James Dolan

I have recently moved to Shrewsbury. For the last year I have been teaching at Langtree secondary school in Woodcote, Oxfordshire and three primary schools in the area (Woodcote, Checkendon and South Stoke), teaching a total of about sixty students on a weekly basis. Before my move to Henley I spent most of the last decade based in Chamonix in the French alps, and playing in European locations such as Switzerland, Scandinavia and Greece.

I have a broad knowledge and experience of contemporary styles on the acoustic and electric guitar, including rock, blues, soul, metal, punk, reggae, funk, folk and country, drawing on 20 years of professional performance and teaching. Lessons can be as formal or informal as required: I have successfully prepared several students for examinations with the popular “Rock School“ graded programme, although I find the majority of students prefer to just play for pleasure. I am CRB checked.

My approach to tuition is to first take direction from the student if possible, and build enthusiasm for the instrument by identifying the styles of music that the student is most interested in. I then normally suggest suitable songs and techniques to work on, with the intention to gradually introduce principles of musical theory at the same time as improving the student’s practical playing skills.

Thank you for taking the time to read this - If you think that your students would be interested in taking guitar lessons please contact me at [email protected] or on 07759 634012.