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Questions you should be asking about your guitar lessons:

Things you can expect from a normal teacher:

Things you can expect from SF Guitar Academy:

How will you know what I want to be able to do on my instrument and what I need in order to reach my goals?

A normal music teacher will just ask you what styles of music you listen to and what songs you would like to learn. Then they will just teach you these songs, or worse, they will just ask you "what do you want to learn today?".

A normal music teacher will not target your weaknesses in order to resolve them, or your strengths in order to reinforce and expand them: they will just show you more songs hoping that you magically become a better musician.

At SF Guitar Academy, I will set up an initial FREE introductory lesson for you. During this first lesson we will talk about where you are and assess  your playing, what your ultimate goals are, and what you need in order to take the next steps. If you're a beginner we'll simply get started right away.

How will you help me with the problems and frustrations I have with my playing?

A normal music teacher has no plan for you. He will teach you from lesson to lesson, often "winging it" ("what do you want to learn today?") without a real long-term strategy to solve your REAL guitar playing problems.

After assessing where you are currently and what you want to achieve, we will set up a plan with expectations and deadlines that is tailored to your specific goals and needs in order to effectively solve your guitar playing problems. We will continuously refine the plan as needed by keeping track of your progress and frequently revising your goals.

Do you offer any additional learning opportunities outside of regular lessons?

An average music teacher will just give you a 30 minute one-on-one private lesson. He will not bother with other formats.

SF Guitar Academy will provide  workshops on various topics; group classes and jam sessions. Workshops that feature guest instructors are also made available. Workshops are great opportunities for students to expand their knowledge and focus on specific aspects of their playing. While jam sessions are great confidence boosters, give you an opportunity to apply things you know, and are just plain fun!  Also, special workshops will feature jamming with some great local professionals in a band setting, allowing students to gain confidence and work out any playing issues in a challenging, fun, interactive environment.

How can you help me make sure that I am practicing in the most efficient and effective ways between my lessons?

An average teacher will just tell you to practice more - or simply never address the topic of how to practice!

At SF Guitar Academy you will be shown  how to practice every single exercise you are given so when you are at home you will know EXACTLY what to do. Plus it will all be in writing for you each week.

Will you travel to my place and teach me in my house? Also I have a teacher living just around the corner, so why should I bother to come to your place?

Average teachers come to your place because they do not have many students, and want to get more experience teaching. They will do ANYTHING to make you their guinea pig - and have YOU pay for it.

Like all serious music teachers, I teach from my studio and not from the student's house. SF Guitar Academy students come to me from all over the Bay Area.  All of these students find that the value and quality provided in our lessons is more important than the minor inconvenience of driving to my place. Also, I am centrally located in Noe Valley in San Francisco.   As a great player once said, "An hour spent driving to a great [music] teacher will save you 10 years of frustrations with the instrument." Which would you rather have?

I am looking for the cheapest lessons around! Surely your lessons aren't expensive?

Average music teachers do not have many students and the only way they have to attract you is to have very low rates. The cheapest teachers tend also to be the less experienced ones and they will often teach you the wrong things or foster bad habits (We know because their ex-students come to us and we have to fix their mistakes).
All the money you spend with inexperienced teachers is money down the drain.

 I FIX the damage that cheap music lessons and average teachers cause to their students. Great music teachers are always in demand and require fair compensation for their services. In return they give you the best learning strategies and the great results you are expecting. This does not mean that a good teacher is always expensive. I have many different programs to accommodate any budget, and you can be sure that you are making a sound investment with SF Guitar Academy. However I'm definitely not the cheapest option around but I believe you get what you pay for. If you were sick, you wouldn't choose the cheapest doctor around. Likewise, if you want to get better at playing music, you should't choose the cheapest option.

Do you have proof that your teaching methods and strategies are effective?

Most teachers cannot do this because they don't even HAVE a teaching strategy! They may know some things about music, but they have never really studied how to TEACH an instrument.

I have taught many satisfied students over the years. You can check out the testimonial videos on the site to hear my students share about their learning experience with me. Also, unlike other teachers, I constantly work on improving my teaching skills. I am a member of the Elite Guitar Teacher's Inner Circle program, an international coaching program for guitar teachers, run by the worlds most successful online guitar instructor, Tom Hess.  It has been of immeasurable value in making me a highly effective and motivated teacher.  And I'm constantly learning and implementing new methods and strategies to help students get better results and more value from their lessons.