Internationally Acclaimed Music Educator

Chuck Anderson is one of the busiest and most successful private teachers in the world. Teaching, researching and consulting, he has built an educational practice of international proportions. Students from four states travel weekly to his teaching studio to find what they have never been able to find from any other teacher.

Chuck is a relentless researcher and has developed some of the most revolutionary concepts to help students develop their talent and find their own direction. Many of these concepts have been developed into books and DVDs available in the Jazz Guitar Club.

His track record of creating successful students is impressive. Some of them are Michael Sembello, a mega successful songwriter and guitarist with phenomenal credentials. Mike went directly from his studies with Chuck to working with Stevie Wonder at the age of 19. After seven years with Stevie, Michael created, sang, arranged and played on the chart topping “Maniac” from the film “Flashdance”. His credits are too numerous to list here but you can visit his website at www.MichaelSembello.com to get a sense of what he has accomplished.

Al Anderson, guitarist with Bob Marley and the Wailers is another alumnus. Allan Slutsky won two Grammy’s for his creating, writing, producing and playing on the famous documentary film “Standing in the Shadows of Motown”.

Other success stories are Arthur Bernstein, head of Paul McCartney’s “Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts”. Bob Miles is a guitarist and host of the popular TV show “Miles of Music”. The list of success stories ranges from successful pro players to owners of music schools to writers and on!

Testimonials

“Chuck is a premier musician and teacher who enjoys an international reputation for excellence in teaching. He is the author of several publications and is a well known performer with a great deal of experience in virtually all forms of music.”

Dr. William V. Frabizio – Chairman, Department of Music Arcadia College

“Chuck is the teacher and keeper of the knowledge and master of the techniques. Keep passing it on! ”

Michael Sembello – Songwriter/ Producer

“Besides being an outstanding musician, Chuck Anderson has developed a worldwide reputation as an innovative music educator. Noted as an author and researcher, he has developed methods and teaching materials which have helped musicians to develop their creative potential.”

John Marshall – Martin Guitar Company

“Chuck has an almost singular ability amongst contemporary music educators to balance the relevant academic knowledge with his broad based background as a performer and composer, hands-on practical and business experience.”

Arthur Bernstein – Head of Music, The Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts

“Chuck Anderson has been a major influence on private music education for over 35 years. Teachers, players, arrangers and songwriters have all benefited from his unique combination of music knowledge, practical street experience and dedication.”

Gerson Rosenbloom – President of Medley Music and Former Executive of NAAM

“Chuck’s ability to handle questions with clear insightful answers makes him ideally suited for lectures, seminars, clinics and master classes on a wide variety of music related topics.”

Tom Richards

B101 radio

Education Module

This module of Chuck Anderson Jazz Guitar is devoted to learning or advancing the Jazz Guitar. Of all the guitar styles, the Jazz Guitar requires the most information, knowledge and technique.

Tips, lessons, demonstrations, on line education and more will all be available here. Take advantage of my forty five years of teaching and research to help you advance in the art of the Jazz Guitar.

I would encourage you to contact me and ask questions. You’ll be given a clear, straight forward answer.

Some topics are excluded from this Education module. I don’t deal with individual songs or parts of songs. There are enough TAB based songs available on the Internet. The same is true for “note for note” solos and recorded riffs.

My Education module doesn’t deal with gear, trivia or technology. I don’t rate one style of music over another or one player over another.

If your question or topic is too large or too deep for this format, I’ll suggest alternative solutions.

On Line Access

Chuck is now offering his ground-breaking teaching methods to the online world. He is available for: private teaching, consulting, master classes, clinics, workshops and seminars on a wide variety of music related topics.

Contact Chuck for more information!

My Teaching Philosophy

Teaching for me has proved to be an endlessly fascinating process. Though on the surface, the topics I teach are fixed, the way in which they are taught shifts constantly according to the individual student.

As we all know, everyone learns in their own unique way. It’s my obligation to find the best way for each individual. The goals are the goals of the student. They are not my goals for myself nor are they my goals for the student. Teachers who fail to recognize this are making a serious error.

I first need to understand where a student is in all the requisite areas such as technique, theory, reading, chords, scales, improvisational tools and skills, creativity, ear training and a host of other areas. Next comes the direction and goals if they are known.

Teaching is a holistic art and requires consideration of the whole person. It does not just provide surface knowledge for the individual.

When I teach, I play surprisingly little. Those teachers who feel the need to play constantly during a lesson are not teaching. They are showing. The problem with this approach is that the style of the teacher comes through way too much and robs the student of time that’s needed to develop.

The jazz guitar is a deep style but it doesn’t start that way. It starts with the first steps and then accumulates into an entire program.

Let’s look at the elements of the jazz guitar study.

Notes on the Neck
Finger control and coordination
Strength and endurance
Touch
Improvisational Tools such as scales, arpeggios, intervals and sequences
Chord Organization and Voicings
Chord Progressions
Fingering Principles
Harmonic Systems
Theory
Chord Spelling
Harmonic Analysis
Melodic Analysis
Scale Analysis
Modular Phonetic Rhythm
Embellishments
Intros
Endings
Turnbacks
Structure
Repertoire
Styles
Vertical Improvisation
Horizontal Improvisation
Playing on Changes
12 Bar Jazz Blues
Modality
and so on…

When I get a grip on where the student is and where he or she wants to go, I develop a customized plan to reach their objectives. The goals can be as varied as virtuosity, full time musician or casual player. The only thing that matters is that we begin to move in the right direction. The rate of progress is typically connected to the amount of time spent on efficient and creative practice.

If you have a time problem, as virtually everyone does, don’t worry about it. We have so many things to work on, that the old model of “Practice or Else” doesn’t even exist in my teaching methodology.

As my “Private Music Teacher’s Guide” says: It’s the student’s job to show up and it’s the teacher’s job to make it worth while.

Many years ago, I wrote a book called “Music Pursuing the Horizon”. The title summarizes the fact that as we progress and achieve one goal, we reset our goal and keep moving forward!