"It'd be so fun to learn guitar someday." "Someday." I'd told myself that for several years. I even got an inexpensive acoustic guitar one Christmas, and on more than one occasion I picked it up and looked for YouTube videos. Surely I could teach myself, right? I fantasized about how fun it would be to be able to strum through my favorite 80's power ballads around a campfire with friends. But inevitably, my efforts at self-teaching ended in frustration. I finally concluded that unless I got serious and took lessons, "someday" learning guitar would end up becoming "never." I searched Yelp for guitar teachers and came across Chris Primeau. I've been taking lessons with Chris for roughly one hour a week over the past year, and I'm staggered at my own progress. I can play dozens of songs with confidence. A year ago I couldn't play jack. It's one thing to be tremendously talented at something (which Chris is), but it's another skill set to be able to transfer that information clearly to a student. Chris strikes a really great balance--tons of patience as you work through tasks, but also continually pushing you to grow. I look forward to every lesson. If you're on the fence, just pull the trigger and book a lesson. Don't be surprised if his schedule fills up, but trust me when I say it's 100% worth the effort to get started with him. You'll be glad you did. read more

I can give an unqualified exceptional reference for Chris as an amazing guitar teacher. We started 2 years ago with Chris for lessons for my 13 year old son. But as my son had been playing for 6 years, he could already read tabs and learn intermediate difficulty songs on his own. So Chris asked if he wanted to learn music theory and did a great job over a year starting with a simple scale and now my son can improvise any song, in any key, in most modes. We never would have gotten this exceptional teaching from a local music store. We started with 30 minute lessons but because my son was advancing quickly, we moved up to an hour. It was money well spent. Chris also keeps it fun, switching the lessons to learning interesting guitar songs and solos. Last week, my son played Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb and it's intricate solos at Chris's guitar recital/concert. He really stepped up his game here and for a small fee per student, hired a professional sound engineer and a videographer. He played the backing track music without the guitar, so my son did not have to play over the existing guitar player on the song. It sounded awesome! As if my son was really in the band. Sound engineer did a great job and the video turned out great! I have personally been playing guitar on and off for 32 years. I sit in on each lesson and am always impressed with the quality of Chris's teaching, including learning new things myself along the way. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced musician, Chris will make you a much better player. read more

Chris has been my instructor for about a year, and it's been an excellent experience in more important ways that I can say in a review--even just a bulleted list would exceed Yelp's word count limit.  So instead, go to the Primeau Guitars homepage and read it. I can honestly say that every single word is true, and if anything, he is being modest.  (One small exception to that last statement is that I can't claim firsthand experience with the kids lessons. But if my boy has any interest in playing when he's big enough to hold a guitar, I'm signing him up with Chris.) There's really only one thing that matters:  It's not every day that you meet a person with superb knowledge of their area of expertise who has been an instructor for over a decade and still has a genuine passion for teaching. To find someone that checks all those boxes and is also an excellent teacher is a special find. Chris is the real deal. read more

I've been "playing" guitar for years but had hit a wall in terms of my ability to self-teach. Working with Chris has made a big difference in what I believe to be possible within my own skills... examples: finger picking and barre chords. I had basically decided that I'd just play only songs with C, G Em and D chords forever and ever because Bm and an honest F just seemed out of reach. The idea of ever being able to play and sing even something simple like Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" seemed unlikely. After a few months, even with my sporadic schedule, I'm beginning to feel like I can actually play guitar instead of just dabbling for my own amusement. read more

Chris is a genuine guy and a genuinely awesome guitar coach. I am a professional musician that wanted to get to performance-level basic guitar as quickly as possible. Within three months of beginning working with Chris, I won The Recording Conservatory of Austin's Top Singer-Songwriter Contest backed by my own guitar playing. Some great benefits to working with Primeau Guitars: - Chris is very goal-oriented, which appealed to my drive to get on stage on guitar as soon as possible. We keep a sheet of my goals, and we work steadily toward them. - Chris is very encouraging. When I'm a bit shaky on a piece, but vaguely getting the notes/chords right, he stays very positive and compliments my progress, which helps to keep my motivation up. - Chris tailors lessons to my goals. He brings materials (TAB and/or sheet music) or puts together materials based on patterns or specific songs I'd like to learn. I'm very glad I am working with him, and I'm looking forward to working with him to further improve my performance abilities in the future. read more

