Teaching Style

Drawing from a wide variety of sources and his own insights over the years, Gabriel has developed a practical teaching method where each step builds on skills already established. This approach has been very successful  with absolute beginners, and also with students who bring previous guitar or other musical experience. Compared to some instruments, guitar has some physical challenges early on, particularly for the fretting hand (the left hand, for right handed guitarists), and Gabriel's approach makes this transition as smooth, musical and fun as possible.

The primary focus for beginners is getting comfortable with chords and strumming, and learning to play a few popular songs this way. Regardless of whether your eventual goal is to play singer / songwriter open mics, strum your favorite songs with friends, or to shred like Yngwie Malmsteen, learning to play chords on the guitar is the place to start and forms the foundation for all that is to follow.  Concurrently, the student will be introduced to lead guitar, starting with the blues and moving toward the style or styles that most interest him or her.

As the student progresses, increasingly advanced techniques, chords, scales, musicianship skills and theory will be introduced, and the content of the lessons will be guided by the student's interests and goals.