Greg has been a music instructor for over thirty years, having taught in five music stores in Traverse City, MI and Nashville, TN. Greg also has experience in private schools and colleges. Many students have successfully started the journey of playing amusical instrument or extended their knowledge of a music discipline with his help and instruction. Greg's lesson studio is located in Logan's Landing on S. Airport Road. To inquire about lessons, please call at 231-313-7061.

Lessons are $ 15.00 per half hour session. Lessons are paid for by the month, on the first lesson of the month. Students are asked to make one month commitments to lessons.

* 
Below listed are the areas of study that Greg offers:

Beginning guitar students need guidance. The fundamentals of guitar start students off on the right path of learning how to play guitar. Students have the opportunity to study the following guitar techniques:

* 
• Chords, applied to popular songs.
• Strumming and finger picking techniques.
• The fundamentals of reading music as applied to the guitar.
• The fundamentals of reading tablature.

* 
Students move quickly from simple chords and songs to more advanced techniques. Beginning guitar lessons are taught either in private individual lessons or in group study.

After a good foundation is laid with beginning instruction, the following areas of study can be pursued on the guitar:

This is one of Greg's specialties. Greg has helped hundreds of students learn to play and understand improvising lead guitar or soloing. Students learn scale shapes and patterns on the entire fret board, along with the modes and how to apply them in all of the different keys and musical genres.The study of lead guitar goes hand in hand with the study of music theory. Students study scales and chord arpeggios with practicing techniques such as how to practice scales with a metronome, correct fingering and pick techniques. Improvisation is studied by learning specific licks or motifs, and how to use them over specific chord progression scenarios. Studying chords and chord progressions along with how chords and melodies are derived from scales are also essential in developing a thorough understanding of lead guitar techniques.
*

Music Theory

Greg teaches music theory as applied to guitar, bass guitar and voice. Greg prefers that students who wish to study music theory already have a basic understanding of a musical instrument. Areas of study include:

* 
• Music site reading, from beginning to advanced.
• Melody and harmony, Scales, modes, chords and keys.

* 
Greg feels that a good understanding of music theory begins by applying written music to your musical instrument. Practical music theory is how to apply music knowledge to your instrument in real life music playing scenarios and also by expanding your knowledge and understanding of music in general.
*

It has been Greg's experience that guitar instrumentalist can understand and play both types of guitar, six string guitar with music written in the treble clef, and bass guitar with music written in the bass clef. Bass guitar has obvious technique differences from six string guitar, such as fret board and fingering techniques and how bass lines are derived from scales and arpeggios. I teach bass from a practical real world approach, with emphasis on actual bass lines in popular songs, and how bass works in the rhythm section of a combo. Other areas of study with bass guitar include:

*
• Chord arpeggios and scales, applied to popular songs.
• Bass picking techniques.
• The fundamentals of reading music in bass clef.
• The fundamentals of reading tablature.
*

Greg works with vocalist by studying vocal exercises found in "Solfeggio book 1". Breathing, projection and enunciation are the focus of exercise studies along with singing vowel sounds and scale exercises. Students also study singing and recording popular songs of their choice, with emphasis on delivery and performance. Students who play musical instruments for accompaniment also work on playing, singing and memorization of songs in preparation for performance.

Greg teaches the fundamentals if songwriting by studying the aspects of music theory in the creation of harmony and melody. Chord progressions are studied along with how melody works with chord progressions. The writing of lyrics and how to adapt them to created melody and harmony is also studied. Other areas of songwriting that are studied include:
• Writing musical hooks
• Writing lyrical hooks
• Building song lyrics to a pay off.
Students are also helped with how to publish their songs, and how to get their songs heard by potential recording artists.