Q & A

When I start working with a new Student

I like to start with a student project, a song you love and you want to learn. Then I can relate the technique I need to teach you to your goal – so it’s fun for both of us.

Why I teach

I love to play music and I am grateful to my teacher who opened doors an removed obstacles for me. I want to help others as my teachers helped me. And I do have a background in teaching – I have a master in education (teaching).

Which Students do I teach?

I am working with beginners and advanced student, with kids (8 years and older ) and adults. I teach classical guitar (Baroque, Spanish etc.), Jazz guitar (e.g. Real book standards and Improvisation) and electric bass.

What Questions will I ask you when we get started?

What’s your favorite music style and performer?List some of the guitar/bass players you like to listen to.What did you learn so far (bring book and sheet music you used)What are your goal

My Pricing

It’s simple and straight forward: Guitar/Bass lessons can be 45 minutes  ($35) or 1 hour ($40) at my studio. I offer a discount if you pay four hours in advance (=$140, you save $20).

My Education & Background

Master in Education (endorsements: Math, German Literature, and Philosophy)Seven years of classical guitar lessons, several one-week-intensives with Robert Brojer & Martin Rennert (Music conservatory Vienna, Austria)Jazz combo classes with Erik Hanson (Jazz Night School, Seattle), Rick Leppanen (Perl Django), and David FriesenWorking as professional musician in many bands (Rock Musical, dance bands, currently various Jazz bands in Seattle, e.g. RandomGuys, JazzHands

My Pricing

Recording in my studio is $35 per hour and includes support of various kinds (help with instrumentation, play bass or guitar), all the recording gear needed, mix and master; you get the finished product as wav and mp3 on a shared drive

I record single Musicians and full Bands

In my studio I record vocalists or full bands. Vocalist either come with a backing track or we work on the instrumentation together.With full band I normally record three or four musicians at one time (max. 16 track recording simultaneously), and add the other tracks with overdupping.I have a lot of experience in MIDI and can add back ground as needed (e.g. Strings, Percussion)

A recent Project I loved to work on

I work with a Rap singer and recorded her song. She came with a good backing track, had her lyrics down and was ready to sing the song. The environment felt strange at first, she just did not feel at home. But after an hour she found her paste and started to tell the story of her song. That’s when it clicked and all came together: the groove of the backing track, the expressive vocals supported by well selected effects, the energy in the story.I am content with my work when I listen to the live recordings I did with Random Guys (I played guitar, recorded, mixed & mastered). These are live recordings; we had to get it just right. We did not play with a click; the possibility of editing and fixing tracks was very limited.

Questions I will ask you when we get started

How and where do you want to use the recording?Point me to recordings that sound like you want your recording to sound in the end (reference recording)

My background

A very solid understanding of electronics20+ years as software developer in big and small companies in Germany and in the USWorking as professional musician in many bands (Rock Musical, dance bands, currently Jazz bands), experience in live recording and music production with MIDI and real tracks.