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| Tobias Hurwitz Gives Guitar Lessons Online Baltimore guitarist Tobias Hurwitz is one of a group of rock, jazz, blues and classical artists chosen to participate in a fast growing international community called WorkshopLive. The web platform helps pair aspiring John Mayers and Zakk Wyldes with professional musicians like Hurwitz who are best-suited to turn their musical dreams into reality. WorkshopLive offers keyboard, piano, and guitar lessons in a variety of genres, styles, and levels. Hurwitz explains that it is easier for students to learn how to play an instrument when they are guided by someone who's compatible with their musical interests, learning style and temperament. "Until now, if you wanted to play guitar, you would have to conform to your teacher's instructional and playing techniques, " said Hurwitz. "WorkshopLive takes the exact opposite approach and matches you with a musician who's attuned to your specific needs and interests. It's basically the same principle as an online dating service, only it's designed to bring together the musically compatible." Along with things like age, music genre, skill level and favorite artists, the matching engine pairs students and teachers on the basis of cognitive criteria such as learning style. For example, some beginning instrument players tend to be "audio" learners, while others are more visually oriented, explains Hurwitz. The former would be matched with a musician who likes to illustrate lessons by playing demos, while the latter would be teamed with one who puts more emphasis on sheet music. Once students get paired with their ideal musical mentor, they start WorkshopLive's interactive online lesson program. Just like finding the right teacher, everything about the program is designed to give the student control over determining the way he or she learns best. Students learn at their own time schedule and pace, and can even create their own curriculum. Each student gets a customized home page that features articles, interviews and a "cut of the day, " based on his or her own personal interests. "The whole idea is that no one knows how you learn better than you do, so people will make more progress if they're given empowerment over their own learning process, " said Hurwitz. "By putting this into practice, WorkshopLive is offering a totally new way to learn an instrument, which I believe is more effective than anything I've ever experienced before." Hurwitz brings over three decades of musical experience to WorkshopLive. A recording artist, live performer, writer and teacher, he has jammed or recorded with such greats as J.Geils, The Coasters and Joe Pass. He has released two of his own CDs, including Painted Sky, which features Dennis Chambers on drums. The author of eight books on guitar-playing, Hurwitz will undoubtedly be a "perfect match" for many WorkshopLive students who wish to learn guitar. Young shredders may want to check out Tobias's latest comic book, Shred Planet. Lessons with Tobias will take beginning rockers from introducing them to the tools-of-the-trade in "Introduction to the Electric Guitar and Amplifiers" and "Developing Solo Techniques" to the intermediate-to-advanced techniques, such as: Multi-Finger Tapping, Sweep-and-Tap Arpeggios, Hand Tricks, Creative Pentatonics, Modal Interchange, and much, much more. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |