Who Am I?

I started playing guitar when I was ten years old, learning Beatles songs from my parents’ albums and Monkees songs from television reruns.  As soon as I learned a few chords and a handful of songs, I was inspired to write and record my own songs on a little cassette tape machine.

While my interest in music was growing, I was also fortunate to grow up playing and working on the first generation of personal desktop computers.  By trial and error, my high school friends and I taught each other basic programming on IBM-XTs and Radio Shack TRS-80s.

After high school, my interest in and aptitude for technology led to starting a college electrical engineering program.  During this time I also obtained an FCC license and held a disc jockey position at the campus radio station.  The station also had a small recording studio, and I was able to learn studio production methods to record and produce programming and commercial spots.

During college I found the opportunity to perform in a variety of musical ensembles playing rock, blues, and big band swing.  I also started teaching guitar at a local music store and found I had a knack for it.  Eventually my passion for music combined with the practical experience of earning a living led me to leave college and work full time as a teaching and performing musician.  While teaching and working at several music stores I got the opportunity to do musical theater pit work as well as working in recording studios.  Over the years I’ve also had the opportunity to create, copyright, and publish original compositions.  

Eventually I took the opportunity to work at Bethel University (College at that time) in their newly formed IT department.  Using my experience with computer technology, I helped create the school’s digital learning resources, teaching faculty and students how to use computers and the internet to accomplish research and academic work.

While working full time at this position I was able to attend classes at the college in order to finally complete an undergraduate degree in my field of passion, a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Music.

After graduating I started working with Jon Broderick at GuitarTricks.com.  It was a small online company with a big goal: to become the first online guitar lesson provider.  I developed and created a step-by-step curriculum of video guitar lessons.  I taught myself computer video production and combined it with my existing audio production skills.  We started with a beginner course, then branched into more advanced courses, each with a focus on different genres of music.  As the company hired more instructors I helped develop pedagogy specifically for the online lesson platform.  I built a catalog of over 3,000 lessons, managed assignments for other instructors, assembled lesson content, and performed quality assurance.  I was able to draw on my experience playing and teaching a wide variety of musical styles, as well as my experience with computer technology, to help grow the company to over 12,000 video lessons in a variety of styles used by over 4 million subscribers.  My own lessons have typically garnered over 200,000 views per year.

I am currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music Online.

I am looking for opportunities to use my knowledge and skills in order to teach guitar and music technology at a college or university level.  I still want to teach guitar, music theory, and composition, all while combining it with a focus on current and future music technologies.  I want to take the knowledge and skills I’ve acquired and used over the past 20 years and apply them to teaching the next generation of music creators.  I want to apply traditional music theory concepts to modern styles of music and modern production methods.

It will always be important for artists to understand and make use of the traditional skills and knowledge of music.  It is equally important to know that technology will advance and be used going forward in the creation of music.  I have spent most of my professional life working in ways that combine music and technology and am excited to help the next generation see what is possible and what can be accomplished.