FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What's the phone number or email? Ask
What's the price and length of lessons? Ask
Are there advance payments or contracts? Ask
Who is this 'Del' bloke? Ask
Where are the lessons held Ask
What age groups are taken? Ask
How long will it take me to be a guitarist? Ask
Will I learn my favourite songs? Ask
Do I need my own guitar? Ask
Do I hold group classes or one-to-one? Ask
Do I teach electric, acoustic, classical, or bass guitar? Ask
Do I give classical guitar tuition? Ask
Can I help with your music GCSE? Ask
Can I award you stage grading? Ask
Do I record your songs? Ask
What's wrong with books and online/video tuition? Ask
I hear Del restrings and maintains guitars? Ask
Do you have any other questions? Ask
PHONE NUMBER & EMAIL NOT AVAILABLE
Sorry about this, but I have decided to take my number off the site after a rise in annoying crank/spam calls. That's what you get for doing well in Google.
Post me an email me from the ↓bottom↓ of this page with your question, name, phone number and include a best time to call you back.
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HOW LONG & HOW MUCH DO THEY COST?
After your free 'Try-Before-You-Buy', 1 hour lessons are £22 pay on the day, see below for pre-payment discounts. These are all given on a weekly basis, fortnightly breeds bad practice.
I offer younger children half hour lessons for a straight ½ the price- £11. This is offered to under 13’s or those with short attention span and is recommended twice weekly for more frequent encouragement.
Weekend bookings cost £25, but are limited, and only taken on special circumstances such as; reschedual of a regular time or for those on shift work. This is a pay if you show -or not- deal as I change my Friday night and half Saturday plan for you.
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ANY PRE-PAYMENT OR LONG TERM CONTRACTS?
I do not hold you to any long term contracts but an optional discount I offer is the 10% off rate of £19.80 for paying 1 week up-front, which you can take up at any point. (If you start this pre-pay from the week of your free intro lesson you won't need to pay a double lesson bill at any point).
Providing you give 24 hours clear notice* of a booking cancellation, your payment will be carried over to the following week with no complications or questions. Alternatively we may be able to arrange another slot for you within the same week.
*e.g. If your lesson is 6pm on a Wednesday, please give me verbal notice by 6pm Tuesday so your time slot can be offered to others looking to reschedule, at a reasonable hour for me to call them- not midnight.
In case of confusion; this has recently been reduced from 2 days notice.
If sufficient notice is not received you still have the option to move to another point in the week rather than lose your payment, no one wants that. Friday is currently kept empty for this purpose of hosting reschedulings.
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WHERE ARE THE LESSONS HELD?
The lessons take place in my lounge music studio on the Burns estate in Royston so that we can use the top class equipment and software for great, full guitar & band sounds that makes my tuition so unique and entertaining. See logos of the gear laid out below.
There's no cats or dogs in here and no smoking in the lounge please. You don't need to bring leads or an amplifier; we go into a mixer along with the computer sounds. I have spare guitars for your trial lesson or if you can't get yours over here one day.
If you have a physical impediment or another situation which makes getting here difficult I may be able to come to you if you are in Royston, although this will limit my options in your training.
• With Sound Forge I can pick small portions of a song and 'loop' it, letting us listen & play along to a specific piece of guitar play until the cows come home. And I can slow the song down without dropping the notes too.
• Fruity Loops is an advanced sample sequencer (drum machine) and I have tons of genuine drum samples so we will be playing along with realistic, full drum kit sounds when practicing, not tick-tock metronomes.
• Line 6 & Digitech 'Amp Modelling' units for great guitar sounds with effects, plug them into the Behringer mixer along with the music from the PC, makes for a very tight studio sound when it all comes out in stereo!
• Cubase? Every now and then we need to record what you are playing complete with drum section & bass, so you can put down the guitar, listen back and analyse your sound.
• When I create my chord pictures and other guitar lesson graphics I don't sketch it on paper with a pencil, I use Adobe Photoshop as I'm quite good with that too.
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WHAT AGE GROUPS DO I TEACH?
All ages and stages. I have tought ½ hour lessons with rockers as young as 6, I don’t think Ray wants me quoting his age.
Age in years is not the issue with rock; interest, enthusiasm, focus and seeing it as more than a toy. As Royston's most versatile guitar teacher owning every type of guitar, I will always find music of interest to you from Bob Marley to Linkin Park.
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How Long Will It Take Me To Be a Guitarist?
That is a hard one. With the 6 string guitar, the most naturally skilled and hardest practicing people have shook hands with me after around 16-20 months. Bass is a quicker process; more like a year, but with both instruments this depends on how you apply what I teach you in that one hour each week.
I don't like to end it but I recognise a certain level of play where there is nothing fundamental left for me to teach, you just need to tighten up, maybe with other musicians.
But playing an instrument like guitar is not like learning to ride a bike, it is a life-long climb with many directions and you never stop learning. If you learned to "play guitar" in six months it would just be boring- and so would music! I still learn new tricks after 17 years and I pass them on to you.
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Will I Learn My Favourite Songs?
