Get More Out of Your Guitar Lessons: Guitar Lessons

Susan Palmer has been teaching and playing jazz, blues, and rock in Seattle for over 15 years. Since 2006, she has been the guitar instructor at Seattle University and in 2010 she created and started teaching The Rock Project at Cornish College of the Arts. Palmer wrote a guitar method book series which is used by teachers and students in over 10 countries, including faculty at Berklee College of Music. Her extensive collection of lesson videos and jam tracks are available for free on YouTube. Palmer's current and former students perform at these Seattle venues: The Comet, The High Dive, Skylark, Neumos, The Hard Rock Cafe, Chop Suey, The Tractor Tavern, The Sorrento Hotel, The Crocodile, The Mix, Cafe Racer, The Edgewater Hotel, and other private events.

Beginning Guitar Lessons: Most people who take guitar lessons want to learn how to play their favorite songs, but first they need to learn the basics. I help students develop their skills quickly and effectively so that they can play a lot of songs in a short amount of time. I use a clear system and I simplify challenging concepts by breaking them down into smaller parts that are easier to understand and play. This approach helps students develop confidence in their abilities, which leads to better playing.

Intermediate Guitar Lessons: The guitar is a fun instrument because you can sound good even if you don't know a lot about theory or the design of the guitar. After a while, a lot of guitarists want to take their playing to the next level but they just don't know how to do that. I use a clear system that fills in the gaps that students may have, and then I take students step-by-step through a practical course covering music theory and the design of the guitar. Students can then create more melodic and harmonically interesting music in a variety of styles.

Advanced Guitar Lessons: I have never met anyone who has mastered the guitar, and I've met a lot of incredible musicians over the years. While there is a finite amount of information to learn in order to be a good guitarist, a player can always see and apply those concepts in new ways. Advanced guitar lessons cover some tricky concepts, but things always come back to the fundamentals, and students see learn how everything is connected.

Jam Classes: I offer a Jam Class once a month in Seattle. It's open to all students who know their basic chords, scales, theory, and who seem like a good fit for the class. Each session, we focus on a specific style or concept (Jimi Hendrix riffs, slide guitar, songwriting, etc.) which we apply to songs that we all "jam" on. Students leave the class with a worksheet they can use to remember and practice what they learned. I love seeing students meet and play with each other on a regular basis. This is where they really have fun and get good!

The Fundamental Concepts in The Guitar Lesson Companion method books:
♫ READING: Standard Music Notation and Tablature
♫ CHORDS: Open, Power, Barre Chords, Extended and Altered
♫ THEORY: Chord and Scale Theory, Reharmonization, Ear Training
♫ SCALES: Pentatonic, Major, Melodic & Harmonic Minor, Diminished, Whole Tone

Check out my general syllabus and my post on what you should study to become a good guitarist for more specific information.

Lesson Rates and General Policies:
Lesson tuition for the month is set at a competitive rate and it includes 4 or 5 weekly hour or half-hour lessons and on a predetermined day and time. An email reminder with the amount due is sent to students at the beginning of each month. Single lessons are occasionally available. No refunds, no credits, and no make-up lessons will be given for lessons that students miss. I work very hard to offer the best guitar lessons and I expect students to be prompt and prepared for each lesson. A copy of my detailed policies and student questionnaire is sent to all new students.

Webcam Guitar Lessons:
If you need structure, accountability, and clear instruction but you cannot make it to my studio in Seattle, contact me about taking online guitar lessons with me. Check out my webcam lessons post to see if this might work well for you.

Guitar Student Testimonials from Webcam Lessons:

Josh: After spending close to a smabillion dollars on guitar instruction I learned this . . . Being an awesome guitarist and an excellent instructor are two different things. Finding someone who is both is rare. Fortunately for me, Susan is that rare gem. Here's why:

- She's really has a passion and enthusiasm for teaching (not just playing) that comes through in each lesson.

- Susan clearly has a game plan for each lesson based on where she thinks you are.

- Her book is really well organized. The lessons are structured in a way that make you struggle a bit without ever feeling like you want to give up.

- Beyond learning music theory and strengthening your music chops, Susan also teaches the "Zen" of music. A mindset that allows you to enjoy the process and journey.
I cannot recommend Susan more highly as a music teacher.

Art: I'd like to highly recommend Susan Palmer for anyone interested in learning to play guitar. Susan's knowledge and ability to convey her ideas is unique. She is a friendly, personable instructor, who answers questions in a clear and understandable way. I would encourage anyone who is trying to learn the guitar, to take a lesson with Susan, you won't be disappointed.

Guitar Student Testimonials from Seattle Lessons:
Eric: Susan is one of the most dedicated people I've seen in any field. She brings a complete passion to her work, conveying a deep appreciation of music, musical technique and the effort required to get better.

