Guitar Lessons and Coaching with Charlotte Adams
In addition to providing guidance for your self-study, I continue to offer personal, individualized guitar lessons and coaching.
Teaching and coaching are not the same thing. When you sign up for guitar lessons with any instructor (including me!), you can expect that person to instruct or train you in the skills required to play guitar. It’s usually best to take lessons at regular intervals, going no more than a week or two in between meetings. Because it’s natural for to me to coach as well as teach (and I think it’s helpful!), you will receive some of that in your lessons, as well.
Coaching has less emphasis on learning particular skills than teaching does, and more on the process that leads to optimal learning and performance. In Coaching for Performance, John Whitmore writes: “Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn, rather than teaching them.”
If you come to me for coaching, I’ll help you work through any areas of dissatisfaction while keeping your individual nature and goals in mind. Because I’m well-practiced at reading below the surface as I watch and listen to guitar players, I’ll also identify hidden issues that may be holding you back. This process will include, among other things, creating exercises, sharing concepts, and identifying connections for you to use as a springboard to your personal musical expression. I’m happy to work with you in one coaching session or a series.
Please contact me about availability and scheduling before making a purchase.
Guitar Lessons
At your first lesson, I’ll ask you about your past guitar experience and your musical goals. I’ll want to know what music you’re most interested in playing, and we’ll start working on the songs of your choice. I’m happy to help you with either your own music or that of other artists, focusing on rhythm, accompaniment, solo arrangements, or leads. I may create or choose exercises to help you gain the strength or finger independence you need to play your songs. And, I’ll explain any musical concepts that will help you understand and remember what your fingers are learning.
6-Month Transformational Guitar Coaching Program
Are you a self-motivated and independent learner? If so, you’ve surely grown your guitar talent and skills—but also encountered questions or issues beyond your capacity to easily resolve. And, even if you haven’t formulated specific questions, you may have considered the value of a professional coach to correct or refine elements of your playing or accelerate your progress.
For these reasons, I have developed a program to provide you with one-on-one high-level coaching at a reasonable cost. The program consists of monthly online consultations with me, plus membership in the Virtual Studio for six months.
The primary focus in these sessions won’t be on learning particular songs or styles. Instead, I’ll watch and listen to you and suggest ways to correct or adjust aspects of your playing, such as technique, mindset, rhythm, or feel. When you first begin to work with me, you may be surprised to discover the power of an educated and intuitive perspective. A slight finger angle adjustment or a simple mental exercise can have a huge impact on the way you sound or feel!
During your sessions, I will also advise you on which lessons to complete each month in your books or the Virtual Studio to receive optimal results. You will come away from each session with personalized exercises to help you resolve rhythmic problems, hone your ear and your technique, streamline your mental approach, and address any physical limitations.
All sessions will be 55-minutes long and must be conducted on weekdays between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Central time, scheduled at the time of purchase. Cost includes six monthly sessions, plus full access to the Virtual Studio for the entire period.
Cost: $345 (payable in installments)
Contact me to apply.
Comprehensive Course of Study: Beyond Guitar Lessons and Coaching
If you’re interested in pursuing a musical education beyond what guitar lessons and coaching provide, you may be a candidate for my comprehensive, in-depth course of study. The program enables you to achieve personal satisfaction and career advantages similar to those that a music school can provide, but without giving up your job or school or breaking the bank. (You will have to invest time and attention, though—becoming great takes commitment!)
This course includes twice weekly private lessons in semesters consisting of five months. Be prepared to spend 10 or more hours weekly in guitar practice and the study of ear training and theory. Depending on your level, you’ll also have the option to study composition, transcription, arrangement and performance. Contact me to apply or to introduce yourself and find out how the program could help you meet your goals.
Cost:$2,450/5-month semester (payment options available)
Single Song Support
Want some quick help on a song? Send me a recording and I will respond with an assessment and recommendations for corrections or refinement. At only $25/song, this is an affordable and efficient way to clean up one or more of your songs and move your playing forward. Choose “Single Song Support” in the drop down lessons menu above or read more about it here.
What Students Say
Charlotte teaches you how to LEARN guitar. She knows a lot about music and playing guitar, but the beautiful thing is that she is attentive to what you require, and she teaches you how to be attentive to that too. That is so valuable. Every time I pick up the guitar to play, I am making use of something she taught me, and it continues to grow.
Steve Alexander
Every once in a while, in this life, we are lucky to come across gifted teachers who teach from the heart. Charlotte is one of those teachers. She knows her stuff! She creates a safe space where I can play, and she knows just the right thing to say or the right book to use.
Lisa West
I’ve played for over 20 years and have taken lessons from many good players, but until I met Charlotte Adams, I never had a really good music teacher. In a short time, she took what was potentially confusing theory and made it understandable and applicable to a non-professional player.
Bob Soave
In addition to her holistic approach to teaching, her patience and inherent understanding of people and their individual needs as a student set her apart from the prior teachers I have studied with and, indeed, make her unique.
Larry Simonette
Charlotte has an uncanny knack for picking apart songs in an instant. Her ear is super-keen and she can help you find ways to add originality to cover songs or even new ways of playing your own original material. She will make you feel comfortable sharing no matter what level of expertise you are.
Rod Crosby
