Teaching

 

One to One Tuition

 

Mike offers intermediate to advanced guitar lessons and improvisation, harmony and theory tuition for all instruments. The charge is £40 for a 1 hour lesson. Please contact Mike to book a lesson.

 

Method

 

Mike has been teaching privately for 25 years. He has taught all levels from beginners to advanced. My teaching methods range from building a solid foundation of fundamentals i.e. fretboard knowledge through scales, arppegios, triads, chords etc. to more advanced techniques concerning theory, harmony, and improvisation. He teaches improvisation for any instrument, including vocals. Emphasis is always on the individual and their own personal voice.

He has been working on tackling problems of nervousness, lack of confidence, and negative self criticism. These often get in the way of a musician's ability to express themselves freely. To this end he has developed a number of techniques to better understand the causes of such problems so that they won't be as much of a barrier in the future.

 

Colleges / University

Salford College of Music
Lecturer in guitar for various periods between 1988 & 2002.  Also taught improvisation.

 

Leeds College of Music
Lecturer in guitar, 1993 – 1998.  Artist in Residence, 2001/2

 

Leigh College of Music

 

Arden Centre, Manchester

 

Bretton College, Wakefield
Lecturer in guitar at Bretton, Leigh, and Arden Centre for various periods between 1990 & 1993.  Duties also included arranging and carrying out workshops on time and rhythm, improvisation for any instrument, practice techniques, and ensemble playing.

 

Franz Liszt Hochschule, Weimar, Germany
Full time Professor of guitar.  During the period 1998 – 2001, duties included teaching guitar on a one-to-one basis; giving classes on jazz improvisation for singers; ensemble playing (including running multi-instrumental workshops); jazz theory, and instruction in the practical aspects of teaching.

 

Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts
Teaching Fellow.  One-to-one guitar tuition, and teaching of improvisation and ensemble playing. 2002 onwards.

 

Workshops / Summer Schools / Short courses, etc.

Mike leads a number of workshops, and also works in schools at primary and secondary levels, such as on behalf of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland.

 

He teaches at many residential jazz Summer Schools including those organised in Birmingham, Manchester, London, Glasgow, and Burnley.

 

Mike is also the organiser and co-Director of the Music Place Jazz Summer School, held annually in Altrincham, Cheshire.