GUITAR
ACOUSTIC GUITAR, ELECTRIC GUITAR, ROCK GUITAR, LEAD GUITAR, UKULELE, MUSIC THEORY
ALL LESSONS ARE ONLINE PRIVATE (ONE ON ONE)
Weekday evening classes available (Timeslots will be scheduled
Weekend morning & late evening options available
45 Min lessons - 4 week sessions
Since these are all 1-1 private sessions - timeslots will be scheduled based on availability of both student and the instructor please email info@academyofcreativearts.com if you have any questions.
Students of all levels and ages are welcome to sign up and cultivate a love for music.
ELECTRIC & ACOUSTIC GUITAR
I teach a fun and engaging course that covers the core knowledge necessary to progress quickly and confidently as a guitarist and musician.
For beginners: a student will have learned open position and movable chords, strum and accompaniment patterns, alternate picking, basic music theory towards creating songs. Reading skills uses extended tablature and standard notation in a manner that doesn't bog down a students progress and excitement.
Ample of focus on creative exploration that will allow students to write their own melodies, progressions and a fairly simplified introduction to guitar improvisation that's very effective.
Intermediate students: Apart from lessons that build upon the material from the beginner course there is ample of focus on building more techniques for expression and musicality. Increased focus on creative exploration which translates into better ability to improvise and write music ranging from small snippets to small sections worthy of being a song on their own!
Beginner and intermediate: A selection of fun songs from Rockschool and Trinity's Acoustic and Electric Guitar curriculum, which also allows a student to know where they are in the overall scheme of learning progression.
For kids 5 to 8 years:
I teach a fun copy, play and learn based guitar course for the young ones.
UKULELE
For primary school kids to Adults:
This will guide you through the basics of contemporary ukulele playing. It has been designed to help build your skills and knowledge as you work through the lesson topics.
Progressive structure preparing students towards music benchmarked to be playable by beginners. Contains professionally recorded fun backing tracks from the Rockschool Ukulele curriculum.
Contemporary music style with equal focus on solo and group playing.
Basic technical skills are introduced including single note playing, various strumming patterns, and numerous open position chord forms. Reading skills uses extended tablature and standard notation in a manner that doesn't bog down a students progress and excitement. The course repertoire includes band arrangements as well as numerous exercises and musical examples.
For kids 5 to 8 years:
Kids will learn to play chords for kids and fun strumming patterns and simple melodies. All the fundamental techniques of ukulele playing including correct posture, hand position and fingering technique for playing chords and melodies.
MUSIC THEORY
For beginners and intermediate students:
Although I cover enough applied music theory with instrument lessons I do teach popular music theory on its own with the aid of Rockschool's curriculum on popular music theory. These are fun, super applicable and allow you to read scores, understand foundational music theory etc. along with objective like examples to test your knowledge gained so far.
INSTRUCTOR: VIVEK
VIVEK has been playing for over 15 years and loves teaching and composing music. He also plays guitars for his band The Malakar Experience which is a rock instrumental trio. As a band they have performed at the the unique and amazing FANGIRL Indie Fest in 2017, the The Big Squat entertainment festival by Fangirl live and the Levis Lounge in Mumbai, India.
For around 5 years Vivek was the educational head for a chain of music academies. He has taught students, trained new entrant teachers, help design curricula and course-ware for different music instruments, conceive and stage student performances, conduct workshops and other interesting activities around music education.
Vivek also has a background in software engineering with a Masters degree and has professionally worked in the IT industry for over 13 years.
TEACHING STYLE
I specialize in teaching Acoustic/Electric Guitar ,Ukulele and music theory to beginner and intermediate students.
Noteworthy aspects of my teaching method:
All the associated material is designed to instill good habits, inspire confidence and keep you, the student, motivated throughout your learning journey!
The courses offered have pedagogically sound sequencing. That is, the lesson order is optimized for maximizing your learning and growth. It is wholesome and gives just good enough returns for the effort you decide to put in.