I wanted to update my review of our son's progress since working with Chris for about a year and a half now. First, let me get how jealous I am out of the way. As a guy who messed around with the guitar, I never had an instructor like Chris. So when my son blew past me and relegated me to playing backtracks for him, I was both proud and pissed. Our son was really improving and coming along well. He could play whatever he wanted and he was putting in the hard work.... The Practice. So we increased his lessons to two times per week. Working with Chris two days a week has made him a musician. He's now writing music and trying new things... Experimenting and discovering his sound... Pushing harder and trying to bend his guitar to his will. I believe Chris is responsible for this growth. I recommend him to anyone out there looking to play the guitar. read more

We have had the honor to have Chris Primeau work with our son, Grayson, for the past year. Our son has played "at" guitar for seven years, but he wasn't a guitarist until he started working with Chris. Chris has lifted Grayson's innate talent to an entirely new level. Not only is Grayson excelling at guitar because of Chris' tutelage, but Chris has influenced Grayson's focus, commitment and passion for music. We could not be happier with the progress that Chris is responsible for creating--and we are excited to see what comes next. I agree with others who have posted that Chris is extremely results and goal-oriented. He takes his job very seriously and behaves with the utmost professionalism in all aspects. He even conducts two recitals a year so the students can display the results of their labors and learning. If I could give more than five stars, I would. read more

The basics; he's easy to schedule with. Great location (for me anyway). His set-up is great. And most of all, it's obvious that he really enjoys what he's doing. And, that's teaching... He's an accomplished musician, who seems like he truly wants to share his knowledge and help his students learn to play - which certainly makes it fun for me! I tend to want to learn everything at once - and Chris has been great at keeping me focused and learning proper practice habits. * I decided to pick up playing guitar (Electric of course!) in my late 40's...having never played an instrument in my life. How hard can it be, right? So I got online, and off I went...trying to figure it out. Eventually though, (almost 3 years later) I realized that I wasn't really progressing as much as I wanted. So, why not contact Chris and see what he's about...can't hurt!? It's almost a full year of lessons later - Three things stand out to me; 1) I wish I would've picked up the guitar earlier... 2) I wish I would've contacted Chris straight away when I first picked up the guitar! and 3) I've learned so much more in the past 11 months than the previous 3 years, it's not even close. Anyway, I don't write many reviews, but felt compelled to speak up this time. Do yourself a favor and contact Chris if you're wanting to learn(and/or advance) your playing skills. You'll be happy you did ~ read more

I've been taking lessons with Chris for a little over six months now, and I can't recommend him enough. I wasn't a beginner when I started taking lessons, but I'd felt for a while that my progress on guitar was stunted. I could play and sing songs that consisted of chord progressions, and I had a musical background having played flute for eleven years. I was diligent about practicing and knew what I wanted to learn, but I felt pretty aimless and didn't know how to get the skills I wanted. When I first started lessons with Chris, I had a laundry list of things I wanted to learn - music theory, better technique, skills to improve my songwriting, improvising, the works. I don't know what my expectations were when I started, but Chris has really surpassed anything I could have imagined. He's given me the direction and tools I needed to improve my skills, and I've learned so much from him. I'm amazed at how many different resources he has at his fingertips and how freely he shares it all with his students. Part of what makes Chris an amazing teacher is that he knows how to adapt and redirect lessons when a student becomes frustrated with their progress, bored, or just changes priorities for what they want to learn (all things that naturally happen when learning any musical instrument). He's also been really amazing at both challenging and encouraging me. In so many different ways, he shows me that he sees potential in me (definitely a rare thing among music teachers in my experience). He also pushes me to work on the things I'm uncomfortable with and provides me with thoughtful and incredibly helpful constructive feedback. Chris is invested in his students' progress and really goes the extra mile for them. I am so grateful to have found such a kind, dedicated, and knowledgeable teacher. I used to feel that reaching a certain level of mastery on guitar was unattainable for me, but having a teacher like Chris makes me feel like I can do anything. read more

