Information About Sue - Taunton teacher

Personal Description:

Su has been a musician since the age of 16 starting on guitar with good ol' Oasis tunes! Then she got bored and became interested in folk music picking up the mandolin with melodies and then advancing tunes on banjo and fiddle as an Old Time musician. After graduating from Dartington College of Arts in 2006 in Music as a performer, she is regularly performing in the South West. You may see her in local sessions and occasionally in a duo called Southern Belle with Vic Wilcox. It was her former group, The Temporary Trio that pushed her performance to a new level with the group performing on a regular basis across the south west.

Su has been known to be a 'library' of tunes but now struggles to remember how they all begin! She was the former webmaster at Friends Of American Old Time Music And Dance's website where she has developed connections with old time musicians across the UK.

Tutoring Experience:

Su has taught for over 25 years and covers a range of instruments. She mainly advertises mandolin and banjo but people have come for guitar lessons and fiddle lessons as well.
A few students who have not had success change teachers and Su has noticed how people do stick with her for several years and do make a lot of progress.
Su have Enhanced DBS and can teach vulnerable students too. She also has experiences with those with learning differences as well as physical disabilities.

Su chooses not to do grades due to the restrictiveness in the programs that does not suit everyone.

Tutoring Approach:

Lessons are based in Somerset, UK or online. One hour lessons per week or fortnight are recommended instead of over an hour in one day.

Su specialises in Old Time music but can cover other genres in folk, she teaches mainly banjo and mandolin but due to her reputation in teaching methods, she has been asked to teach instruments she doesn't even advertise! These are just some of what the lessons will cover in both beginner and intermediate level:

Basics on the instrument and instrument setup.
Tuning
Different tunings
Reading music notation (some instruments)
Some theory
Left & right Technique
Muscle memory
Subconscious performance
Confidence & memory improvement
Duo work
Avoiding aches & pains!
Links to a jam sessions of all abilities without being put on the spot.
Lots of tunes!
And if you are still with me years later(!) we'll go into other topics like music tech, recording, transcription, all sorts!

Having been taught by performers, her teaching style is very informal and all about being comfortable with making funny noises on the instruments. "It doesn't matter what notes you play, as long as they are on time' will be her quote." Always remember that and then you're almost there!
With the informal style of teaching aside, Su has also been taught classical methods from classical guitar that will transfer easily to the instrument of your choice. These methods are very important to take on to improve speed and accuracy of your playing as well as avoiding injuries.

ONLINE LESSONS

If you wish to venture into the digital world of having lessons via the internet, this also is possible with the use of webcam communication.