| Online Lessons at a Glance |
| Lesson Length: 50 minutes Days Available: Thursdays Times Available: 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM Pacific Time Cost: $50 per lesson |
John is now offering individual guitar lessons over the Internet via Skype. The lessons are 50 minutes in length and are tailored to each student's learning objectives. These live, online lessons will let John and you see and hear each other and it's almost like you are sitting in John's teaching studio. Skype is a FREE program that lets you connect with others anywhere in the world over the Internet.
About Online Lessons from John
Individualized Lesson Plans
When you first contact John to set up lessons you can discuss what you would like to learn, your current skill level and any particular hurdles that you are trying to get over. John will start a file and keep ongoing notes on your goals and progress, customizing the lessons for your particular needs.
Styles
As you probably know, John plays and teaches a variety of styles such as the Chet Atkins style, folk, bossa nova music, early swing / jazz ballads and more. He has also worked for decades to prepare and develop Christian guitarists for their role in church worship.
Lessons Include TAB
John will write out custom lessons and TAB arrangements just for you when needed. In addition to the video lesson you’ll get TAB or other materials emailed to you to print.
Time Slots
The lesson blocks are 50 minutes long. This gives John time to teach a lesson each hour, having 10 minutes between lessons to catch up his notes on your student file, scan and email any TAB or charts and then get ready for the next student.
Cost
The cost for a 50-minute lesson is $50.00 (US). You can take lessons at any frequency you want; weekly, monthly, sporadically - the choice is yours! All you have to do is sign up and pay for the number of lessons you want.
Lesson Frequency
As you probably know, playing guitar well is a lifetime project. To get the most out of lessons it is advisable to take them on some sort of regular schedule. This keeps you moving forward and gives John a chance to build you up ‘one brick at a time’. A single lesson is alright to nail down a specific item but it really takes an ongoing commitment to make any substantial improvement.
Available Days and Times
Because of John's local teaching schedule and touring calendar, he has limited availability for Skype lessons. At the moment he has opened up Thursdays as his Skype Day. He will be available from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM (with breaks for meals). This means that there are up to ten 50-minute lesson blocks available per week.
Time Zones
Note that John lives in Washington State, USA (Pacific Time). For a chart to help you convert John’s timetable to your local time zone visit: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html.
Inquire About Online Lessons
If you are interested in learning more about online lessons, please contact John by submitting this form. John will then contact you regarding available date(s), time(s) and learning objectives.
Purchase Online Lessons
After you have contacted John and agreed upon the open times and dates you'd like to reserve on his calendar, you can purchase your lessons by credit (or debit) card using our online ordering system. Simply enter the number of lesson blocks you'd like to purchase according to your conversation with John and submit the form. You will be taken to our secure shopping cart to complete your order.
After you have submitted your order, you will receive a purchase confirmation, and John will ink you into your appointed time slots.
Skype Help
Hardware Requirements
You need to have a computer, a high speed internet connection and a webcam. The newer and faster your computer is, the better your webcam is, and the higher the speed of your internet service is, the better Skype will work for you. It is highly recommended that you have your internet connection hard-wired to your computer instead of using a wireless (wi-fi) connection.
Also, you need to have a good lighting source so that you can bee seen well. More light also improves how quickly you can move without your image becoming a blur.
Some computers have webcams built into them. Some are good, some not so good. And some provide video but no audio. You may need to (or want to) buy a webcam specifically for Skyping. If so, it is highly advisable to get a good one, and one that the Skype folks recommend. These webcams aren't all that expensive and they will provide a much better picture and handle contrast and light better as well. John uses a Logitech, but for a good list of advisable webcams start at the Skype website Accessories page.
How to Set Up Skype on Your Computer
We have developed detailed tutorials to assist you in setting up Skype. These are a step-by-step set of instructions published as an Adobe PDF document. Select the tutorial based upon your operating system:
