Guitar Lessons By Mark Benjamin

Teaching Method and Bio

At our music school, we offer private and small group instruction on acoustic and electric guitars, bass, ukulele, songwriting, music theory, and various styles and genres to students aged 5 and up, from beginner to advanced levels. Our teacher has been teaching and performing music in different settings for over 30 years and has experience working with special needs kids and adults, making us well-equipped to handle varying learning paces, needs, and desires of each student.

Our teacher is highly skilled and experienced in teaching students how to bring out their unique musical personality on their favorite stringed instrument. We focus on teaching the student his or her favorite riffs and songs while simultaneously teaching ear training skills, which allow the student to solve the mystery of self-instruction. We approach music instruction with patience, inspiration, and compassion.

We have unique methods for learning chord movements, strumming and picking patterns, and intuitive memorization techniques that help students go from point A to point B much faster. Our teacher has developed special drills for organizing left and right hand skills that very few teachers know of, making our face-to-face music instruction unmatched by YouTube lessons, free tabs, instructional books, and videos.

Our teacher was born and raised in Richmond, CA, and started learning the guitar at age 13. He began performing in various music groups on guitar, bass, and vocals starting at age 21. He started teaching guitar lessons in 1982 and eventually added bass and ukulele to his repertoire. He graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, Cum Laude in 1995, and won a prestigious Evert B. Person music scholarship in 1994.

From 1996 to 2008, our teacher taught an average of about 40 lessons a week for over 10 years in two music stores in Sonoma County. He then moved to Walnut Creek and enjoyed a resurgence of teaching at the Jam Brothers music shop from 2011 to 2019. He now teaches at Lamorinda Music, remote via Zoom, and on location.

Customized Lessons for Your Unique Music Tastes and Goals

We specialize in teaching people to bring out their unique musical personality on their favorite stringed instrument. We understand that everyone has different music tastes and goals, so we offer customized lessons that cater to your individual needs. We teach kids as well as seniors, and we welcome students of all levels and abilities.

When you start with music you like, you can pick up new skills in a surprisingly short time. Our teacher's focus often involves teaching the student his or her favorite riffs and songs while simultaneously teaching the ear training skills that allow him or her to solve the mystery of self-instruction. We are open and willing to bend with the varying learning pace, needs, and desires of each student.

Services Offered

We offer private and small group instruction on acoustic and electric guitars, bass, ukulele, songwriting, music theory, and various styles and genres to students aged 5 and up, from beginner to advanced levels. We also offer customized lessons that cater to your individual music tastes and goals. Our teacher has unique methods for learning chord movements, strumming and picking patterns, and intuitive memorization techniques that help students go from point A to point B much faster. We approach music instruction with patience, inspiration, and compassion, making our face-to-face music instruction unmatched by YouTube lessons, free tabs, instructional books, and videos.