For me, teaching is all about catering to your needs. As musicians we're not bound by the same requirements that more academic subjects might impose, and are much freer to choose our own paths. What matters is simply what kind of guitarist you want to be, and how much work you're willing to put in to get there.

For the first few lessons, my focus will be on assessing your current abilities as a guitarist, understanding your goals as a musician and working with you to find the kinds of techniques by which you're best going to learn to get there. If you have a clear idea of the style(s) you'd like to play and the overall sound you're after, I'll ask you to send me examples - whether that means a whole catalogue of music, a couple of tracks or even just the name of a specific band or guitarist - from which I will tailor your lessons to suit your needs. If you're looking for a more general education and not sure yet which direction you'd like to go (there are many!), I'll offer you a wide selection of styles and songs suited to your ability level and we can work together to find the direction that best fits you.

From there on in our time together will be split into three parts: theory, technique and performance.

How much time we spend on theory is up to you; most guitarists these days don't ever learn to read and write sheet music - even at the highest professional levels - opting instead to learn through comparatively easy to learn guitar tablature or 'tab'. This doesn't mean that there isn't still a great deal that music theory can do to help you understand your craft, and we can go anywhere from no theory at all, to a five minute chat now and again, to fully half of every class being spent on working through theory exercises - just as you please.

Technique is not so forgiving. Here we're talking about scales, arpeggios, chords and studies. Want to learn to solo like Eric Clapton? It's not going to happen unless you learn at least one scale (though many do get away with just one!). Want to be able to just pick up a guitar and join in with a group of friends? You're going to have to learn to figure out what key they're playing in. Want to make your pinch-harmonics sing like Steve Vai? You will have to sit and hit that string over and over, for hours, until you can reliably hit it the same way every single time. Technique will take up a substantial portion of our time together and your own practice time, and the true greats never stop reviewing and practicing even the most fundamental aspects. I will supply both prewritten and tailor-made studies and exercises, designed specifically for the techniques you want to learn, and in each lesson we will review your progress and work together to move forward in refining your technique.

Performance - actually playing the songs! This is where - to the degree you want to - you take the wheel. If you know what you want to learn, just send it my way and that is what you shall learn. If not, I can give you a syllabus featuring as broad a range of styles and sounds as suits you - always with an eye on homing in on the sound you really want to specialise in. Your ability level is a factor of course - if you're a beginner then don't be expecting to play Dragonforce in week two - but even where a song is truly out of your reach we will set the goal, and every song you learn on the way will be a carefully chosen stepping-stone to get you there. The performance section of our lessons will involve reviewing the songs you have been learning, feedback on your progress and finally moving on to new projects, as directed by you. I will give you detailed notes and specific points to practice, as well as pointing you towards the best methods to improve your performance style. Practice is key; most professional musicians spend a minimum of four hours a day practicing their craft, and while we can't all manage that the simple truth is that there are no shortcuts in music. And believe me - teachers always know when you haven't practiced!!

I know that there's no substitute for a face-to-face lesson, and things like video and audio latency can make a masterclass into a discouraging ordeal. I use professional studio quality audio equipment in my lessons (just ask if you'd like a video tour of my office!), and high speed fibre-optic broadband to ensure that my students feel as close as they can to being in the same room with me.