Nathanial N. TakeLessons Instructor Guitar, Bass Guitar Austin, TX

   I began my musical journey at eleven, when I recieved my first guitar as a gift from my mother. I was raised to love music, mostly due to the influence of my father, and so I jumped at the oppourtunity to learn as much as I could, and quickly enrolled in guitar lessons at a local music store. At the time, I was told that I was learning at an outstanding pace, but I didn't really know what a normal pace to be learning at was, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. I struggled, in my opinion, but I quickly formed a close relationship with my instrument. I continued music lessons until I was a junior in high school and I joined the soccer team and couldn't make it after school due to practices, though I practiced no less. I still learned on my own, and began playing lead guitar and singing for a few local bands. I soon had a reputation amongst the local music scene in Houston, I played in all the smaller venues downtown and even had people asking me advice on their musical issues. This, combined with the skills I learned while teaching children at a local church gave me the idea to start helping kids learn about the thing I was most passionate about - music. I started teaching children around my neighborhood, along with some of the children I worked with at the church and their siblings, and found I loved it.

   Then I started college. I first attended Cy-Fair college, at a local campus, and enrolled in music classes there. I learned more about music theory and counterpoint (which is a part of what I teach), and I also met Professor Stephan Badreau, a french guitarist who taught at the school. I soon learned that Stephan was more than I judged him to be when I met him; not only was he the most prolific and talented guitarist that I had ever heard, but he was an amazing teacher as well. He was also huge in the Houston music scene (considered the best Jazz guitarist in the city) and a published author (he wrote a book on his approach to Jazz theory applied to the guitar). I learned more from him than anyone I had ever met, and I quickly became his top student. But this dream come true for me was to be short lived, and I moved to Austin to attend the Spring semester at St. Edward's Universtiy. At St. Ed's, which I still attend (yes, I am quite young), I perform on guitar with Steady, the St. Ed's Jazz Band, along with taking more theory and counterpoint classes. My musical "mentor" at St. Ed's has become the Jazz Band professor, a man named Joey Colarusso (who has performed with artists such as Aretha Franklin). Joey is the non-french version of Stephan, except Joey's instrumental expertise lies with the saxaphone rather than the guitar.

  Throughout the years, my love for music has done nothing but grow exponentially with every new thing that I learn, and I have not stuck to just the guitar. I consider myself to be a strings player, which means that I have learned my way around most stringed instruments you can think of (plus drums and the piano), but my heart lies with my guitar still. I consider myself only skilled enough at two insruments to be qualified to teach another person to play them, though, those being the guitar and the bass guitar.

   Music has made my life whole, in my opinion, and the fact that I have the oppourtunity to pass my experience on to others, and through this connect with another human being on a level only known to musicians has enriched it moreso than I could have imagined. I look forward to getting to know you, and to getting to teach you. I can't wait to get started!

Lessons are patient and detailed - the student sets his or her own pace. I attempt to focus on correct finger positioning and getting to know your instrument (also referred to as 'muscle memory'), as well as learning and applying the actual musical theory behind the instrument. Students will learn to read music and sight read music along with learning to play songs that they pick out to learn. The student is expected to provide their own instrument to play, and I will provide packets that students can take home with them for practice, as well, which my experience has shown to be extremely useful to the learning process. I am not only looking to teach a student to play an instrument, but also to aid them in finding their own voice, their own expression, and their own ideas.

Blues, Jazz, and Classical

Guitar, Bass Guitar