I'm afraid I can not guarantee that in the first few months, but I will look at your Favourite Bands and take their simplest songs for the initial learning process. It's just that general reality of walking before you dance.
Popular classic songs with easy 'hook lines' used in the early stages include;
- Nirvana - Come As You Are
- Oasis - Champagne Supernova
- David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World
- Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People
- Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody
- The Streets - Dry Your Eyes
- Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love
- Green Day - Brain Stew
- Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
- Smashing Pumpkins - Today
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Do I need my own guitar?
In the long-term Yes. You can take your free first lesson using one of my guitars to see if you like the feel of the instrument, then if you want to continue you will need to buy your own. I am happy to advise on this and even come shopping with you. See the Buying Guitars page.
If you can not practice what I teach you in these 1 hour-a-week lessons, then you will not progress.
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GROUP CLASSES OR ONE-TO-ONE?
Whatever You Want. After me and the PC there's 9 inputs left in the mixer for guitars.
I have nearly always worked one-to-one as this is by far the most effective. It is the only way for me to pay full attention to every single movement of the forearm, wrist, thumb, fingers, left hand and plectrum.
The occasions when I have had group students in the studio, have been very young friends or relatives learning together, or training developing bands such as the musicians who became Happy Lies.
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ELECTRIC, ACOUSTIC, CLASSICAL, BASS?
I teach them all, I have them all.
They each have their own roles within the music and bass guitar has its own string attack techniques, but all 6 string guitars have the same notes, in the same places.
There is a mis-conception that rythm guitar and lead guitar are different instruments. They are the same instrument, it is just the roles they play in the band and the techniques used to do this which differs and we will cover both.
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CLASSICAL TUITION
Up to mid-level.
The classical compositions are not my speciality but I do know the techniques involved, therefore what needs to be taught. I have recently helped a quite advanced player fine-tune 'Moonlight Sonata' by Beethoven; Lee brought along the tablature he had been learning from and I went through each and every wrist and finger movement to smooth his play.
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HELP WITH THE GCSE MUSIC COURSE
In certain areas Yes. I got my pass in 1994 because I know the principle theories relevant to guitarists such as scales and modes, how to use them, chord terms and syncopation principles. Basically when we work on a song I may introduce the theory behind the sounds you are creating.
Your own compositions are part of GCSE music and boost the grade by at least 1 level if you are capable. Let me assist & record them too.
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STAGE GRADING
No, sorry. Unfortunately I can not award stage grades as I can not teach you to play from dots & lines.
↓ notation on a stave ↓
That's what they are about, stage grades will qualify you into a tidy team of visualy scripted instrument players.
But I teach you to work with music for what it is to the ear; Sound, and give the thumbs-up when you are ready for a band if you would prefer this?
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RECORDING SONGS
Nevermind the grades, in guitar music the CD is your certificate on the wall. Full quality digital recording (no mp3), Cubase SX production with market leading plugin effects and VST synthesisers, real-sound drum patterns, SoundForge mastering, and the vital tools: top amplifiers and microphones.
Create a tune, I fill up the bass and drum instrumentation, We record it, Burn a CD, put an mp3 on the web, on your ipod... have it as a ring tone if you like.
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BOOKS AND VIDEOS
Sometimes 3rd party online-tuition gets advertised by Google at the bottom of my pages, these tutorials are nothing at all to do with me okay? By all means read them and take their advice for starting points and reference, but personalised one-to-one tuition will always be king for helping you fine tune the skills in the world of the real string.
The books show you the pictures and the tab, the videos show the motions, but neither can check you've not confused your tuning, watch to spot incorrect practices or find endless phrases & metaphores to re-explain something you don't understand.
Also chords can be played with as few as one finger, two, three, or four. The best choice of finger(s) to use for the chord depends on the fingers for the previous or following chord.
It's just a logical thing about getting fingers from A-B the easiest way, not guitar yoga.
Books show you a photo of each chord shaped up one way; Wrong.
Oh, and you can't ask them questions.
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RE-STRING AND MAINTENANCE SERVICE
Guitar pimping for all!
Soft finger flesh gets ground into your frets and strings (like your mouse buttons now) and causes them to sound like dead rubber bands after a few months. The sharp sound of a new set is well worth the £5 the 6-string sets sell for, around £20 for a bass guitar set.
While the strings are off I get the special fretboard cleaning oil & Mr.Sheen to polish up your whole axe!
I'll also set the "Action" to lower the strings to best and line-up what is known as the "Intonation" which when incorrect, is why your notes drift out of tune as you rise up the neck.
So for £20, I will;
- Buy your 6 string set,
- Clean up your guitar,
- Fit your fresh strings,
- Set the Action and Intonation,
- Sort out any loose dials or sockets.
- All for £20 or £15 if you already have the strings.
- Half-decent bass strings cost £20 per set not 5, so make that £35 for the Bass Full Bundle
If you have got problems with your internal wiring I may be able to solve that too.
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ANY OTHER QUESTIONS
If you have a comment or want to ask me a question about any of this, type it in below and it gets mailed to me. Please leave your email address for me to reply.
If you are interested in taking lessons leave your name, phone number and a best time to call you back.
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