Nancy: I've been playing and studying jazz guitar on and off for many, many years, and Susan is by far the best teacher I have ever had. On our first meeting, I described the kind of music that I played, what I wanted to accomplish with our lessons, and Susan came up with a plan to help me reach my goals. She picked out specific portions from her most excellent book, "The Guitar Lesson Companion," for me to work on, along with a couple of tunes from the "Real Book" that were perfectly suited for what I wanted to learn. If you're thinking about taking guitar lessons, I highly recommend that you contact Susan.

Christine: Susan is an extraordinary teacher, musician and Renaissance woman. Her patience, insight, knowledge and talent know no bounds. Aside from a keenly intelligent approach to teaching, Susan has a way of helping her students discover a true passion for music. She has immense respect for her students, and she wants them to succeed. She manages to help them understand the fundamentals while allowing them to explore their creativity and realize their potential. My son spent only a couple of years training with Susan, and he still regards her as one of the most influential people in his life. She taught him, she listened to him, she believed in him, and she contributed to his lifelong dedication to music. Whether you are a beginner or an accomplished musician, learning from this amazing woman is the best thing you can do for your pursuit of music!

Tim: I engaged Susan as a guitar instructor for my 13-year old son. She is nothing short of fantastic. Susan is focused, demonstrates deep passion for the art, and is committed to the student learning to play. Susan also developed a great working relationship with the student. I highly recommend her work.

Austin: I took jazz guitar lessons from Susan for three years at Seattle University. Susan does a great job at ensuring that her students have the necessary foundations before moving to the next level of musical material. She did a wonderful job supplementing her lessons by encouraging jams and the attendance of gigs, in addition to service learning projects. My playing largely improved while studying under Susan. I recommend Susan as a great guitar teacher and fellow musician.

Paul Huddleston: I am happy to write a recommendation for Susan Palmer. Susan served as my son's guitar instructor for three years, and has most recently organized and led a very successful music seminar called The Rock Project at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. Susan harnessed the collective talents of about 15 teenagers during a week in the summer and provided a very unique and rewarding experience for them. Each day presented different styles of guitar performance along with preparation for a concert, which was fun-filled and enjoyed by all. This camp served as a major highlight of my son's summer experiences, and he is eager to participate again.

It is no wonder that success follows Susan. She possesses an impressive capacity to grapple with musical creativity and focus and fine tune a student's abilities while commanding respect and demanding results in a positive manner. Her passion for guitar and for teaching has helped her produce and publish a highly regarded publication, with another one on the way. My son's introduction to guitar through Susan's instruction can be described with one word: blessed. We are looking forward to The Rock Project 2011.

Paul: She is a phenomenal player herself, and her instructional approach blends just the right amount of "vegetables" (e.g. counting, sight reading, etc) with ample "desserts" (e.g power chords, blues riffs, easy rock numbers/tabs) to keep me motivated, inspired, and practicing.

Allie: She goes way above and beyond in her efforts to transmit her knowledge and obvious love of the instrument to students. Lessons with Susan are demanding, but are well worth it. She embeds every aspect of music in your mind. Insisting that students learn the fundamentals of music, she sets us up for nothing but success later on.

Catherine: Susan takes challenging material and breaks it down into simple, effective steps that help students learn and retain guitar theory and techniques. When I started taking lessons from her, I had basic knowledge of how to play, but I couldn't read music, and the world of music theory seemed kind of scary. Susan has about a thousand different ideas for building skills and knowledge in her students, and they all work. These days, I'm kind of amazed at what I can do because of her teaching, and it's had a huge impact on my overall playing. She is terrific and I feel lucky to be her student.

Peter: The immense amount of information to be learned about jazz techniques can seem incredibly overwhelming at times, but Susan is able to break it up into manageable chunks. She is very passionate about music, and always full of energy and has a positive attitude during every lesson.

Todd: Susan is a great player and an excellent teacher! My own playing abilities continues to make jumps with her clear and concise teaching methodology.

Kate: When my son wanted to learn guitar, he chose Susan Palmer because "all the people who come out of her studio are smiling." He figured it meant they had a good time with a good teacher.

Tess: I've been taking lessons with Susan for a while and these [YouTube Videos] are a great bonus!

Laura: Lessons with Susan are awesome! She does a great job breaking the theory down into digestible pieces that make learning the fundamentals easier and rewarding, and she also teaches you how to play fun riffs and solos! Loving it so far, definitely recommend lessons with Susan.

Rachel: My 11 year old daughter currently takes lessons with Susan, and has been for the past 9 months. Susan is seriously amazing!!! I would highly recommend her to anyone interested in learning guitar or improving their skills.

Clint: I seriously learned more in that month studying with you than I have in 3 months with other teachers.

Contact Susan Palmer: leadcatpress@gmail.com or 206.349.3226