Guitar Lessons

 Guitar Instruction and Coaching

Born and bred in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, Ron was influenced by the music of the "Philly Sound" and its rhythm and blues influence shows up on his original work. Mix in the Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Blind Blake influences, and you might get a handle on his sound. Ron is a full time professional teacher and performer who has performed and written songs for over 36 years, played guitar for 49 years, and worked with many local artists in Philadelphia. He teaches folk (Tyler Childers), blues, and ragtime (Piedmont) finger picking ( Doc Watson, Blind Blake), as well as the electric styles of Muddy Waters, The Allman Brothers, SRV, Black Keys, and the White Stripes. He offers help with playing bottleneck slide (Son House, Robert Johnson, Duane Allman) and has been a student and player of this form for over 35 years. The lessons are fun and tailored to your needs, but goal oriented and structured. Playing "by ear" is very important, and ear training is taught to all students.

     Beginners are introduced to:                                                             

• the fundamentals of music, and their practical
  
• application                            
• basics of strumming and finger picking      
  
• reading music and tablature

     Advanced players, learn to:

• use modes in a practical manner
• reinforce solid fundamentals through scale and agility exercises
• explore improvisational ideas by receiving the coaching needed to make instantaneous harmonic decisions while soloing
• bottleneck slide guitar
  
• rhythm guitar techniques
• songwriting coaching
• proper use of pentatonic scales
  

Students of all levels are taught, and those with the urge to perform in front of a live audience get a chance to do so in the annual  "Student Showcase" which is held at a Center City Philadelphia venue.