Alexander Edward Baker

Send me the music you like! {YouTube links preferably} Whatever it is we can work on it together. 

Lessons include all necessary technical skills, reading, ear training and other important aspects such as improvisation or stage preparation 

I’ve been transcribing music for a long time doing guitars (electric, acoustic steel-string, classical , flamenco guitar), bass guitar, drums, voice and other instruments.

Can’t find the tabs or sheet music for the song you want to learn? No problem. Message me what the song or part is. and I'll work it out. Your favourite music doesn’t have to be a well-known song. It can also be a video-game soundtrack, movie theme, obscure YouTube track, classical piece, or anything else you enjoy.

I pride myself in providing insanely accurate transcriptions, and, in some cases, the only real transcriptions available. (Like the Princess of Zelda or Doom OST).

ALL GUITARS, BASS AND DRUMS:

• Rock and metal: Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Alice in Chains, Black Sabbath, Breaking Benjamin
• Punk Rock: Green day, Blink-182, Fallout boy
• Classic rock: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Beatles
• Country: Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen
• Pop: Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, The Weekend
• Blues: SRV, Hendrix, Eric Clapton
• Classical Guitar: John Williams, J.S. Bach, Mauro Giuliani, Fernando Sor, Villa-Lobos, Barrios
• Alternative: Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Radiohead
• Drums: Rock, EDM, synthwave and metal drumming, timing, double bass techniques, coordination and musicality.
• Classical and orchestral percussion: Examination preparation, snare drum technique, auditions and sight-reading.
• Music production: Recording, arranging, home studio fundamentals.
• Ear training and sight-reading
• Advanced techniques - tapping, pinched harmonics, bass slapping, fret-hand muting
• All official rudiments for snare drum or drumkit, as well as rudiments applied to hand percussion instruments

Note that there are literal thousands of artists that can't be mentioned because it will take up too much space. The important thing is to message with the artists/songs/things you want to learn. I'm always being updated through new requests from students - music is endless!

Lessons are practical, personalised and designed around what you want to achieve. Learn your favourite songs, develop your technique, improve your ear, learn music theory, sight-reading and improvisation, prepare for ABRSM or Trinity examinations, write your own music, or get ready to perform, jam or record.

Subjects include electric, acoustic, classical and flamenco guitar, bass guitar, drumkit, percussion, ukulele, cajón, music theory, ear training (aural skills), rhythm (eurythmics), songwriting, sight-reading, improvisation, and advanced techniques.  I’ve taught hundreds of students at schools such as St Joseph’s Marist College, Rondebosch Boys’ Prep, Edgemead High School, Camps Bay Primary School, as well as through my own teaching business and online.

You don’t need to read music to get started, and there's no limit to what you want to learn. If there’s something you want to play, bring it to your lesson and we’ll work from there.

My lessons are practical, personalised and built around what you actually want to do.

We can start with a song or piece you like, and I’ll show you how to play it. If the music isn’t already available, I will work it out by ear and create accurate, easy-to-read material specifically for you. Depending on your needs, this can include TAB, standard notation, exercises, or audio examples.

Lessons are one-on-one, giving you plenty of time to ask questions, experiment with riffs, licks, scales, arpeggios, pieces and techniques, and receive immediate feedback and guidance.

I also create custom exercises and learning material for individual students. If there’s a particular technique you need to develop, a difficult passage you want to master, or music you can’t find anywhere else, I can create material specifically for you.

Technique is developed alongside pieces and excerpts. This includes scales, arpeggios, rudiments, specific drills, for example, right-hand picking, or left-hand hammer-ons and pull-offs. Other technical exercises are included, depending on your instrument.

Theory and sight-reading are never forced on you. If you want to understand the theory behind what you’re playing, we’ll explore it practically and in a way that makes sense. If you’d rather concentrate on playing by ear, rhythm and feel, we can do that instead. TAB is also available for guitar, bass and ukulele, so you don’t need to know how to read music to get started.

Lessons can also cover the practical side of being a musician — from tuning and setting up your instrument to preparing for an examination, performance,  jam session or recording.

Have fun and become a better musician.

Lessons don't have to be a pain in the ass, unless your teacher is as well. Haha, but really part of the secret to learning is in having fun whilst making progress. There are simple formulas I encourage in order to learn and enjoy the process and write my own content on teaching methodology and cognitive science.