John Heussenstamm

Acoustic Guitar, Blues Guitar, Electric Guitar, Jazz Guitar, Lead Guitar, Rock Guitar

Lesson Fees
from $35.00 / 30 Minutes

About

John Heussenstamm has been teaching guitar for over 35 years, and has given thousands of individual lessons, both in the U.S. and in Australia. He has performed widely on both continents. He is author and co-author of several very acclaimed guitar instructional books and DVDs, covering the genres of blues, jazz, country, and rock.

By age 23, John was in the Deniece Williams band, opening for many soul groups such as KC and the Sunshine Band, Earth Wind and Fire, The Commodores, The Brothers Johnson, Lionel Ritchie, Al Green, the Ohio Players, LTD, and more. He attended the Ali Akbar College of Indian Music in San Rafael, CA. 

By 1980, John moved to Australia, where he toured with his bands for nearly 10 years, performing at many of the country’s biggest clubs, concert halls, and venues. Over the last 25 years in the U.S., John has had the privilege of playing with some superb talent including Thelma Jones, Jan Ashley, Kofi Baker, Al Blake, Armando Compean, Frank Cotinola, Beth Deshea, Alan Diaz, Baba Elefante, Jimmy Haslip, Vail Johnson, Henry Kapono, Paul Lorange, Matt Marshall, Lester McFarland, Pol Pedersen, Vernon Porter, Lee Rocker, Rick Slauser, Dave Spurr, Drew Steele, Dennis Dragon, John Hunt, Nate Wood, Steve Wood, Leo Vigil, Kris Berry, Mario Rossi and others.

The main goal for a teacher should be to inspire people to study, work hard, and enjoy their music. The guitar, perhaps being the most versatile instrument in the modern era, can make demands of the instructor to be eclectic and extremely versatile. With every new student a new type of music may be presented to the teacher with the hope he can reveal how to play it. Helping students get a feel for the guitar and develop their speed, agility, and creativity is a main feature of training but there’s also style that needs to be closely observed and often maintained or we lose direction. Also, there should always be a focus on helping you to understand the fundamentals of music theory such as scales, harmony, techniques, tablature, notation, etc.

John is author of many very highly reviewed and widely used texts for guitar, published by Hal Leonard, which are not required for lessons but may be helpful for students. These books can be purchased online and are typically stocked at local instrument stores.

GUITAR WORKOUT - SPEED PICKING SWEEPS ARPEGGIOS & HARMONY FOR THE MODERN GUITARIST By John Heussenstamm. Hal Leonard, 2010.
100 Jazz Lessons - Guitar Lesson Goldmine Series (Book/CD) By John Heussenstamm and Paul Silgerbleit. Hal Leonard, 2013.
100 Blues Lessons: Guitar Lesson Goldmine Series By Chad Johnston and John Heussenstamm. Hal Leonard, 2013.

Loading cart contents...
Load contents