Teaching
For over30 years, I have taught various classes at City Lit in London—now Europe’s largest centre for adult education—including courses in guitar (folk and pop, blues, jazz), saxophone and song writing, alongside a series of lectures on the changing music of The Beatles and another on Bob Dylan’s 1960s.
Since the pandemic, my classes have all run online and I’ve found this not only workable but in many cases easier to organise. As lockdown eases I’m adding to my own sessions run via Eventbrite, so check out the current offering here.
Publishing
I am author of several books including the popular Absolute Beginners Acoustic Guitar (Wise Publications); The Complete Ukulele Player (Hal Leonard); and Abracadabra Beginning Theory (Collins).
I am also the series editor of the World’s best-selling music tutor series, A New Tune A Day, with over 40 titles in print in several languages, and I recently produced The Bob Dylan Complete, the official collection of every song written by Bob Dylan, which I transcribed and arranged for guitar along with a comprehensively-researched introduction to Dylan’s acoustic guitar style and song-writing techniques and an analysis of Dylan’s music in the context of the American Folk Revival.
My publishing and teaching projects are inextricably linked. The invaluable contributions from students over the years on ways to present and process information, to chart a route through a subject and to reach personal goals have shaped a ‘student first’ teaching approach that allows me to customise sessions to suit individual needs; and, coupled with a wealth of materials and experience, to make the best use of available resources. The rise in online teaching has created a host of new opportunities for students to connect with their creative curiosity wherever they are!”