Finger-style guitar professional teaches YOU via webcam & Skype/Zoom etc. Effective, strategic and enjoyable tuition.

Find out more about Shane

• When did you first develop a passion for music and your favourite instrument?

  I started learning the guitar when i was seven. My older brother had started a year earlier on the piano, and my parents didn't want any rivalry! The first few years were a slog as I was a kid! and inherently, most kids/people are lazy! Music became my identity due to tough years at school. And accumulating skill allowed for (healthy) ego development, self-confidence etc.

• Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  Good music needs a strong melody and lyrics that tell a story. As a fingerstyle player, I also am drawn towards music with clearly defined voices, as I'm always on the hunt for new music to arrange! Material like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald duets are gold! But honestly, I get hooked on completely random songs! Owl City's Fireflies, Simon & Garfunkel's take on Scarborough Fair, Nat King Cole's L.O.V.E., Muse's Uprising & Hysteria, Mercy Gordon's Beautiful Insanity

• Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  Some of my advanced students have taken on some of my own arrangements that I perform. I like to deconstruct when I teach. After the student has covered the basic materials to establish basic technique, I use their wish list to create personalised learning resources. We learn a song they like, then once mastered, we pull it to pieces and extract all possible learning opportunities ... we understand the timing used, the dynamics, the relationships between the different instruments, the lyrics and what they convey, the actual technique used - bends, hammer-ons, pull offs, the chord structures etc etc

• What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  How long is a piece of string? most complicated instrument? I suppose if you compare a piano concert to playing a triangle, the answer is obvious. But I don't think in most cases that any one instrument challenges more than another. Strumming three chords on a guitar can't compare to a violin concerto. But playing three notes on a violin can't compare to an arrangement for fingerstyle guitar that encompasses multiple voices

• What are your keys to success?

  Consistency, open to wisdom from others, and belief (also known as patience) in incremental improvement.

• Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  #Martin Taylor, a British fingerstyle guitar player. Have already met him actually. A good guy. Have re-worked a number of his arrangements, got to play for him, and he was really impressed :) would love to open for him at a gig!
  
  #Tommy Emmanuel, an Australian fingerstyle guitar player. A major influence for many players, including myself. Would love to open for him at a gig!
  
  #Nat King Cole (or Louis Armstrong) - would love to accompany him or record an album with him. A classic voice!

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  After years and years of teaching, the students who succeed are the ones who are musically opinionated. You gotta care about it, have a bias. If I'm a musical babysitter, there'll be no win. I can provide all the tools and encouragement, but it takes hunger on the student's part.

• What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I've created a system that works - tools and strategies and artifacts that support the learning process. I almost guarantee success if the student will simply trust me and do as I request. It's up to the student. I keep drawing attention on a regular basis to the progress they make, keep pointing backwards to show how far they've come, and then pointing ahead. An important part of being a teacher is encouraging the student to dream. Then giving them the means to make those dreams reality.