Guitar Breaks - Experienced Guitar Tuition
Farnborough, Surrey
Farnborough, Surrey
At Guitar Breaks we are committed to supplying opportunities for all guitarists to relax and explore your instrument and your playing more fully.
About Ian:
"I am former Director at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in Guildford, UK, and Head of Operations at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) in London, UK, I have spent the last 35 years writing, recording and performing in bands.
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What do you love most about your job?
Playing the guitar has been at the heart of what I do for as long as I can remember. I have played guitar for 40 years and during that time I have written songs, played concerts, recorded albums. For many years I was a Director the Academy of Contemporary Music. I was also Head of Operations at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. ACM and ICMP are both recognised as world leaders in modern music education.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I started Guitar Breaks because I feel passionate about offering guitar players opportunities to develop their own playing, to meet like-minded musicians and to inspire musicians to develop their own voice.
Why should our clients choose you?
Because I have worked with hundreds of guitar students over the years and I understand the different journeys that many have, developing at different speeds and wanting to achieve different things. Plus playing guitar is great fun!
Can you provide your services online or remotely? If so, please add details.
Yes I can provide online services. I use Zoom with two switchable cameras, so you can see a wide shot of the guitar and a close up of the neck. Online lessons also offer flexibility in lesson delivery, offering lessons at times that may otherwise be inconvenient.
What changes have you made to keep your customers safe from Covid-19?
I deliver online, ensuring that my lessons are both safe and convenient.
Guitar Tuition - Acoustic Intermediate
Specifically for those who have been playing for a year or two, or are returning after some time away from playing.
The intermediate level takes things to the next level, so you will be able to:
- Play a variety of open chords with confidence
- Play some barre chords with confidence
- Grow your knowledge of the major scale and/or the minor pentatonic scale
- Play some single note melodies
- Play confidently and in time
If you are in any doubt, please do not hesitate to contact me for a chat. Alternatively if you like, you can video yourself playing your favourite song and send it to me.
Guitar Tuition - Acoustic Beginners
Getting started on guitar (acoustic or electric) can be a bit of a minefield. There is so much available online and on YouTube, and much of it is great.
However there is nothing like working with someone who understands and can support you and tailor a learning pathway specifically for you. Topics covered include:
- an introduction to the guitar, its build and layout. Naming all the relevant parts of your instrument, discussing what they do.
- start playing each string and looking to form our first chord.
- develop more chords and looking at how scales are built on one string
- what's the difference between major & minor?
- discover the difference between using a guitar pick versus using your fingers.
- begin working on strumming patterns
- learning more chords and starting to think about playing songs.
- how are songs structured? What is the role of the guitar player?
- looking at the structure of simple songs and beginning to play our chosen song/s.
Guitar Tuition - Electric Intermediate
Specifically for those who have been playing for a year or two, or are returning after some time away from playing.
The intermediate level takes things to the next level, so you will be able to:
- Play a variety of open chords with confidence
- Play some barre chords with confidence
- Grow your knowledge of the major scale and/or the minor pentatonic scale
- Play some single note melodies
- Play confidently and in time
Learn Songs - Acoustic Guitar
One of the best possible ways of learning the guitar is by learning songs. This could be songs that you love, or songs that are chosen for you specifically to help you develop areas of your playing, including:
- Great timing
- An understanding of song structure
- Your ears, so you can begin to 'hear' chord changes
- Right hand strumming and picking technique
- Changing between chords
- Creating and understanding melody
Learn Songs - Electric Guitar
One of the best possible ways of learning the guitar is by learning songs. This could be songs that you love, or songs that are chosen for you specifically to help you develop areas of your playing, including:
- Great timing
- An understanding of song structure
- Your ears, so you can begin to 'hear' chord changes
- Right hand strumming and picking technique
- Changing between chords
- Creating and understanding melody
Garageband for Beginners
Garageband is an amazing piece of software that is included on Mac computers. It is also known as a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). In other words, it is an amazing recording studio in your front room!
Wonderfully intuitive and accessible, Garageband allows to you record anything from an initial idea to a full album of music.
There is so much to learn, but just getting started on Garageband not only gives you the tools to record. It also starts to give you an understanding of how to build tracks using different instruments. Ultimately you will be recording your first songs before you know it!
Songwriting for Beginners
Songwriting is an often misunderstood art form. There are tools you can use to write and there are some fundamentals of music theory that will support your writing.
Ultimately it's about capturing an idea, storing your thoughts, creating melodies and then bringing all these threads together into one song or composition.
We will start right at the beginning, discussing and discovering the creative processes that can lead to writing a song. We will also look at ways of generating ideas when your creative juices aren't flowing! We will then take those ideas and creative moments and form them into full songs.
Guitar Tuition - Electric Beginners
Getting started on guitar (acoustic or electric) can be a bit of a minefield. There is so much available online and on YouTube, and much of it is great.
However there is nothing like working with someone who understands and can support you and tailor a learning pathway specifically for you. Topics covered include:
- an introduction to the guitar, its build and layout. Naming all the relevant parts of your instrument, discussing what they do.
- start playing each string and looking to form our first chord.
- develop more chords and looking at how scales are built on one string
- what's the difference between major & minor?
- discover the difference between using a guitar pick versus using your fingers.
- begin working on strumming patterns
- learning more chords and starting to think about playing songs.
- how are songs structured? What is the role of the guitar player?
- looking at the structure of simple songs and beginning to play our chosen song/s.
