Lessons

As a veteran music educator of 30+ years I have had the privilege of teaching hundreds of students the joy of making music. As the Band/Orchestra/Jazz Band teacher at Bellows Free Academy St. Albans since 1996 I have been responsible for teaching all concert band and orchestral instruments, group guitar, jazz band, music theory, and marching band. There are very few instruments I have actually not taught students to play. 

I'm open to teaching beginners on any and all BAND instruments. My major instrument in college was the Saxophone and can teach beginner through advanced players on that instrument. If you are looking for instruction on the violin family of instruments I'd be happy to point you to a string specialist, that's not my forte. 

I've taught Beginning and Advanced Guitarists for years. My approach is to focus on learning the instrument with the goals of the student in mind. Unlike many other instrumentalists, guitarists nearly always have a favorite player or genre in mind which has led them to wanting to learn the guitar. A "C-Chord" is the same whether one is playing Country Music or Death Metal so I like to help students see how the guitar is an instrument that is beyond a specific genre. I have had tremendous success over the years teaching students how to become proficient players in my one-semester "Beginning Guitar" class at BFA St. Albans. During that time students master open chords, learn barre chords, how to read tablature, how to read standard notation, how to play Travis-style finger picking, and how to improvise (guitar 'solo'). I have had the same luck with my private students. I would love to work with you on how to achieve your goals on the guitar and can guarantee that you may find some new favorite genres along the way!

I have specialized in Clawhammer Banjo playing for the last 15 years. Clawhammer is taking the music world by storm these days, appearing in everything from Beyonce to Chris Stapleton and beyond. I am well-versed in the tradition of Appalachain Fiddle Tunes and 2 and 3-finger style playing on the banjo in the Old-Time Style. If you're curious about where my strenghts on this instrument lie give my music a listen. I would love to teach you how to interpret Old-Time Fiddle Tunes, read banjo tabulature, learn chords, work on your right hand technique (the banjo is ALL about the right hand technique!), and to learn how to accompany yourself or others with the banjo. I also have a knack and keen interest in working out interesting arrangements/covers of tunes on the banjo - come to one of my gigs to see some of these in action! My goal is to get you playing at a level where you can play proficiently with others or just simply for your own pleasure. I'm open to beginners through advanced Clawhammer Banjo players! 

(**** Please note - I'm a very basic Scruggs-Style Banjoist. If you're looking for that classic bluegrass style  you may have better luck elsewhere although I could certainly get you started . More likely I'll convert you (happily) to a clawhammer player though...just giving you some fair warning there! :))

I'll be teaching lessons staring in the Fall of 2024 in St. Albans and Jeffersonville, VT. I also offer online lessons or some combination of on-line and in-person for situations that arise. I have found some limited success in teaching saxophone online, it's just not ideal, but I will consider doing online lessons with students on the saxophone, particularly if we can have some in-person lessons. I have found much success in teaching guitar and banjo online - those are more 'visual' instruments and simply lend themselves to online learning more naturally. 

Lesson Rates are $30 - half hour, $60 - hour. I ask students to pay for their first and last lesson at the beginning and am open to having a free consult with a student to see if lessons with me are the right fit for them. Missed lessons without 24 hours of advance notice will still incur the full lesson charge, students who miss repeated lessons or cancel often (even with 24 hours of notice) may be dropped from my schedule to accomodate another person who is on the wait list. (Sorry to be so business-like and transactional but clear communication here generally creates a successful experience for both you and me!)

Contact me at ejbushey1@gmail.com or call/text 802-233-9204

I can't wait to work with you!