Beginner looking for a teacher with a specific style in mind

[jtscrubzone]

Hi everyone, I appreciate there's another active thread about taking lessons but I felt like this question warranted it's own post.

I'm a day 0 beginner other than some very basic rock guitar / and a little bit of jazz bass as a teenager. Last year I came across Lucas Brar on youtube who does jazz arrangements of popular music on a classical guitar. It's left me feeling inspired to start learning classical (nylon string) guitar with a focus on jazz.

I'm struggling to understand what I'm looking for in a teacher, as most that I can find are either "jazz guitar" or "classical guitar" teachers. On one hand I feel like there are techniques I'll need to learn that are specific to the classical guitar, and I'm definitely not opposed to learning some actual classical music along the way. On the other hand I'd like to feel confident that the lessons I'm taking are leading me in the direction of my longer term goals like working towards being able to play some solo chord melody style jazz and, as a very long term goal, be able to work on my own arrangements.

I wondered if anyone here might have a recommendation for someone I could reach out to? I'm based in the UK but can be relatively flexible with times.

[Jimmy blue note]

Hey there jtscrubzone and welcome to the community! I know where you're coming from and it's a beautiful and challenging niche that straddles jazz (which is an improvisational art) and classical (which is a composed and edited performance art).
It would help to know what it is you want to be able to do and what your hopes, expectations and sense of commitment is in balancing the knowledge necessary.
There is a very large spectrum of abilities and skill sets needed to play, arrange, conceptualize and create in real time.
At the very least, if you want arrangements to play with classical elements, you can get TAB arrangements of chordal melody arrangements (see the Jason Vieux below), and Laurendo Almeida has books of lovely arrangements of jazz arrangements for classical guitar. You can learn a lot of the classical performance technique (and reading abilities which I'd highly recommend) by going this route, which I'll think of as performing a pre-written arrangement.
If you want to learn a jazz guitar approach, the classical guitar can also be a solid foundation upon which you learn techniques of counterpoint, chord harmony but also right and left hand finger control necessary to play harmony and melody. Charlie Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Johnny Smith and Laurendo Almeida are highest level jazz improvisors who create arrangements in real time or compositionally written. The apex of this approach I consider Ben Monder.
I learned classical before I immersed myself in jazz improvisation so my own background is a hybrid of fingerstyle techniques and the use of modern harmony on the fingerboard. It's by no means the easiest route but one of the most comprehensive approaches to understanding the secrets of the guitar fingerboard, harmony and melodic mastery. But not everyone wants to spend the amount of time learning to play (not even master) Bach on guitar, but there are volumes that that particular approach will teach you about creative harmony.
I used the Aaron Shearer Classical method, the Laurendo Almeida classical method, the Laurendo Almeida book of jazz and movie tunes arranged for guitar and lots of classical compilations, Bach and Weiss for guitar.

All this is to say that this particular ability on the guitar is a rich one but depending on how deep you want to go and how much you want to master in your end game, will determine the fields of knowledge needed to accomplish that.
I won't get deeper into this here, but feel free to PM me if you'd like to talk about just where you're coming from and some ways you can get there. I'd be happy to offer you one person's experiences and suggestions.

[Rob MacKillop]

Hi jt. I’m a teacher based in Edinburgh, with Zoom students in many time zones across the world. Here’s my classical-guitar website: rmclassicalguitar and also my archtop-guitar website: ArchtopGuitar.net – …jazz…classical…folk…plectrum…fingerstyle…

I teach for a living these days, so ask questions privately if you want to know more: robmackillop@gmail.com I can get you up and running with a good foundation that you will need for both classical and jazz.

Rob

[mr. beaumont]

You'll get what you need from a jazz player who plays fingerstyle...Rob above would be a fine pick.

[Jimmy blue note]

Rob MacKillop is the real deal. And a patient and nice guy. At your level, I couldn't recommend a more qualified advisor in not only the how-to's but the why's of the things you'll need.

[pamosmusic]

Hi everyone, I appreciate there's another active thread about taking lessons but I felt like this question warranted it's own post.

I'm a day 0 beginner other than some very basic rock guitar / and a little bit of jazz bass as a teenager. Last year I came across Lucas Brar on youtube who does jazz arrangements of popular music on a classical guitar. It's left me feeling inspired to start learning classical (nylon string) guitar with a focus on jazz.

I'm struggling to understand what I'm looking for in a teacher, as most that I can find are either "jazz guitar" or "classical guitar" teachers. On one hand I feel like there are techniques I'll need to learn that are specific to the classical guitar, and I'm definitely not opposed to learning some actual classical music along the way. On the other hand I'd like to feel confident that the lessons I'm taking are leading me in the direction of my longer term goals like working towards being able to play some solo chord melody style jazz and, as a very long term goal, be able to work on my own arrangements.

I wondered if anyone here might have a recommendation for someone I could reach out to? I'm based in the UK but can be relatively flexible with times.

I sent you a message. Also a full time teacher. Also classical background. Also jazz player.

If you’re looking for a teacher somewhat less qualified than Rob.