Patience. Experience. Dedication.
Alex Online Guitar Teacher
Making Every Lesson Count
About Me
Hi, my name is Alex. I'm an online guitar instructor.
In 2004 I graduated from the College of Music with a major in Guitar Performance/Instruction. While studying I also performed in a cover band playing some music of my own composition.
After graduation, I continued to play in the band combining actual practice with instruction classes at the School of Music where I taught kids to learn and master their guitar skills.
Currently, I am teaching online via Skype or Zoom.
The majority of my students are 7 years old and up. I love teaching kids, watching them progress and achieve success! I am a father of two, and can tell that every child is unique and requires individual approach.
I speak English, and Russian is my native language. Lessons are available in both languages.
I play Shape Of My Heart by Sting in the video below:
My Method
Motivation is a key factor that keeps kids going and helps them overcome obstacles, stay persistent and fully enjoy success. The question is how to motivate younger students to practice every day? My solution is to figure out the type of music students are attracted to and teach them to play exactly what they like. And this approach is effective. When students play what they love, they practice more which eventually results in improved skills. And what is more important – the process is easy and enjoyable.
I try to make my lessons positive and fun. During the class, kids are shown presentations and videos about the history of the guitar, as well as given many other music-related materials.
After each class, a student gets homework, which usually includes a pdf file with notes or tabs, or a short video of the material studied during the class.
Doing homework daily is essential to make progress and see results.
The frequency of classes per week matters too, as it helps a student stay on track, discipline himself and master the techniques more efficiently
Lessons
The choice of what to study is flexible and customized: students express their preferences and I guide them through the process towards their goal.
Many students want to play and sing their favorite songs, and we learn chords, fingerpicking, and strumming patterns. Others want to play the melodies of their favorite artists. Some like certain performing styles as, for instance, fingerstyle - when the melody is played along with the chords. Occasionally, students are interested in learning how to improvise and play solo. In some cases, parents prefer kids to study sheet music and play classics. Others’ favorites are blues or rock… Everything can be studied and learned!
Pricing
25$ for 45 minutes guitar lesson. By the way, the first class is FREE.
During trial class we will get to know the guitar, learn about guitar parts, how to hold the guitar correctly, how the strings are named, learn a few basic chords, or a simple melody and learn how to tune the instrument.
First Chord Progressions
Guaranteed Success
No matter your level of skill or experience, you’ll gain a lot from taking my First Chord Progressions. Each class includes practical and theoretical instruction, along with plenty of time to put your new knowledge into practice. Contact me to find out about availability.
Benefits Of Playing An Instrument
In the last few decades, neuroscientists have made enormous breakthroughs in understanding how our brains work by monitoring them in real-time with instruments like fMRI and PET scanners. When people are hooked up to these machines, tasks, such as reading or doing math problems, each has corresponding areas of the brain where activity can be observed.
But when scientists observe the brains of musicians, playing music they see the brain's equivalent of a full-body workout. The neuroscientists saw multiple areas of the brain light up, simultaneously processing different information in intricate, interrelated, and astonishingly fast sequences.
Playing a musical instrument engages practically every area of the brain at once, especially the visual, auditory, and motor cortices. As with any other workout, disciplined, structured practice in playing music strengthens those brain functions, allowing us to apply that strength
to other activities.
Besides, music is an excellent tool to develop attention, which is in absolute demand in the modern world of computers and digitalization.
Whole Brain Training
Playing music requires fine motor skills, which are controlled in both hemispheres of the brain. It also combines the linguistic and mathematical precision, in which the left hemisphere is more involved, with the novel and creative content that the right excels in. This may allow musicians to solve problems more effectively and creatively, in both academic and social settings.
Develop Attention Skills
While playing music, musicians concentrate on the correct rhythm, dynamics and accuracy of performance - this develops concentration and attention skills.
Enhance Memory Function
And, indeed, musicians exhibit enhanced memory functions, creating, storing, and retrieving memories more quickly and efficiently. Studies have found that musicians appear to use their highly connected brains to give each memory multiple tags, such as a conceptual tag, an emotional tag, an audio tag, and a contextual tag, like a good Internet search engine.
You can see more details in the video below.
Alex, we are so happy we found you! You are such a talented teacher and our son enjoys his weekly guitar classes. You are able to keep his interest by learning the songs that he knows and wants to play. That's the secret why he willingly practice every evening too :)
very clever approach!
Ekaterina Jameson
I would highly recommend Alex to anyone interested in learning to play the guitar and there are a number of reasons for that! First of all, Alex is the one who can create an encouraging and welcoming environment for my kid. It is very important for Jeffrey and helps him focus, comprehend and remember the material. Also, Alex is good at keeping track of homework which makes the study fruitful and my kid consistent in his desire to learn more. Besides, I appreciate interesting facts about music Alex shares! They are not only fun to know about but also contribute into Jeffrey's motivation and development of musical taste. And, of course, Alex is very patient! :) I can hardly imagine a kid who he would not be able to get along with! Thank you, Alex, for making guitar classes a wonderful experience for my son!
Tamina (Jeffrey's Mom)
My 8 yr old son started guitar classes with Alex in August over Skype. I was a little skeptical at first how can you learn musical instruments online?, but was pleasantly surprised. He was able to teach him basics with no prior experience and quickly teach him melodies to play while keeping it fun and interesting. My son loves the classes and is eager to learn. Alex is very prompt and reliable on the schedule set. Overall very happy and would recommend to others
Sergey Peschanyy
Contact Me
Get in touch to book no-obligation three trial classes to find out more about learning with me.