Guitar/Banjo/Ukulele Lessons Online or at Home! Over 25 years of teaching experience and a Masters in Music.

Find out more about Kevin

• When did you first develop a passion for music and your favorite instrument?

  I first developed my passion for music when I heard 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen when I was only 8 years old! I will never forget the exhilaration that I felt at that time!
  
  Queen became my first love for a rock band and Brian May quickly became a hero of mine. I started wanting to play guitar at around 10 and finally annoyed my mother enough to get one when I was just 11 years old. At that time, Nirvana's 'Nevermind' was released and I learned every song on that album and I was hooked and was never going to look back.

• Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  There are many artists that I can listen to on a loop: Alice In Chains - 'Jar of Flies', Grateful Dead - 'American Beauty' and 'Workingman's Dead', Lorde - 'Pure Heroine', Soundgarden -'BadMotorFinger', Pink Floyd - 'Animals', to name a few.

• Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  I can think of 2 courses that fit this description for me:
  #1 - MUSIC THEORY FOR GUITAR PLAYERS - I am a Music Theory Lover and I feel like guitarists particularly have a hard time grasping all of it and putting it together.
  #2 - FULL CLASSICAL GUITAR COURSE - From Beginning to Advanced. Classical Guitar is simply the most difficult guitar playing that exists because I have tried them all.

• What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  #1 - THE OBOE. I have never played the Oboe, but I have fully observed those that do and have performed in ensembles with them. The amount of breath-control is astounding to me. I was sometimes worried that they might pass out! lol.
  
  #2 - The CLASSICAL GUITAR - The Amount of Multi-tasking it takes combined with the coordination it takes, as well as the level of difficulty of standard note-reading makes classical guitar one of the most difficult instruments in the world.

• What are your keys to success?

  It's pretty simple in my mind: Hard work with no excuses, consistency in schedule, and attention to details - these 3 things will make you pro-level.

• Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  #1 - Trey Anastasio - One of my life-long heroes - definitely a theory/guitar nerd a lot like me and I would love to just pick his brain about his beginnings and rise to fame.
  
  #2 - Eddie Van Halen - Just one of the true ground-breaking innovators in electric/rock guitar. So ahead of his time, he played some of the most incredibly athletic and "olympic-intense" guitar solos I have ever heard in my life!
  
  #3 - Miles Davis - Just one of the coolest and most talented musicians that ever lived. He shaped and influenced Jazz in a way that will affect musicians like myself for a lifetime

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  I was a Music Performance Major on Classical Guitar. In my undergraduate program, we had to prepare a 30-minute junior recital and a 60-minute senior recital. I was performing my 30-minute junior recital and about 10 minutes into it, a person walked in to go sit down into the audience. But, he walked in through the wrong door! It was the performer's entrance door, and because of that, he had to walk right by me while I was playing(for a grade for my degree) and he was only about 3 feet away. As he walked by, I looked up and gave him a "not-so-welcoming" stare due to his folly, but I didn't miss a note and I didn't make a single mistake. He sat down and took in the rest of the concert and I finished as strong as one could. That was the moment that I realized I was truly cut out for the performing life. Nothing rattles me when I'm in the zone on stage.

• What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I have a Masters in Classical Guitar and have always been completely obsessed with guitar and music. That love led to me also learning how to play and teach Ukulele, Banjo, Mandolin, Lap Steel, Pedal Steel, Bass Guitar, and Piano. I have also been an assistant professor in music at the college level and I love teaching classes and have a lot of experience doing it.
  
  I started learning by ear and was self-learned for the first 5 years, only to follow that with a decade of strict classical guitar training in multiple degree programs. These 2 opposing schools of learning make it so that I have the best-of-both-worlds in my experience with playing and teaching. I can teach improvisation and jamming as well as the highest and most intense level of classical guitar.