For Kids, Teens and Adults
Guitar Lessons
At Backbeat Music Academy, guitar lessons are custom-built around you. Whether you’re just picking it up, looking to start playing in bands, or really take it to the next level with soloing, grooving, songwriting, etc. Just let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll set you up with a free Intro lesson and take it from there. Note: For kids 6 and under, you might consider the ukulele first. The skills transfer and the smaller size fits smaller hands better. (We have electric ukes that give the rock feeling, if that’s what you’re looking for!)
Why Parents Choose Backbeat
It can seem like every music school is the same, especially as venture capital buys out more music schools every year and tunes them up for maximum profit, but there are a few things that Backbeat Music Academy really does differently.
Our philosophy. The main thing that sets us apart is our guided inquiry-driven approach to music lessons; based on the student’s interests and skills. We know there isn’t one path that’s right for everyone, and and that music isn’t about getting the notes right: its about people. Its a relationship and to get the most out of it, you need to take it on your terms.
Flexibility. Lessons aren’t locked into just one instrument. All Backbeat’s teachers are multi-instrumentalists. This allows them to support a student’s inquiry more effectively – but each teacher also has their areas of mastery, so if you’re looking to go deeper, we can support that, too.
Interaction. While most music lesson rooms have room for the teacher, the student, the piano and room to turn around, all of Backbeat’s classrooms have pianos, guitars, basses, drum sets, mics, etc. This is because it lets the teacher interact with the student in realistic ways. They can jam on the drums while the student is on piano, or pick up a bass and work on locking in if the student is on the drums. Of course, the large classrooms also give the student more options to explore themselves. (One classroom is inside an actual bank vault!)
Community. Backbeat’s teachers will jam with their students, but will also try to network their students with their family, friends and other students. We also have a thriving band program, that range from total beginners to multiple award-winning bands that have performed on Beale St. in Memphis and more.
Musical Instrument Museum. Backbeat has hundreds of instruments from all over the world that students get to try and explore. It’s one of the best collections in the NW, and one of the best anywhere that’s curated specifically for (non-University) music students.
Great place for teachers, too. Backbeat is locally owned small business, and designed from the ground up not just for the students, but also a place for teachers to grow. Our teachers enjoy some of the top pay rates for music schools, better benefits from health insurance to free lessons with other teachers. Happy teachers leads to better teaching and a stronger community.
Schedule Flexibility. Our flexible rescheduling puts you in control of the schedule, cancelling and rescheduling lessons easily. (We still have a 24 hour cancellation policy, though)
What Beginner Guitar Lessons Look Like
Guitar can be an intimidating instrument. It takes a while to be able to get around, so in a patient and inquiry-driven environment, we’ll chip away at the Big 3 Skill Trees:
What To Play: How the guitar works, where the notes are, how songs and melodies work, etc.
How To Play: This is physical technique, holding the guitar, the pick, fretting, chording, strumming, plucking, fingerstyle, etc.
When To Play: The heart of music is interaction – and learning how your notes affect the others in critical.
What Advanced Guitar Lessons Look Like
Being able to play faster is only a small part of getting better. Of course, you can work on shredding, but playing guitar better really means making better choices. This is where Backbeat’s community of teachers really shines for advanced players, too. Our top-notch guitar teachers get the opportunity to study themselves with great drum teachers, voice teachers, piano teachers etc. And so do you. Learning about the drums gives you better insight into guitar – and our teachers are used to teaching drums for advanced guitarists. This gives you an advantage in understanding rhythm that you’d never get without that experience. You can expand your soloing by learning about Jazz piano and how it relates.
Then there are Backbeat’s advanced, award-winning bands and other opportunities to play out. Drop us a line to find out more.
Simple, Easy Pricing, No Surprises
- No sign-up fees, recital fees, or long-term contracts
- Reschedule lessons anytime, as often as you need
Private Lessons
Includes
- No sign-up fees, recital fees, or long-term contract
- Easy, unlimited rescheduling. Reschedule yourself for any student and any type of lesson
- Mix and match instruments within lessons for the perfect fit
Group Classes
Extras
- Free intro session for all new students
- Low-cost rentals available for all new students (if in stock)
- Option for online lessons whenever you want
Our Philosophy
A growth mindset is more important to a musician than hands. We know through extensive experience that playing music with other people –either in recitals or with bands– gives students the highest levels of enjoyment. It also gives a real sense of accomplishment. This is essential for self-motivation when learning how to play. In addition to focusing on the individual instrument of your choice, we also focus on performances.
Music Is Fun. Rule number one in our lessons is that music is fun. Why? Three big reasons. First, music itself is fun and if you aren’t having fun while playing music, then you’re doing it wrong. We don’t want our students to develop bad habits, so we make sure that all our students remain musical – and that means having fun.
Second, great learners make great musicians. in order to get to where they want to go, our students need to have good learning technique so they can learn faster. The brain learns best while playing, so if the student is having fun, then they are able to learn faster. Third, happy students are motivated students.
Third, the biggest problem with music lessons isn’t talent, and it isn’t motivation. The biggest problem in music lessons is intimidation. If a student feels inwardly that they won’t be able to succeed (research says this is the rule, not the exception), then they won’t be in a state of mind where they can learn fast. By making sure the student is having fun while knocking out critical skills, we level up our student to the point where they start to understand music and feel like it is something they could do.
Music is meant to be shared. Taking private lessons and never playing music with others is like dribbling a soccer ball around your house but never playing in a game. It misses the point of music, which is connection. This is the heart of music and the source for most of the real fulfillment in music-making.
People do what they think will work. The effectiveness of your choices depends on the accuracy of your assumptions. We teach this to our students because it empowers them with the single most effective way to improve their performance. Each action is a choice, and the best way to change your action is to change your choices. The best way to change your choices is to change the assumptions those choices were based on.
Our teachers use this insight to observe why a student is making a mistake, backtracking their choices to figure out the student’s assumptions. This allows the teacher to direct the student to the most effective way to improve, short-circuiting wasted practice time and much frustration. Afterall, music is meant to be fun.
What You Should Do Next
Simply call/text us at (503) 290-5090 or click the button below to schedule a free trial lesson.
Other music lessons at Backbeat Music Academy…
Guitar Technique: In addition to teaching guitar chords and melodies, we teach guitar students proper posture, movement fundamentals, and techniques required to play.
Musical Insight: Students will learn how music is crafted, what’s happening in music they listen to, and how their instrument works. Understanding how music works will not only help them learn faster, but will also facilitate music creation, improvisation and understanding how to play in a group.
Music Reading: Playing music is easier when you know what to play (shocker). And reading music notation is a key part of that. Reading music is also critical to defusing the confusion and intimidation of learning to play music.
Learning Skills: Great learners make great musicians. Our teaching method includes teaching our students the same teaching techniques that our teachers use. This way, the student begins to learn how to best improve using the techniques themselves.
How to Play with Others: Music is shared. In order to play music, a musician must tune into both fellow band members and the audience. We teach students to play their part while listening to those around them.
Performance Skills: Nearly everyone has some level of performance anxiety. We give our students tips and tricks on how to handle performance anxiety and how to direct their attention in ways that aid their performance.