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 – whatever you’re looking for. We have lessons for all ages – even for the younger crowd. 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.
Why Parents Choose Backbeat
Every music school has music lessons. There’s a few things that really set Backbeat apart, though.
Our philosophy. The main thing that sets us apart is our 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.
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. Aside from the standard rhythm section instruments, Backbeat has hundreds of instruments from all over the world that students get to try and explore.
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. 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)
Backbeat guitar lessons work well for students who are brand new, students who have tried lessons before, and students who already play but want better direction.
For younger students, we keep lessons active, encouraging, and flexible. They do not need to arrive already “serious” about guitar. Curiosity is enough.
For teens, lessons can connect to songwriting, bands, recording, improvisation, and the music they actually listen to.
For adults, lessons can be practical and goal-driven: learn songs, understand the fretboard, improve rhythm, fix frustrating technique problems, or finally make sense of music theory in a useful way.
Guitar Lessons Do Not Have to Stay Only on Guitar
One of the advantages of Backbeat is that students are not locked into a narrow track.
A guitar student might try bass to understand groove, ukulele to simplify chords, piano to see how harmony works, drums to improve rhythm, or voice to connect guitar playing with songs. Some students stay focused on guitar. Others use guitar as one part of a broader musical exploration.
Both are valid.
This flexibility is especially helpful for kids who are interested in music but do not yet know which instrument feels like home.
In our guitar lessons, you will learn…
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.
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.
Prices for Guitar Lessons in Portland, OR
Backbeat Music offers an easy flat-rate packages for guitar lessons. Lessons are scheduled per calendar month, not per 4-week cycle – so if you have lessons on Saturdays and there are 5 Saturdays in the month you get a free 5th lesson instead of an extra bill. We also offer unlimited rescheduling. Makeup lessons can be used on any instrument with any teacher.
Calendar Month of 1x/week 30 Minute Lessons: 174/month (4-5 lessons per month)
Calendar Month of 1x/week 45 Minute Lessons: 244/month (4-5 lessons per month)
Calendar Month of 1x/week 60 Minute Lessons: 339/month (4-5 lessons per month)
What You Should Do Next
Simply call/text us at (503) 290-5090 or click the button below to schedule a free trial lesson.
Guitar Lesson Prices
Backbeat Music offers an easy flat-rate packages for guitar lessons. Monthly Packages consist of one lessons per week, or 4-5 lessons per month. We also offer unlimited rescheduling. Makeup lessons can be used on any instrument with any teacher.
A calendar month of 30 Minute Lessons: $159/month
A calendar month of 30 Minute Lessons: $259/month
A calendar month of 60 Minute Group Lessons: $125/month
30 Minute Lesson: $45/session
60 Minute Lesson: $79/session