Now teaching at Jeff's Music in Newport News and Ego Music in Virginia Beach.

Over the past 35 years I've been fortunate enough to perform with various bands playing all of these styles. If you're wondering if playing is as much fun as it looks, then I gotta tell ya, it's more fun than it looks! I've also studied with four private instructors, and my methods incorporate an amalgam of these influences and experiences, plus a few ideas of my own.

If you're just starting out, if you want to learn to read music, if you want to learn a little theory, if you want to push your chops beyond basic blues-box noodling, I can help you do that. If you like to play every day if you can, you're my kind of (prospective) student. Playing an instrument should be fun. If you find that it's drudgery, maybe you need to reexamine your reasons for playing in the first place.

Get ready to do a lot of playing, because my lessons are performance-oriented. However, I also hope to teach you a little theory along the way. My goal is to teach you the things you need to know to be able play anything you’d like, rather than just teach you a new song every couple of weeks.

Lessons are given in the form of demonstration, fretboard diagrams, lessons from appropriate method books . . . whatever works for you. Students are welcome to record their lessons for review.

Since you will at some point want to play songs without my instruction (presumably), or play with other musicians, we will be using standard musical terms and music written in standard notation. While it’s possible to play the guitar without reading standard notation, I encourage my students to become acquainted with the same musical "language" that other musicians use.

Please be aware that I consider your lesson fees to be tuition. You're not "renting" me for half an hour a week. Studio space and my time are set aside for you during your scheduled time, for which you will be charged whether you show up or not. (See "Fees and Policies" for more information.) If you don't think you can make that kind of commitment to your instrument or your instruction, please look elsewhere for lessons.

Suggestions for new students

Be on time! Better yet, be a little early. Get a music manuscript notebook. Keep your lesson handouts, tapes, etc. in a folder or notebook, and bring them to every lesson. Have spare strings on hand, and change your strings often.