John Henry

“I am a self-taught guitarist with 10 years of experience with the instrument.  I took lessons recently with John to learn music theory and song composition, which had been intimidating throughout my time playing guitar.

John and I worked together to set short term and long term goals.  Every week, I met with John in his comfortable home studio. John challenged me with advanced music theory and incorporated it into songwriting. John helped me develop the right skills, and gave me enough encouragement that by the end of ten lessons, I had accomplished all of the goals that we set. 

Lessons with John were fun, and I looked forward to meeting with him every week. John is kind, personable and inspirational. He is a master of the guitar and can teach and communicate his techniques clearly. John is also patient with his style of teaching – difficult techniques and concepts were reintroduced throughout the lessons with many different examples until they were no longer daunting. 

John varied the musical styles, which gave me an understanding of different ways I can approach improvisation and songwriting. John also varied the instruments I played on, switching between classical, steel string, and electric guitars. The diversity of music we covered helped me improve significantly as a guitarist. John also trained me vocally and also by ear, which helped me gain confidence in my singing. Together, we wrote and recorded three songs. I finished the lessons with the motivation to continue writing and playing music.

John has shared many lessons that he learned from his career as a student, musician and teacher.  I am happy to be one of John’s students and would gladly recommend taking lessons with him.  Players of any level; from beginners to the advanced, can learn and progress quickly with his guidance.” 

- Stephen S.

My guitar lesson with John Henry on Google Chat is truly one of the highlights of my week. I tried to teach myself guitar when I was in my teens, but I never got very far or achieved any sort of mastery. At age 61, I’m probably one of his older students (if not his oldest!) but his musical knowledge, friendly, patient and student- centered approach has reignited my dream to be able to play. 

I’m acquiring the fundamentals of music theory as I learn to play songs and experiment with musical styles that are meaningful to me.  John Henry is an open and responsive teacher. He works with you where you are.  He is better than Pandora in suggesting music you might like! He encourages you to set goals and take them seriously and to commit to a practice schedule, even if it’s as little as 15 minutes a week.

I feel like each lesson is tailored to me and what I would like to work on or what I need to learn to accomplish my goals. I am so excited about his positive “you can do it” approach that I practice every day. As an older adult, taking guitar lessons with John Henry has increased my mental clarity and physical dexterity (I have arthritis) and awakened in me a new playfulness and creativity that comes from making music. It’s even lowered my blood pressure!

- Sharon Marshall

"My guitar lessons with John Henry made me want to learn absolutely EVERYTHING about music. What makes John Henry so special as a guitar instructor is his utter love and devotion to music as a craft.

John brought a level of commitment and excitement to each and every little exercise. He showed me that anybody can, and everybody should become a Musician with a capital M. It felt like I was allowed access to another fascinating world that most people only see the surface of. 

He is one of the few people where I can say, without a hint of irony or doubt, that music IS what he lives for. This is a rare and wonderful gift for an instructor in any field and every one should be lucky enough to have him as an instructor."

- Mike