Ben Houlton

Since a young age (14) I have taught guitar to children and have been extremely successful with the students I have had. I am a virtuoso guitarist (grade eight) and have a degree in contemporary music (Goldsmiths University of London, first class), meaning not only that I have a comprehension of contemporary music (and modern classical, jazz, folk), but also that I understand the mechanics of the subject well enough to be able to break it down in a way that is easy to understand. I can teach all levels of electric guitar to students, and beginner level drums and piano. I can also teach Ukulele to a high level, as well as bass guitar. I am an expert at music production, having studied this as part of my undergraduate degree and having worked in a recording studio, and helped a number of musicians record their music. In the contemporary music world having knowledge of music technology is extremely important, and many contemporary artists base their craft almost solely from their knowledge of music technology.

Not only do I have experience teaching music, be it in a private instrument scenario, or a music theory scenario, but I have experience as a musician who has played concerts across the country, and at festivals. When living in London I played and organised a number of gigs, meaning that I have the organisational skills required to put on large events. I demonstrated my knowledge of music technology in live scenarios, by working as a sound. Playing with various artists in London gave me the opportunity to play in venues all across the city, and even took me to festivals, such as Conbury and Standon Calling. This first-hand experience has helped me give in-depth advice to students who are particularly interested in getting involved with the music world.

I am extremely passionate about teaching, and love bringing music into students’ lives. Over the years I have also developed the personal skills needed for teaching younger students, which involves keeping parents up to date with the progress of the pupil, and trying to encourage parents to play music at home. This has been very rewarding, especially when it came to one of the last pupils I had in London, who, as a result of his Dad digging out his old CD collection after following my advice, became a huge AC/DC fan. I have found that part of the job of teaching young people music, especially when it is teaching them an instrument, is getting them to listen to music themselves. Once they develop an ear for the kind of music they like, they become extremely excited about music, and sometimes even come to me with songs they want to learn. I encourage this especially with students in their first few years of instrumental lessons.