Our Approach to Guitar Lessons
The guitar is one of the most versatile instruments. It shows up in the classical concert hall, it’s a staple throughout commercial pop music, and it’s found in folk music all around the world. With such a diverse set of applications, it’s not surprising that approaches to teaching and learning guitar vary widely. Our approaches do, too, depending on the student’s goals. That said, here’s a basic outline of our approach.
Guitar Lessons Should Be Fun!
We all know the feeling: you hear your favorite song come on and you can’t resist the urge to play along on your air guitar! Here at Brill Music Academy, we can help you convert your musical fantasies into reality – while preserving that irresistible sense of joy you feel when playing along. We want each of our students to LOVE their musical experience with us!
Whether you come to us planning on becoming the next Jimi Hendrix or simply wanting to play songs around the campfire with your friends, our top-notch instructors will help you progress quickly toward your goals while ensuring you have fun along the way.
We Emphasize Healthy Technique
Regardless of your ultimate goals, our teachers will prioritize strong fundamentals including proper posture, hand positioning, chords, fretting, picking, and strumming. As students progress, these basics will become second nature – and serve as the foundation from which students can apply their skills across a variety of genres and styles.
We want our guitar students to be literate, well-rounded musicians. Beginners and seasoned performers alike will find value in our approach at Brill Music Academy, coupling technical instruction with elements of music theory and music history in each lesson.
We Care About Your Musical Interests & Goals
Your unique interests and background will help guide your experience at Brill Music Academy. We teach beginners, intermediate, and advanced students who are interested in a variety of styles – including rock, jazz, classical, pop, blues, and more. Whether you’re inspired by modern day singer-songwriters or the rockers of the 1970s, we can’t wait to get started with you!
Our seasoned instructors will draw upon years of playing, performing, and teaching experience to guide you in improving your skills and exploring the many possibilities of your instrument, and advancing toward your goals at a pace that works for you.
If you or your child is looking for guitar lessons or ukulele lessons in the Las Vegas area, Brill Music Academy is here to serve you. Our roster of teachers includes guitar players in a wide variety of genres. We have teachers experienced in classical guitar, folk guitar, jazz guitar, and all manner of pop styles. Some of our teachers are accomplished singer-songwriters and can offer instruction in singing while playing, too.
All music lessons at Brill Music Academy take a well-rounded approach. We don’t create instrumentalists; we create musicians. And we do this in a warm, inviting setting. Students and teachers alike have plenty of fun as students hone their skills.
Our Guitar & Ukulele Teachers
Here at Brill Music Academy, our seasoned staff of guitar and ukulele instructors thrive on creating a fun, engaging, and well-rounded experience for each student. Whatever your preferred genre (or if you like a little of everything), we have a teacher that will work for you. Our qualified instructors often participate in public performance and possess significant academic credentials. Their experience enables them to customize their instruction for each student, covering areas including technique, fundamentals and expression.
Rob Kemerson
Guitar
A native of Port St. Lucie, Florida, Rob Kemerson discovered his passion for music at the age of 12 years old. By the age of 16, he began giving private lessons to
Tom Brill
Guitar
Tom Brill is a guitar instructor in all styles at Brill Music Academy. Tom also teaches other stringed, fretted instruments including banjo, ukulele, and bass guitar. Growing up outside Milwaukee in Oak
What’s the Right Age to Start Guitar and Ukulele Lessons?
While guitar is in many ways a simpler instrument to learn than some others, playing the guitar requires pressing down on the strings fairly hard using only the tips of the fingers. Also, very small hands will have a difficult time forming even simple chords. For this reason, the youngest we start guitar instruction at Brill Music Academy is eight years old.
The ukulele is a similar instrument, but it has neither of these limitations and is certainly playable by most small children. If your child is interested in starting ukulele lessons younger than eight years old, let’s chat.
Of course, you don’t have to be a kid to start guitar lessons or ukulele lessons. The beauty of these instruments is their simplicity. We start teenage and adult students all the time on these instruments, and many of them develop a high level of proficiency.
In short, whatever your age (eight and up), we’re here for you.
What Sets Us Apart
Everyone knows someone who plays guitar or ukulele, it seems. We know there are plenty of places you could go to learn the basics of these instruments or even to take guitar lessons or ukulele lessons. Why us? Because we’re different.
First, we’re a real music school, and that gives us some real depth. Neither your child’s general music teacher nor that one friend that’s in a band can offer depth. They can teach your child something about how to play a guitar, but it will be limited. The general music teacher will almost certainly follow a generic methods book. Your child’s buddy will teach your kid three, maybe five chords, because that’s all he knows.
Taking lessons here is nothing like that. We offer real, deep instruction that’s tailored to each student’s abilities and goals. We have the depth to train each student in whichever genre or genres he or she wants to pursue.
Second, we’re open-minded enough to support students as they support their guitar goals. We don’t attempt to force all students into the same mold. We know some students are only looking to reach a decent amateur level of guitar-playing ability, while others want to perform at a very high level. Some want to pursue classical; others, jazz or metal.
Third, our location is inviting and convenient, and we strive to make music-making fun and enjoyable. If you’re worried that taking lessons means subjecting yourself to a grueling conservatory-like experience where fun is forbidden and only excellent technique matters, then you don’t know Brill Music Academy. We do both: we have fun and we teach great technique.
Still not convinced? Stop in sometime and see for yourself.
Ready to Start Guitar Lessons or Ukulele Lessons in Las Vegas?
Are you ready to start taking guitar lessons or ukulele lessons in or near Las Vegas, or is your child ready to do the same? If so, let’s talk. Don’t just get a few pointers from your buddy’s band. Come learn from one of our experienced pros and get meaningful guitar or ukulele instruction that’s tailored to your specific needs and goals. Contact Brill Music Academy today to find a teacher that suits your style.