I’ve been teaching guitar since the late 1980s. Please watch the video below for an overview of how my lessons work and also how I can help you achieve your guitar playing goals.
You can email me for further information – simonleesguitar@gmail.com
If you are a total beginner, my goal is to get your guitar playing skills up to the point where you can play basic songs. This involves the following skills:-
- Tuning the guitar
- Learning the musical alphabet
- Playing basic “open” chords
- Holding the plectrum correctly
- Learning how to strum correctly
- Learning to change from one chord to the next
Younger students who find chords too difficult at first can still manage to have fun on the guitar. I simply show them how to play the singing tune to their favourite songs! It’s much easier to relate to singing tunes as that’s the part of the song which people recognise instantly. I would urge parents to make sure their children have an interest in listening to music before pushing them into learning the guitar. If you have a song you really like, it’s much easier to learn to play it on the guitar than to play something you have no interest in!
If you’re already playing songs and your techniques are up to scratch then that’s great! We can bypass the basics and explore more techniques and music theory – right up to the advanced stuff. As winner of Guitarist magazine’s Guitarist of the Year competition, you can be confident that I’ll be able to demonstrate exactly how things are meant to sound. By broadening your skills and knowledge you’ll be able to tackle more complicated songs, guitar solos and learn how to improvise. The sky’s the limit!
I will ALWAYS give you written or printed sheets to take away with you. There is no need for you to memorize the things I show you during each guitar lesson. Where things get a little tricky to write down I am more than happy for you to film close-ups of my hands while I demonstrate whatever we’re working on. Just bring your smartphone!
I began teaching guitar in 1988 – a mere 6 years after I began playing the instrument. I’ve always strived to improve both my own guitar and bass playing skills as well as my teaching methods. In 1998 I developed a brand new way of teaching scales which blows away any traditional, long-winded and confusing way of learning the topic. This method was turned into a book and later into a DVD, both entitled “Signpost to the Fretboard”.
Advanced subjects at which I excel (and most teachers fall short) are:-
- Modes
- Boss GT series Multi FX Programming
I can explain what Modes are, why they exist and how you can use them in your guitar playing. It can be a confusing subject and there are several ways of approaching the topic. I can show you all of them which will give you a superb overall understanding of Modes inside and out.
I am a passionate believer in Boss GT series Multi FX processors as the ultimate tools with which to achieve your perfect guitar sounds. Not only that but they offer an extraordinary level of control which makes them unbelievably good to use live. They are, sadly quite confusing to set up correctly and the preset sounds are largely dreadful! HOWEVER – I have been doing shows with Boss Multi FX processors since 1989 and I can show you all the tricks I’ve learned. My setting up methods make creating amazing guitar sounds pretty straightforward. You certainly don’t need to spend huge amounts of money on Axe FX, Kemper Profiler or Line 6 Helix machines to get truly world class guitar sounds. Just a little know-how!
