Guitar players often struggle with written musical notation. That is no secret. Traditional notation is difficult to apply for most players, especially past first position. This is because of the informal way that many players learn their instrument, a much different path than your average piano or violin student takes, and also because notation is based on keyboards and not stringed instruments and to apply it to a guitar or bass requires a lot of mental skill on the part of the reader. Sadly, many players feel that their inability to read notes prevents them from studying the basics of music theory and condemns them to a life of TAB paper, YouTube videos, and hunting and pecking for the right sounds. In other words, they feel that they will never be able to really understand music and how it fits together just because they can’t read the notes.
What if I told you that this was not true? What if I told you that I could teach you to understand scales, modes, chord construction and progressions, songwriting, harmony, and the rest of the nuts and bolts of music without you reading a single page of traditional notation? Would you believe it? You’d better believe, brothers and sisters, because it's true. If you can recite the English alphabet out loud, I can teach you all of this and more by using the letter names of notes to show you how it all fits together. I have developed a method over my teaching career that has been very successful for those who have studied it and can be successful for you, too!
See, most teachers teach reading almost before anything else and presume that you are going to be reading sheet music in performance. We all know that most guitar bands are not doing that. They are playing by ear and from understanding some basic concepts. I know you won’t be taking musical manuscripts on stage and teach you to get friendly with these basic ideas so that they ride in your hip pocket and can be applied instantly, in any musical situation. I call what I teach Street Level Guitar and that is just what it is. It’s a ground-level approach to playing and learning that is all killer and no filler. Unlike traditional teachers, I will show you the things you will actually need to know to play successfully in any venue in the world, from the VFW hall down the block to Madison Square Garden. My method will get a beginning player up and rocking quickly and take a more advanced student over the bridge that connects physical playing to real musical knowledge and understanding. I teach my students to think as well as hear musically, what is usually called ‘ear training,’ from the very beginning and this is what makes all the difference. I have played guitar for almost 40 years and have figured out what you need to learn to be successful as a player and the right order in which to present these ideas to you so that they all connect logically to each other.
Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. I do this every day. I can do it for you. If you can show up for your lessons, practice at home, and think a little bit, there is nothing we can’t learn together. It’s just that simple. You don’t need to go to college and study jazz to learn this stuff. I can teach you in my fully-equipped Pro Tools studio located in the suburbs of Chicago in person or online via Skype. All it takes is a little effort to reap some huge rewards. If you are serious about learning the guitar or improving the skills you already have, you need to get in touch with me today. I am on to something that most other teachers are not, plain and simple, and I want to share this knowledge with you. Lessons are reasonable, productive, professional, and fun. For more info or to book your first lesson, please email me at mikeocullmusic@aol.com or call my 24 hour hotline 773 315 1616. Visit me online at www.mikeocull.com and www.Facebook.com/MikeOCullMusic.
What you want to know is within your grasp.
It’s been said that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. Well, here I am. Let’s rock!
