I took lessons with Mike for several months up until adult/professional life just sort of caught up with me and I had to re-focus on work. Bummer!
During the time I spent with Mike, he opened up a whole new perspective on the guitar and on music as a whole. It was extremely valuable.
Some background - I had played electric and steel string acoustic guitar for about seven years and then electric bass for about 8 years after that. I mostly played solo in my office, mostly covers or noodling around, and relied on a developed ear and intuition to avoid having to learn theory or notation. Learning classical guitar with Mike was very rewarding as he guided me through learning the fretboard and the patterns behind it, learning to read music, and explaining in incremental steps the theory behind what I was hearing. It was a much more academic way than I was used to and sorely needed. I will take those lessons on with me in all other instruments.
Mike also gave me a great deal of advice surrounding performance and the internal thought processes of playing in front of other people. After practicing for a few months I played my first piece in front of an audience - ever - at my sister's wedding - an arrangement of a Led Zep song that she had picked out. It was very well received.
I've taken both guitar and bass lessons with several different people throughout the bay area and many of them are "generalists" who will claim to teach anything you want them to... drums, various styles of guitar, bass, etc. Mike is not your average random-guitarist-turned-teacher waiting for his rock band to take off. He is a dedicated *classical* guitarist who teaches *classical* guitar, and you can clearly see that it's his passion not only to play but to instill that excitement in others. I believe the majority of his students are youth, but he easily adapted his teaching style and approach to my needs (as I am sure he could to any student).
Lastly, I should note that while his demeanor is very friendly, it's also incredibly professional. He has a calendar of availability for makeup appointments, is very prompt with responding to emails, is direct about his policies and schedule, and expects you to take the instrument and your education as seriously as he does. I felt like this really encouraged regimented, disciplined learning.
As a side note, Mike's wife Betsy is very sweet and teaches violin as well. If you're looking for that, give either of them a call. :)
I look forward to the day when I can resume my lessons! read more