Lessons are often backed by additional material for reference and practice.
Special emphasis on being creative right from the beginning. Create your own melodies, chord progressions, improvise and eventually write your own songs!
Seamlessly integrated curricula of credible and extremely popular music examination boards like Rockschool and trinity. These provide fantastic song options for all levels of students, especially beginners!
IN-PERSON CLASSES WITH GENE WILL BEGIN - ONCE WE OPEN BACK UP POST COVID-19
Instructor: Gene began the study of guitar at the age or 7 when his parents enrolled him in classical guitar lessons. After a brief hiatus from guitar, Gene returned to the instrument in high school learning electric rock guitar studying with a few private teachers before returning to his first love of classical guitar. He began his studies at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University under the tutelage of Sulaiman Zai and legendary cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. From there, he went on to get his Masters in Music in Classical Guitar Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying with Javier Calderon. During his time at UW, he was awarded the Rose-Palmai Tenser scholarship to study with The Juilliard School’s Sharon Isbin at the Aspen Summer Music Festival. During this time period, he was on the faculty of both Rockford College (Rockford, IL) and Clarke College (Dubuque, Iowa). Upon his graduation from Wisconsin, he traveled to Milan, Italy where he received his post-graduate Perfezionamente degree at the Civica Scuola di Musica studying with the great Italian master, Aldo Minella. During his classical studies. Gene kept up his electric and steel string acoustic playing and played in several local bands in the area. After he moved to Boston, he delved back into electric guitar, studying jazz with Sal DiFusco and fretboard theory and improvisation with Chris Buono.
Gene is fluent in several musical styles including classical, rock, funk, blues, jazz, pop, bluegrass and folk. He also teaches ukulele and beginning mandolin. So pick your instrument and Gene would be happy to help you achieve excellence in any of those string instruments... Happy Learning
DID YOU KNOW? - Music education and its positive effect on students -
Music is integral for children's academic development. Playing an instrument helps train children to remain focused for long periods of time. Studies have shown that studying music is linked to better academic performance as well - reading and playing music sharpens memorization and cultivates the desire to improve.
Children who play a musical instrument over the course of a few years are more likely to excel in their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, and pursue further education. Not only does the simple act of playing an instrument improve technical coordination skills, but music engages areas of the brain that are involved with paying attention and making predictions.
Although playing an instrument can be a challenge, students acquire a sense of achievement after reaching their goals and will be driven to persevere musically as well as in other aspects of life. They learn discipline and the benefits of individual effort, and playing in group ensembles teaches camaraderie, interdependence, and the importance of individual responsibility.
Payment and Missed Class Policy:
Training requires consistency in order to achieve the most benefit. However, we understand that students may occasionally need to miss a class. Use the following guidelines to ensure that you get the most out of your classes at The Academy of Creative Arts.
Your fees are due on or before the first class in a month
Payment may be made by cash, check or credit card
If you pay for several months in advance and cannot complete all months, we will refund months not used when notice is received before the beginning of the month
If you or your child plan to miss a class - 48 hour advance notice is required - so another student can be accommodated - if the student does not provide 48 hour notice, student can coordinate the make-up class with the instructor.
Your monthly fee pays for your space in class for the month. It is your responsibility to make up classes if you or your child miss the class.
One makeup class will be offered each month. During any month that you are enrolled, you may make up a class by attending any other appropriate session (please coordinate with the instructor for scheduling the make up class). Make up classes should be completed within 60 days of missing the class. Fees for missed classes are not refundable.
If you are having trouble scheduling a make up class, please let us know and we will try to accommodate you
Class timings and schedule are subject to change
If your child is disruptive and impacts the ability to learn for other students - we may request parents to un-enroll the child from the class for a safe and fun learning experience & environment for all the other students in the class.
We wish you a wonderful learning experience - these policies are required so that we can be respectful of the instructors time and commitment.