I don't usually encourage grades but any student that expresses interest I will happily take them down that path. The 1st kid I ever taught went from complete beginner to passing Grade 8 in 5 years, which was an exciting journey for me as well. I combine teaching with live performance with various acts, mostly Mr Tea and the Minions, Razzomo, Shambolique and my solo project Stringle Beats. Music is not just my profession, its my life passion, and has been since I first picked up the guitar 16 years ago. Inspiring, guiding and passing on my knowledge to others is an immensely exciting and rewarding process for me. My musical philosophy is based simply around 2 main areas: Passion and dedication. With enough passion and dedication you WILL be able to achieve your musical goals, and I will help to guide you towards continual progression as a guitarist. I am experienced in playing and teaching many varied genres of music such as rock, reggae, funk, jazz, folk, balkan, gypsy jazz, metal and ska, and I've been in bands playing all these styles of music. As well as styles and techniques, music theory is an important aspect of any musical instrument and can dramatically enhance creativity and ability – Don’t be scared of theory, its not as hard as it sounds and it won’t just turn you into a musical robot! Qualifications:
First Class BA (Hons) degree in Professional Musicianship (specialising in Guitar) – BIMM Bristol – 2013
Registered Guitar Teacher at My Guitar Lessons
Grade 8 Guitar (Distinction) – Rockschool – 2007
Travel to Teach course certificate – Thailand - 2013
