Courses + Prices
NEW!
SPECIAL OFFER
Book four 60-minute lessons in advance
and save £30!
Sometimes it takes a little while to get going, especially when we're challenging ourselves.
Courses are a great way to keep yourself focused, motivated and on your way to start seeing results.
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Why not book yourself a five-lesson course and you can look forward to being a different musician than when you started!
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And this isn't just a "new customers only" offer - you can use it as many times as you like!
I really appreciate having repeat customers, so it's important to me that I can offer you high quality, regular lessons that are both enjoyable and easy on your wallet.
Four-Lesson Course
(1 hour each)
£120
PS - instrument courses make great gifts too!
Single lesson (1 hour): £35
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Single lesson (30 mins): £20
We all like to know what we're getting in to, especially if we're starting something new. Here on the Manchester Music Tutor website, you can see what to expect from your lessons with me, as well as a general outline for how learning will progress over time.
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For intermediate and advanced players, think of this as your menu! Have a browse. Try a bit of everything, or see if there's anything specific you'd like to improve in your own playing. Or, if you'd really like, you can mix and match from different subjects/instruments!
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At the end of the day, my goal is to design a course that's personalised and completely tailor-made just for YOU. Let's make the music we want to play, eh!
Keyboard/Piano
The composer's favourite. Melody, chords, bass parts... the piano does it all well. Not only is it an instrument for performing with, but also an incredible tool for learning how music works. Best of all, digital pianos and electronic keyboards allow players of any ability (and budget!) to learn from home.
Beginner topics include:
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How to start playing: good posture, relaxed hands, ready to go!
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Easy songs and pieces to get you playing right away
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Scales and chord patterns that take the guesswork out of keyboard playing
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How to read music: not as tricky as it looks! Includes games and exercises to help make learning to read music fun and accesible
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Piano Grades, for those who want those shiny certificates! ABRSM Grades have great learning resources and are an excellent way to help monitor your progress too.
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Learning the music that YOU want to learn - Modern, Classical, Jazz, whatever makes you want to play!
Start Learning the world's most popular instrument today!
Intermediate / Advanced topics include:
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Transcribing by ear
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Jazz chords, reharmonisation and improvisation
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Functional harmony and voice leading: a how-to guide for composing beautiful piano parts
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Creating music with synthesizers (or "Teaching Robots To Sing")
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Composing for the whole band: how to turn a keyboard part into a fully produced song
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Piano reduction 101: how to arrange full ensemble pieces for solo piano
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A deep dive into what makes your favourite songs work, how they've been written, and how you can use them to develop your own compositions
Guitar
The ultimate versatile instrument. It plays chords. It's super expressive. The sound works well in any band. Let's face it, there's a reason why guitars are everywhere!
Beginner topics include:
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How it works, how to tune it, and how to play it!
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Electric or acoustic; it's your choice!
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Right hand: plectrum and fingerpicking techniques
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Left hand: proper fretting technique, developing finger strength and muscle memory
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How to read guitar tabs (so you can start learning songs right away!)
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Flexible guitar chords that work for any song, scalable for any level of ability :)
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Choosing your own favourite songs - not only to learn and perform, but also to break down, examine, and find out how they work
Intermediate / Advanced topics include:
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Moving beyond the basic open chord shapes: We start moving into barre chords, jazz chords and many, many more!
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Chord inversions and exotic voicings
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Drills and exercises to challenge, entertain and laser-focus your techniques
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FX pedals 101: building a professional, gig-ready pedal board
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Expert advice on good band practice and live performance techniques (from 20 years of my own experiences!)
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Using the guitar as a songwriting tool - composing music for the whole band
Get excited, inspired, and maybe just a little bit obsessed with music!
Learn bass guitar - Start Mastering music from the ground up!
Bass Guitar
Easy to learn, difficult to master. Bass guitar has a shallow learning curve that makes it easier to pick up than guitar or piano. But once you're there, there are few things in the music industry more valued or appreciated than a good bassist!
Beginner topics include:
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How to tune, hold and play the chunky guitar!
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Right hand: fingerstyle vs. plectrumstyle
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Left hand: navigating the fretboard with good, strong fretting technique
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How to read bass tabs - start playing classic bass riffs in your first lesson!
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Bass drills and exercises to quickly develop strength, dexterity and muscle memory
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Play along to your favourite music, learn how it works, and gain first-hand experience of being a bass player in a band!
Intermediate / Advanced topics include:
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Turning chord progressions into strong basslines
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We start moving up the fretboard and learn how to make the bass SING
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Extended range: how to tame 5 and 6-string bass guitars
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Learn to play to the strengths of the instrument on stage - It's called bass guitar for a reason!
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Rhythm section 101: become an absolute unit with your drummer
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Advanced drills and exercises to help perfect your technique - nip bad habits in the bud
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Developing speed, dexterity and endurance - Muse, Metallica and more!
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Groove, funk and wonk - Trick people into dancing with your bass playing!
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Songwriting on bass guitar - It's not just for bass parts. Compose for full bands with chords, harmonies and more
Music Theory
Everyone has the ability to hear and emotionally connect with music. It's innate. We're all born with Music Theory in us. We're all able to tell happy music from sad, or a "right" note from a "wrong" one - Music Theory just points to these things and gives them a name.
Of course, once we start to crack this musical code, well, the interesting part is what we can learn to do with it...
Beginner topics include:
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Why are the notes A to G, why is there no H, and why is everything "in C" anyway? All this and more!
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Learning by LISTENING: an easy introduction to music theory, where every concept has an example you can hear for yourself
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Graded Music Theory - perfect for impressing schools, colleges and universities!
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Understanding sheet music: a language to read, write with and express musical ideas
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Theory that's actually useful - we look at WHY music works the way it does and how to create it
Intermediate / Advanced topics include:
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Ear training and intervals - learn music just by listening alone - This might be the most useful musical skill you'll ever learn
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Functional harmony - chords, cadences, how to predict where the music wants to go and how to subvert expectations!
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Voice leading: writing and arranging strong parts for ANY instrument
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Reharmonize any song, and rearrange for any instrument - boring old covers be damned!
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Jazz theory - modes, chord extensions, substitutions, secondary dominants, modulation... it'll make your hair stand on end!
Find out for yourself what makes your favourite music tick!