I have been teaching guitar lessons since 1997. My approach is a little bit different than you may be used to. First of all, my main goal is to have you playing the music the you like ASAP instead of learning notes and theory right off the bat. It's not that those things aren't important at all, but for most people they really aren't. Most people's goal is not to be a huge rock star or even play in local theater or do session work. A lot of my students don't even want to be in a band, they just want to be able to play along with the radio or their iPod. Maybe they just want to sit around the living room with their kids and sing “London Bridge is Falling Down” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. Whatever your personal goal is I will do my best to help you achieve it.

My next theory is “Quanity, not Quality”. Does this seem backwards to you? Do you remember your piano teacher forcing you to learn, or even memorize, each song before you could move on? Did you enjoy that experience? Or did you dread it? If you dreaded it, why would you want to spend your money and put either you or your kids through that same pain and suffering? If you enjoyed it, refer back to my first statement. I can hound you until you are playing flawlessly if that's what you like. Remember, this is about you and your goals, not me and mine! Do I want you to play poorly? No, but if you aren't interested in playing in front of an audience then good enough for you is good enough for me. My main goal for each song we do is to teach you a technique or chord, not necessarily the song. If you want to work on the song perfect it or memorize it at home then that is up to you.

Theory number three is “Nothing is really that important”.

At some point most of my students want to write their own song and wonder where to start. It's really simple. Play a note. Now you have your song. It may only be a one note song, but it's a start. Turn that into a chord. If you want you can string a bunch of chords together. Change up the rhythm, add dynamics (loud and quiet spots) and voila! Seem to good to be true? Well, I never said your song would be good. We will look at examples of “hit” songs as well as your favorite songs and see what they have in common. We'll discuss dynamics and how they apply to the overall arrangement of your tune. We'll discuss common chord progressions and how to do variations of them and change keys as well as all the other aspects of songwriting.

There are three main ways to read music on the guitar. Standard notation, chord diagrams, and tablature. Standard notation looks like what you'd see as regular piano sheet music. Standard notation for the guitar is written only in treble clef, and is the most difficult to start with. It is the universal language of music, though, so at some point if you want to communicate with other musicians you should probably learn how to read notes. It is not what I typically start with, though.

Chord diagrams have chord names written about the staff with a box with lines and dots that show you how to play the chord. These are quick and easy to learn. Most people, though, can't physically play full 6 note chord their first day and get discouraged and quit if we start with chords.

So that leaves us with tablature, also known as “tab”. Tablature has been around for centuries. It has the same number of horizontal lines as strings on the instrument. Standard 6-string guitar tab has 6 lines, 4-string banjo tab has 4 lines. Each line represents one string, and on that string is placed a number (or in ancient tab they used letters) to represent which fret to play. This is the easiest way to read music on the guitar. Almost anything you would ever want to play has been written in tab. When I say everything I mean everything. From Bach to Metallica, it's all there. Tablature is what I start most people out on.

We will start with one note melodies written in tab and progress to two and three notes at a time. Then we move on to open chords and then bar chords. Once we have transitioned to full chords we will start to also read chord diagrams. Once you have mastered open and bar chords (a bar chord is where you use one finger to “bar” a single fret across multiple strings and is not unique to drinking establishments) we will talk more about strumming technique, soloing, and finally notes.

To schedule a lesson time you can call me directly at 612-701-2439 or email ric@ricoliva.com.

Below are some commonly asked questions and my typical response:

Q: Is it helpful to learn the piano first?
A: Sure. It's also helpful to learn Chinese since 1 in 4 people in this world speaks it, but if you don't want to play piano why are you going to waste your time and hard earned money learning it?

Q: My son/daughter wants to learn electric guitar. Should they start out on acoustic or classical guitar first?
A: There are two parts to this. First of all, I don't know your budget, but if you buy them a $200 acoustic guitar and then they really like it do you really want to go out and spend another $200 on an electric guitar? Or would you rather have spent $200 on what they really wanted in the first place and not have an extra guitar laying around not being used? Second, if you buy them a classical or acoustic and they hate it because it doesn't sound like the guitars on the songs they listen to they might get discouraged and quit because it isn't fun for them. And who starts a rock band with a classical guitar? They may be the first one, but that's being quite optimistic. So my advice is if you're going to get them anything then get them what they want. It's like asking for boots for your birthday and getting a scarf and gloves. Not that those aren't nice, but you still need boots.

Q: Isn't it important to read notes?
A: Only if you're trying to read them. Music is sound, not ink on paper. If you are trying to communicate with other musicians then yes, it is helpful to know notes. If you are listening to a song on a CD and playing it by yourself in your living room then no, you don't need to know how to read notes. Read my approach below for more information about this.

Q: How long does it take to play songs?
A: We'll play songs the first day. Now, what you really mean is how long before you play songs that you like. That is mainly up to you. There is a big difference between being a 12 year old on summer vacation with nothing to do other than practice 5 hours a day and being a working adult with children in diapers (not that teenagers are any easier). So if you want an average time frame I'd say 6 months. For some people it goes faster and some it takes longer. If you can find 15-20 minutes a day (add up all the commericals between the 10:00 news and Leno) then 6 months is a reasonable target.

Q: What do I need to have and/or bring?
A: All you need is your guitar and you. You can also bring a notebook and manuscript / tab paper to take notes. We will discuss any books you may want at your lesson. You will want to have a chromatic tuner and a metronome . They range in price from $15-$100. You can also buy them as 2-in-1 combos . Music is pitch, rhythm, and dynamics. If you're out of tune and can't keep time then you've already lost 2/3rds of the equation.

Lessons @ Nechville Center for Music (NCFM)

Per Half hour: $25
Monthly package: $80 (4 x 1/2 hr lessons @ $20 each, save $5 per lesson)


Lessons @ Your House!

Yes, I do make house calls! The cost is $90 for the first hour, $40 for each additional
Save up to $20 when paying monthly