Simon Taylor, Guitar Tuition

Simon Taylor is able to offer tuition to a limited number of students of all levels, on both acoustic and electric instruments. Simon teaches contemporary and classical guitar styles and the practical application of music theory.

Contemporary & Classical styles

Acoustic and electric, blues, rock, pop styles and jazz etc. I teach Classical to intermediate/advanced level.

Beginners

With young beginners I recommend working with a classical method book to learn to read music, master the basics and develop good technique. For adult beginners who don’t wish to study classical, I typically focus on building chord knowledge and strumming confidence, as well as learning simple melody lines, using well known tunes.

Players with some experience

Acoustic or electric playing, developing strumming patterns, picking technique, chordal knowledge & improvisation. We study different scales, more complex chord forms and explore new techniques and musical styles.

Advancing players

As well as furthering technical ability, I teach theory, harmony, improvisation and aim to give an overall understanding of the fretboard. For jazz players I teach all styles incl. Standards, Be-bop, fusion, contemporary, gypsy jazz etc.

Singing Accompaniment

Building chordal knowledge, learning fingers style and strumming with plectrum. Developing a good ear and understanding chords and harmony with a view to learning to write songs.

My approach

My approach to teaching is aimed at encouraging and supporting my students, but most importantly, enjoyment. I encourage creativity and expression through experimentation, playing by ear and improvisation with a view to developing general musicianship. I use a wide variety of teaching material including classical and contemporary styles of music, and gear lessons to the individual students ability and areas of interest.