Private Bluegrass Guitar tutoring lessons Maynardville, TN.

Award-Winning Teacher - Networked/played with various members of Heart & Bad Company & Former Queensryche. Learn Your Favorite Songs Quickly & Accurately.
2020 Update - I'm Pacific NW Guitarist for Rudy Parris from "NBC TV's The Voice!" Go Team Blake -

Teaching Bluegrass Guitar Is My Specialty.. Been Playing & Performing For 35 years now!

Everything from a I IV V to Key Signatures, strum patterns and Bum-Ditty bluegrass basics. I'm familiar with the modern greats and would love to help any new student discover their undiscovered talent.

Want to play your favorite songs? Interested in learning to write and record your own music? Wish you knew more music theory and technique? Would you like to improvise and be creative with music? Or maybe you're not sure what you want but you're looking for a fun and rewarding teacher.

No matter what your goals are, I can get you there!

I will help you build a solid foundation of music theory and technique while tailoring to your personal tastes and goals. We will learn how different songs and genres work, and why. We will learn how to write our own music, and record it, if you're interested. We will learn the music that you want to learn, as well as the deeper structures which connect all music together.

I have 5 years of experience, 20+ years of experience playing music, and a degree in Music and Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia. I have taught students from age 6 to 66, in all styles, and all ability levels. Send me a message to see if we will be a good fit!

If you've ever wondered how you can not only learn songs on your own but also create your own music.......then you're going to freak over the tools and techniques that you'll learn with me! From learning your first chords and scales to music theory and everything in between I'm ready to give you the tools to succeed.

My journey began in my early teens and I'm still playing in bands and performing live on a regular basis. I studied under multiple extremely talented instructors through the Berklee College of Music Online and earned a Professional Certificate in Rock Guitar. Being a student of the instrument is something that I strongly believe in and I really enjoy passing along my knowledge of Rock, Pop, Metal, Blues, and Country in a way that is easy to understand.

After 20 years of playing and a BA in Music, I know how to break down the guitar and teach it to anyone willing to learn. I take the 80/20 approach to learning guitar and will get you up and playing in no time. If you are tired of trying to figure out how to learn guitar online or you feel stuck at your current level, then I can show you the most effective and efficient way to get your playing to the next level. Lessons will teach you the following:

* songs you actually want to play
* how to read music and guitar tablature
* music theory tailored to suit your needs
* composition and improvisation
* performance practices and music history
* how to play solo pieces and jam with your friends

Music industry professional with a background in concert touring and production. I teach a combination of guitar and aural skills to all ages for a more enjoyable playing and listening experiences as music becomes a bigger part of your life! Technique is always grounded within the framework of songs and creative endeavors.

Specialized in fingerstyle, acoustic, country, rock, blues, pop, punk, jazz and more.

Above all I am a passionate educator, and aim to taylor my teaching style to the student. Experienced with kids 5+.

In person students have access to guitars (Fender Strat, Gretsch 6121, Martin D18, Ovation Applause), amplifiers (Princeton reverb), effects pedals and a full recording setup to track their progress if requested. *Of note, I also do lessons on DAW operation (Ableton Live, Logic Pro) and recording techniques as well on request.