Andrea Balestra
Lesson Feesfrom $35.00 / 30 Minutes
Promotions Available
About
I have been teaching professionally for the past 17 years and love it!
Academically, I hold two degrees (production & performance) cum laude at the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Massachusetts and have ever since worked as a guitarist, bassist and producer. I was fortunate enough to work as a musical director for grammy nominated blues artist Bobby "Hurricane" Spencer. My duet with guitar legend Scott Henderson, titled "Bulldozer", was also featured in "The Loner - Tribute To Jeff Beck" album along with several famous guitarists. I have been enthusiastically reviewed and/or interviewed by Vintage Guitar Magazine, All About Jazz, M Music and Musicians Magazine, LA Weekly, Boston Globe and currently write instructional columns for Guitar Club, Italy's most read guitar publication.
During my many years as a guitarist I have studied with the following greats: John Pisano, Steve Trovato, Julien Kasper, Tim Miller, Carl Verheyen, Regi Wooten and Peter Mazza.
In my many years as a teacher, I have helped students of all levels from beginners to fellow professionals.
My philosophy is to make the learning process as enjoyable as possible and at the same time make sure the student keeps marking solid progress towards their goals.
First and foremost, I realize that everyone is different. Age and personal interests make a big difference in the way that a student learns, and it is vital for a teacher to focus on the student's personal goals and focus, adjust the work load to the amount of practice time and answer as many questions as needed. The goal is to have make learning enjoyable and achieve progress with every lesson.
Berklee College Of Music - BA in Music Performance (Cum Laude) (2007)
Berklee College of Music - BA in Music Production and Engineering (Cum Laude) 2007
The Recording Academy (Grammy Foundation) - Voting Member
Because I love teaching and have almost two decades of experience doing it, I have developed and continue developing effective methodology. I constantly look to create and share material that is engaging, fun and effective. Furthermore I keep learning and up to date on new music, guitar and bass methods and pedagogy textbooks. I am proficient in notation software and always provide my students with hand outs, pdf books and an organized homework/topic list at the end of every session.
Some of the books I love:
General Guitar Methods: Mel Bay - A Modern Method For Guitar
Rock: Peter Fischer - Rock Guitar Secrets
Fingerstyle: Julio Sagreras - First Guitar Lessons
Jazz: Hal Crook - How To Improvise
Bass: Hal Leonard, Extreme Slap Bass, Funk Bass by John Liebman