Adam Scharff

I'm a guitarist with over 30 years of playing experience and 20+ years of private teaching under my belt. I've been giving one-on-one guitar lessons since 2005 out of South Berwick, Maine, working with students of all ages and levels, from first-time players to gigging musicians looking to tighten up their craft. I teach across a wide range of styles including rock, blues, folk, country, pop, funk, singer-songwriter, and more.

Before I settled into teaching, I spent years as a touring and performing musician. I played in several bands, including The Scharff Brothers, Radio Junkies, and Skyler and the Band of Thieves. I've performed at venues like The Bitter End in NYC, CBGB's and CB's Gallery in NYC, The Middle East in Boston (both upstairs and downstairs), and Higher Ground in Burlington, VT. I played the main stage at the Tulip Festival in Albany, NY, and toured colleges from Colby College in Waterville, Maine down to St. Petersburg, Florida and everywhere in between.

I'm also a professional audio engineer and producer with over 20 years of experience. I've produced 36+ audiobook titles, earned two Audie Award Finalist credits and an AudioFile Earphones Award, and co-founded the Mentoring for the Modern Musician Podcast (2017 to 2020). That production background gives me a perspective on music that goes beyond just playing, and it shows up in how I teach.

My approach is simple: meet you where you are and build from there. Whether you're picking up a guitar for the first time or you've been playing for years and want to push into new territory, I figure out what you need and we work on it together. I don't follow a rigid curriculum or force you through a method book you're not interested in. We focus on what gets you excited to play.

I put a lot of emphasis on feel, rhythm, and actually sounding good, not just knowing where to put your fingers. I'll teach you songs you want to learn, but I'll also show you why things work the way they do so you can start figuring stuff out on your own. That's the real goal: making you a self-sufficient player. I also teach what I call "self-defense" music theory. Just enough so you can hold your own when someone throws a theory question at you. Nothing will stifle creativity or lower your drive to learn faster than feeling lost in a conversation about the music you're already playing.

I've been doing this long enough to know that the students who stick with it are the ones who feel like they're making music from day one, not just running exercises.