The Improvising Guitarist Academy

registration for the spring session is now closed. Click here to inquire about upcoming Sessions or private lessons

Saturdays from the 30th of March to the 27th of April

1pm Eastern/7pm CET

“Grant totally blows me away when I hear him play.  His musicality and love of what he is doing comes across in every note. If that isn't enough, he is a fantastic and patient teacher who has shown me ways to get better at a lot of the things I've been struggling with on the guitar.”

“I learned more than I thought possible. My head feels like a watermelon that has a thousand new seeds of knowledge when you open it up. Wish I learned this 40 years ago. Grant is a wonderful teacher.”

The one thing nearly everyone who contacts me for lessons says is: “I want to take my playing to the next level”.

In my years as a touring guitarist and teacher, I’ve found that while individual styles and tastes are innumerable, there are certain fundamental skills that most students need to attend to- techniques that we can benefit from and build on for our whole musical lives.

Geared towards intermediate to advanced players, The Improvising Guitarist Academy is my attempt to create a comprehensive toolkit of crucial skills required to improve our ability as soloists, accompanists, as “think on your feet” guitarists.

The 2-tiered course consists of 5 consecutive Zoom sessions; each week’s lesson will be a deep dive into one of these topics:

  1. Chord construction

  2. Accompaniment techniques and strategies for instrumental and vocal music

  3. Soloing and playing melodies

  4. Time/rhythm and methods for practicing it

  5. Ear training and “how to learn”

Extensive supplemental study materials, play along recordings and curated playlists are included in the curriculum, and each session will be recorded so you can have access to downloads of the classes after the we finish.

*TIGA attendees have the choice of enrolling in:

“THE ESSENTIALS” package, featuring all the material mentioned above

or

“UPPER EXTENSIONS,” which additionally includes an hour-long private followup lesson after the program*

It’s been fun and challenging -really, a labor of love- to put this course together and I have found that these techniques have been illuminating for students all over the world. I hope to see you at this Spring’s TIGA session!

-Grant

TIGA classes will be held on Zoom on March 30, April 6, April 13, April 20 and April 27. All classes begin at 1pm eastern/7pm CET

more testimonials:

"The Improvising Guitarist Academy has been an incredibly beneficial course for me. Grant has a great way of explaining musical concepts, which to me have often seemed quite overwhelming or complicated, in the most simple terms. I will be benefitting from Grant’s practice tips and techniques for many years to come. I'd recommend this course to anyone looking to take their musicality and listening skills to the next level as well their guitar playing.”

"Grant is a great teacher, with a deep body of knowledge and experience of music. He organizes the material very cohesively, and is great about answering questions and providing clarification.  The supplementary materials he worked up for us were top notch!  And he's got a great sense of humor!”