Keith McKinnon

My name is Keith McKinnon. I am 28 years old and I have been playing music pretty much all my life. I started on fiddle when only 6 before falling in love with guitar when I was about 11. Then around 2002 I started teaching myself banjo. From 2006-2010, I toured the US, Canada, and Europe with bluegrass artist Carrie Hassler. Currently I travel and play with the long-time nationally touring band IIIrd Tyme Out playing banjo and guitar. But besides my career I've been teaching since I was 16. I love sharing what I have learned so far over my short life. Music is a language that you can express yourself with and I want to help others find their musical voice.

My specialty is Bluegrass music, although I am a fan of all music and do enjoy playing country rock and blues. But my teaching doesn't lean itself towards bluegrass alone. I like to teach music theory and get you to know how the instrument works so that you can figure out songs and write your own music someday. I base my teaching on the Nashville Number System, which is a great way to think about scales and transposing key signatures without confusing a beginner. Instead of just teaching you how to read tablature or sheet music, I prefer to give you an understanding of how music works so that you can come up with ideas on your own. Whether it be writing a song or improvising a solo. Following a piece of music can only take you so far. The creative process is what music is all about. You'll learn scales and how different scales work for different key signatures. You'll learn how take scales and the Nashville Number System and apply them to your own improvement. After all, creating your own music is what it's all about!