In 2011, I took guitar lessons for about 7 months and just never really got into it or felt like I was making much improvement, so I quit. Fast forward to 2015: I decide to dust off my guitar, find Primeau Guitar on Yelp, and give it another go. In about the same span of time with Chris, I've improved and learned substantially more than I had previously, but most importantly, I've had a good time doing it. Chris is a great teacher and really good natured guy, and he'll encourage you even while you're completely mangling a song. He tailors your lessons based on your preferences and what you want to get out of playing, which makes me that much more motivated to practice. If you're looking for a guitar teacher who's flexible, professional, and dedicated to helping you achieve your goals, Chris is your guy. read more

I hadn't picked up the guitar in about a decade and came to Chris Primeau to help me get back to working my musical muscle. I can't believe in such a short time I went from from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to playing all kinds of Classic Rock tunes. Personally, my favorite genre! He tailors each lesson and song to help progress skills and different methods, while taking my musical preferences into consideration. Also, he teaches the song's entirety so I'm able to play a song to completion on my own. Lessons can be recorded which is great when I'm practicing at home to help jog my memory of what I learned in the lesson. Even though the weeks fly by, I'm happy I found Chris and my way back to creating music! Thank you! read more

I'm very happy with Chris as a guitar teacher. While I've had other teachers before moving to Austin, I'm really still a beginner, and Chris has helped me bust through several things I was having difficulty with - like reading music and finger picking, to name two. I'm really enjoying our weekly lessons, and highly recommend him to other adult students like me. read more

I'm 42 and learning guitar after a lifetime of trying to pick things up here and there. I've only had 4 lessons with Chris but I'm already seeing results with Chris's coaching. He's uber organized and always prepared with my tabs. The 30 minutes is focused start to finish. I feel like its a class with structure, and a goal. I also appreciate he has a dedicated teaching space in his home so setup is snap. read more

I have been taking lessons from Chris for 4 months and have been very pleased with my progress in such a short time. He created a lesson plan that works well for me and is flexible to accommodate my busy schedule. I have wanted to pick up the guitar for a long time and never found the time. Now I want to pick it up every chance I have downtime. Thanks to Chris I have a new hobby that I really enjoy! I would recommend him to any friend that wants to learn guitar. read more

Chris is knowledgeable and patient. He's got a good system for teaching and I feel like I'm learning quickly.

I began working with Chris in 2011 when I decided I wanted to start playing music again. Chris has been an excellent teacher and is always willing to customize his teaching to whatever I am trying to accomplish. I have found him to be extremely professional and flexible with his teaching schedule and would highly recommend him. read more

For Christmas of 2015, one of the gifts I was fortunate to receive was a new Martin acoustic guitar AND some guitar lessons. Chris was initially chosen because of his proximity to our home, but he's proven to be a great choice. He is patient and attuned to what I want to learn and realizes people want different things out of their lessons. Some want to learn various styles and techniques, and others want to learn a way to express a few songs that they love. I happen to fall in the latter of those two, and Chris has been great at helping me learn the songs I want to learn. I recommend him strongly to everyone one wanting to improve their playing. read more

Had the pleasure of getting to work with Chris for about a year. He's great at incorporating different teaching methods and tools to get you where you want to go. I hadn't exercised the creative muscles in my brain in years, and Chris will certainly push you :) Couldn't recommend him enough no matter what level you're at. read more

Chris is an amazing teacher, he's enthusiastic and makes learning guitar easy and fun. Any guitar related skill you think is complex he will make simple and learnable. read more

Chris Primeau is an excellent guitar instructor! At age 55, I am starting life over and wanted to pursue my long lost desire to play guitar. I had taken lessons as a teenager but even with countless hours of practice, never improved beyond beginner level. After just a few lessons with Chris, I have already surpassed my teenage skill level by far. I had tried another guitar instructor before finding Chris, but I much prefer Chris' teaching style. It's so much fun to practice popular songs rather than just playing scales or nursery school songs. I highly recommend Chris to anyone who wants to learn guitar or improve their current skills. read more

When I started I didn't even know how to hold a guitar. Now I have been taking lessons with Chris for about 9 months and he has taken me from utterly hopeless beginner to playing real (mostly) recognizable songs! He is endlessly patient, non-judgemental, especially about my subpar singing voice, and a great teacher. If you're even considering starting guitar or building on your existing skills, go see Chris immediately! read more