Tuition
Guitar tuition is offered in all styles and at all levels in either English or French, and even in some cases bilingually! Since 2005 I have been teaching in England via internet link and webcam. I am resident-non-resident peripatetic guitar tutor at schools in Worcestershire, England, as well as to individual private students in UK. My tuition in France is based at the workshop, although I also teach in some students' homes.
My background with RGT means I favour teaching guitar for improvisation and I lean towards a Body/Mind/Spirit approach, where the student is encouraged to find the music within themself rather than imposing an external system a priori. This does not, I am afraid, mean no-one needs to learn scales and arpeggios, but these are seen as part of an underlying, rather than overlaid, rationale that might help the student to understand the music he/she is making. Sometimes it doesn't, so we might ignore it for a while. (but it does have a habit of coming back!)
Individual lessons(CI), blocked lessons(CB), Masterclass(MC) and Diagnostic sessions(CD) are all currently on offer.
Residential Guitar Weekends
This summer we began residential guitar weekends for small groups of 3 or 4 students studying specific themes (Blues Improvisation, Melodic Rock, Celtic Acoustic, Pitch Axis Shredding, Altered Tunings/Slide, Chord Theory without tears). Weekends are fully catered, with 8 hours of intensive tuition plus private practice time, and opportunity to explore the surrounding Deux-Sèvres countryside, which is actually stunning!
Guided Construction
The major innovation for 2006/7 has been a course in Guided Construction, whereby students build their own instrument at the workshop, with me alongside to guide the work. The choice of instrument is at the client's discretion, but currently the projects are an OM style acoustic, a solid-bodied explorer-style electric, and a Selmer/Maccaferi style manouche guitar. We hope eventually to offer the guided construction course as a week-long residential but more of that in the new year.
