Join Our Ensemble & Play Guitar in Front of the Crowd!
As a professional guitar instructor since I started teaching at age of 16 years old in New Jersey and New York City back in 1997, 15 years ago I wanted all of my students have an opportunity to experience jamming in a large ensemble format.
Most instructors, including me, would teach weekly for 1/2 hour private guitar lessons. On average I had 80 to 100 guitar students per week I love teaching guitar.
I want all of my guitar students to be able to play solo and read music (so they can teach themselves after about 3 years of guitar study). Taking group guitar lessons may lead to feeling lost in the crowd. Private guitar lessons help you to learn what scales to solo over and playing in front of your peers.
This is what inspired me to assemble a 50-piece rock ensemble consisting of 30 guitar students ages 7 to 75 and a 20-piece horn section consisting of soprano,alto,tenor,baritone sax as well as flute and trumpet players.
Since my major in college was music arranging, composing and conducting I would take popular songs from the 1950’s to current pop, jazz and fusion and do custom charts.
Every guitar student I teach starts out reading music. Playing tab and by ear takes too much time and most student’s ear training is inadequate. So I would have rhythm guitar and lead guitar parts. Then, I added my own horn arrangement and I would customize the stock arrangement (record copy), and feature world renowned percussionist “Orestes Vilato” whom was on the first 4 hit albums of Carlos Santana . I would also hire local Bay Area professional sax instructors and professional keyboardist Christopher Milne and Gary Minadeo on drums. Myself and Bay Area monster Blues guitarist, Adam GabrielI, would play lead guitars but my arrangements would also feature guitar solos by my guitar students.
I would have the students in for guitar lessons the first 3 weeks of every month, then no lessons for the 4th week because I would offer students a chance to play on Monday or Tuesday nights 7-9p.m. at Spitzer Music Store in Concord (now relocated in Stockton).
All students brought their guitars and amps. I would provide celebrity musician friends of mine to fatten up the sound and pitch problems.
We started this in 1998 and within one year we had a agent booking us to perform at professional NFL games and professional Major League Baseball games.
If you want to get better on your guitar and learn how to read and solo come join us (925) 695-7060 Rex@GuitarConfidence.com.
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