Guitar Lessons & Curriculum
Structured learning paths designed to take you from complete beginner to advanced player, with lesson options to suit your schedule and learning style.
Lesson Options
Choose the lesson format that works best for you - you come to me (Pukerua Bay), I come to you. Online lessons also available.
Serving Wellington's northern suburbs: Pukerua Bay, Plimmerton, Cambourne, Mana, Paremata, Papakowhai, and Whitby
In-Person at Mike's Place
Pukerua Bay
$30/ 30 minutes
Available Hours:
- Monday: 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Tuesday: 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM
- Wednesday: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
- Thursday: 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Friday: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
In-Person at Your Place
Plimmerton, Cambourne, Mana, Paremata, Papakowhai, Whitby
$45/ 30 minutes
Available Hours:
- Tuesday: 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
- Wednesday: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Thursday: 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
- Friday: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Online Lessons
Zoom/Skype
$30/ 30 minutes
Available Hours:
- Monday: 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Tuesday: 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM
- Wednesday: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
- Thursday: 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Friday: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Suited for intermediate level players comfortable with basic techniques
Guitar Curriculum
A structured progression from beginner to advanced, with clear milestones and skill development at each level.
Beginner Level One: "First Time Strummer"
You've just started learning to strum basic chords.
Key Skills:
Chord Fundamentals: Learn open major and minor chords (A, Am, C, D, Dm, E, Em, and G).
Melodic/Single Note Playing: Use simple melodies on one or two strings to build finger strength and accuracy.
Rhythmic Development: Use basic strumming patterns (quarter notes and simple eighth notes) while tapping your foot to maintain a steady internal pulse.
Music Theory: Learn note names and understand how the third interval differentiates major from minor chords.
Fretboard & Reading Skills: Use targeted exercises and basic fretboard diagrams to identify note names along the E string, and develop the ability to interpret chord charts and lyric sheets.
Technique: Develop an effective, comfortable pick grip and incorporate proper hand placement.
Beginner Level Two: "Campfire Crooner"
You've learned a few songs and can serenade friends around a campfire.
Key Skills:
Chord Fundamentals: Continue working with open chords and introduce additional chords—including Major 7, Minor 7, and Dominant 7—while developing chord changes.
Melodic/Single Note Playing: Refine single‑note melodies and begin integrating simple multi‑string riffs. Develop clarity and precision in your playing.
Rhythmic Development: Explore varied strumming patterns that incorporate subtle syncopation and develop your rhythmic feel.
Music Theory: Expand your understanding of chord construction using chord charts and fretboard diagrams. Begin exploring foundational forms like the 12‑bar blues.
Fretboard & Reading Skills: Reinforce note identification along the E string, extend familiarity to other strings, and develop your ability to read chord and lyric sheets.
Technique: Continue developing a comfortable pick grip and incorporate proper hand placement.
Intermediate Level One: "Barre Chord King"
You've mastered barre chords and are now integrating scales into your playing.
Key Skills:
Chord Fundamentals: Use barre chords (with E string and A string roots) while refining overall chord transitions.
Melodic/Single Note Playing: Develop scale proficiency by using single‑note patterns covering the Pentatonic, Major, and relative Minor scales.
Rhythmic Development: Use varied rhythmic patterns—eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and triplets—and use a metronome to improve timing and precision.
Music Theory: Explore the concepts of intervals and diatonic harmony with hands-on, tab-based activities and written guides to deepen your comprehension of chord progressions, scales, and harmony.
Fretboard & Reading Skills: Develop your skills in reading chord, lyric, and tablature sheets.
Technique: Incorporate hammer‑ons, pull‑offs, slides, palm muting, ghost notes to add rhythmic and tonal variation, and further develop these techniques.
Intermediate Level Two: "The Improvisor"
You can craft improvisations, jam with others, and write your own songs.
Key Skills:
Chord Fundamentals: Continue refining chord transitions with increased speed and precision. Introduce shell voicings, voicings on different string sets, and expand your chord vocabulary to include diminished, augmented, m7b5, and triad forms.
Melodic/Single Note Playing: Expand your use of scales and modes—including the diminished scale—and incorporate their corresponding arpeggios. Develop your improvisational skills.
Rhythmic Development: Use varied rhythmic patterns—such as eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and triplets—and use a metronome to enhance your timing. Integrate complex rhythmic patterns and syncopation to develop expressive timing and rhythmic complexity.
Music Theory: Study intervals and diatonic harmony through practical, tab‑based examples and written material to deepen your understanding of modal concepts and chord substitutions, and to enhance your theoretical insights.
Fretboard & Reading Skills: Develop your skills in reading chord, lyric, and tablature sheets, and further develop your knowledge of notes on the fretboard.
Technique: Continue developing hammer‑ons, pull‑offs, slides, and palm muting with ghost notes; and introduce advanced techniques such as tapping, string muting, alternate picking, and pinch harmonics.
Advanced: "Better Than The Teacher"
You craft sophisticated solos that apply advanced techniques and theoretical concepts.
Key Skills:
Chord Mastery: Learn advanced chord shapes, including extended, altered, inverted, and drop voicings on multiple string sets.
Scale Mastery: Explore advanced scales—including diminished, whole tone, harmonic minor, melodic minor, and their modes—and integrate them and their corresponding arpeggios into solos and improvisations. Develop your soloing, improvisational, and arpeggio skills.
Musical Expression: Develop a nuanced performance style with dynamic variation, precise technique, and expressive phrasing.
Advanced Rhythmic Development: Use intricate subdivisions—such as complex sixteenth note passages, triplets, and dotted rhythms—within sophisticated arrangements to improve your rhythmic precision.
Advanced Music Theory: Study harmonic analysis, modulation, voice leading, and advanced chord substitutions using comprehensive written materials and diagrams to deepen your theoretical insights.
Fretboard & Reading Skills: Continue advancing your ability to read complex tablature and chord charts.
Technique: Incorporate advanced picking techniques such as sweep picking and pick slanting for fluid, expressive lead playing, and further develop your advanced technical skills.