José A. — Guitar Teacher — Ahuntsic, Montreal

My name is José Ayala, I'm from Quito, Ecuador; and I started playing classical then electric guitar since I was 7 years old. I've always been fascinated by music and sound in general. At 12, I listened to a great band, and decided I would become a professional musician, so I started having guitar lessons. The music I enjoyed often demanded a high technical skill with the instrument, so repetition became almost a meditative state. After graduating high school, I went to Argentina to study Music Performance for 1 year, before returning to Quito and enrolling at USFQ College of Music (member of Berklee International Network) for a B.A. Music and Sound Production. I played some live shows and kept learning new ways to approach the instrument. Since then, I've been teaching private guitar and music lessons to students of all ages, and I constantly try to get better at it. My goal is to funnel all my experience and deliver the best package of information to each student, while guiding their motivation for a more efficient learning experience. My studies, altogether with years of experience, have given me the tools to help studens reach their ultimate goal. I had the privilege to teach the former Ambassador to the Republic of South Korea for over a year; and his discipline showed me that I will always learn something new from my students, so it's important to keep an open mind. I strongly believe that asking questions is the best tool a student has in order to extract information. So, I encourage them to always ask any questions and thus be comfortable with the lessons. It'll be my pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to learning together!

I believe patience and dedication, on both sides, are the key to creating a great lesson that will satisfy the student's needs. We'll make sure to build a strong technical foundation and focus on whatever is needed to push the learning curve to its fullest potential. Here are some of the things we might cover, depending on the student's needs: - The origins of sound and music theory. We want to make sure everything makes sense from the first day of the lessons. - How our instrument works, and how we can exploit its strengths and work around its limitations. - The first steps into making music with your instrument. This is about music, and we need to train our ears and our brain to be able to create and enjoy it. - Build on stronger technical skills and dig deeper into music theory. The more you practice anything, the more you realize how deep the rabbit hole goes. - Jam with another musician or play along songs, grow your repertoire, explore your favorite music style. We learn music and vocabulary the same way we learned how to speak our main language. The point is to have fun while learning about something you enjoy doing. You are setting aside some time in your week to do one thing, as continuously as possible, so the more fun the better. I will always be happy to answer your questions, and in fact, encourage you to ask them. We'll find a way to communicate the content in the most efficient possible way together. I look forward to seeing you!