Guitar Lessons - Rock, Pop, Metal, Blues, Acoustic Worship, Alliance, OH

About my musical background...

I won't bore you with my life story or anything like that, but I thought it might be helpful for you to know a little bit about my musical and guitar-playing background. The first rock-n-roll album I really remember listening to was KISS ALIVE. That album grabbed me and I just fell in love with rock music. Around 78/79, I got turned on to AC/DC. When the Back In Black tour came to town in 1980 my dad took my friend Jay Harvey and me to see them in Indianapolis. When I saw Angus Young perform and play guitar the way he did--I was hooked. I became an instant guitar addict. I was thirteen at the time.
My first guitars were all "air guitars". And let me tell you, I put on some serious air guitar concerts in my bedroom - Jamming to KISS ALIVE, Back In
Black… and loads of other classic rock albums. When I was 15 I got a job at Burger King. I saved up $300 and bought my first guitar -- a 1973 Fender
Telecaster Deluxe, ironically from my friend Jay. That tele is my favorite guitar to this very day. It's gone through a lot of changes over the years-it's really more of a "Franken-Tele" today. Ask me what I mean by "Franken-Tele" some time and I'll tell you. It's a pretty cool story.

I had 4 teachers:

Vic Cook
Vic was my first "Official Teacher." Vic taught me a lot about the guitar and music in general. I studied with Vic for about a year… I should have stuck with him longer. I would have learned a lot more in less time, but I was young and dumb... and I had become immersed in the local music scene -- so I just sort of drifted away from him.

The Local Music Scene
I got hooked up with Danny Trice, Don Burrell and Tim Hoenstein. Danny and Don were in a really cool rock band. I hung out all the time at their rehearsals. I guess I was a bit of a groopie… except for me it was all about learning how to play. I constantly picked their brains and asked them to show me stuff… "How'd you play that riff? Can you show me that lick?" They were very gracious to me and I learned a great deal from them.

Doug Marks & Metal Method
Then there was Doug Marks of "Metal Method". He was hugely popular back in the 1980s. I ordered several of his lessons (on cassette via snail mail! -- now THAT is dedication)! I grew a lot as a player under his teaching.

RECORDS
And finally there was my record collection. Learning to play things by ear from records was a l---o---n---g - trial and error process. I wore my records (and a lot of needles) out---listening to songs over and over and over again-playing along with them. For years, I spent, literally five, six and some times ten and even twelve hours a day in my bedroom learning from guys like Angus Young (AC/DC), Randy Rhoads (Ozzy), Ace Frehley (KISS), Adrian Smith and Dave Murray (Iron Maiden), Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Eric Clapton, Vivian Campbell (Dio/Whitsnake), Rik Emmett (Triumph), Neal Schon (Journey) Tom Scholtz (Boston), Warren DeMartini (RATT) and just a ton of other great players of the 1970S & 80s.

I rarely used tab, for me, learning from records was all about learning to use my ears -- to listen and then to recreate what I heard. Iike I said above, It was a l---o---n---g trial and error approach, but like I also said earlier, I was an addict.

I played in a lot of "Garage Bands". We put on nightly shows for the neighbor kids. We weren't focused enough to ever really get a solid gigging band together-but we made some killer music.

When I hit my twenties a lot of things changed in my life. When I was twenty-one I underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor and that surgery left me legally blind--we can talk about that some time-- if you're curious about how much I can actually see. It's a fun chat.

I began college in 1989 and I managed to squeeze a 4 year degree into 6 years. I graduating from Johnson Bible College (Knoxville, TN) in 1995--with a Bachelor Degree in Bible and Preaching.

Leading Worship
I was ordained into the ministry that same year and served in various churches and in various roles as a pastor. I always found a way to incorporate my guitar playing in the ministry. I've led hundreds (perhaps a thousand or so) worship services with my acoustic. Leading worship is a great experience. It forces you to learn/rehears a lot of music on a regular basis and perform it. Leading worship isn't exactly the same as "performing" but it is playing in a live setting… so it's similar.

Recording
In 2003 I discovered recording software. That opened awesome musical doors for me. Over time I built a studio in my home, affectionately called, "PB Studio" (i.e. "Pastor Brad Studio"). I also became a student of web design and built the Guitar Jams website. I launched Guitar Jams (www.guitarjams.net) in April of 2004. And from that day to this one, I have never stopped learning, stretching, recording and growing as a musician, a guitar teacher, a producer, and most importantly--as a person. I'm still that same guitar addict I was back in the early 1980s. I love rock, metal, blues and acoustic style guitar and I'm constantly looking for new licks to add to my lick vocabulary... new musical insights and new players to inspire me.

I love sharing all that I've learned and my passion for the guitar with my students!

I hope that helps you get to know me a little bit. I look forward to working with you and helping you reach your guitar playing goals! Feel free to ask me any questions you have. It's an honor to help you.

Blessings,
Brad.
pastorbrad@aol.com

BEGINNERS...

How to hold your guitar and your pick...

Guitar Anatomy--the "body" ... the "headstock" ... the "nut:... "frets" ... "fret markers"... etc. what are these things? And why is it a really good thing to know this stuff?

How to play songs:
          All the chords you need to know and how to connect them musically
          Strumming patterns
          Melody lines and scales
          All of the techniques you need to play your favorite songs and make them sound great!

EXPERIENCED PLAYERS...

Advanced rhythm guitar techniques--muting, playing over various time signatures, harmonics, pick scraping,
sliding, loads of cool blues, jazz and rock/metal style chord progressions and rhythms.

Advanced picking techniques

Ear training

How to play with feel and soul (Phrasing)

How to play with speed, accuracy and confidence -- I.e. "Chops"

Bending

Taping techniques

Tons of cool riffs, licks and tricks

Extended scales--how to solo all over the neck

Improvisation techniques

How to know what key you're in and how to solo in any key

How to write a song

How to construct a guitar solo

Essential music theory for guitar

And TONS more!

Email me today at pastorbrad@aol.com.
I'd love help you learn how to play!