Guitar Lessons with Matthew Woodward, Kingston, Ontario

From the first introduction and throughout all lessons Matt is a true professional and his love for music and extensive knowledge of the theory is second to none. He tailors the lessons to your personal goals and couldn’t be more attentive. You are his only focus during your time. Thanks to him I am now comfortable and rather than learning a song, he taught me the language to understand the basis. Not just memorize patterns. I can’t say enough about how amazing he is as a teacher and his pug Winston was always a highlight of my time in the studio. Even if you feel you know your way around a fretboard, some time with Matt will only further your skills and understanding.

I've wanted to write a review for a while now, but felt a bit weird given that I'm a current student of his. However now that I'm going on almost a year of learning guitar with him, and having had other guitar teachers, I felt the need to give my opinion. Short version: He is a great teacher, and I am extremely glad that I am taking lessons with him. 1. Matthew does things in such an effective way that you would think that it would be obvious that all teachers should teach this way. This is not the case. Matthew keeps notes/records of your lessons, and knows what you worked on in your last lesson, or even many lessons ago. This is very valuable, and I don't know how comfortable I'd be if a teacher didn't do this, after now having seen how helpful this can be. It also makes you realize that he's paying attention and is invested in your development as a guitar player. 2. He offers a structured course plan that keeps you progressing and not losing sight of your goals, and if you want to, you can also deviate to learn specific songs that you're interested in. He basically never leaves you feeling lost, and gives you enough to feel challenged, but doesn't overwhelm you. You can let him know what your goals are, and he'll do his best to help you get there. 3. Matthew has a wide taste in guitar based music, and so there are probably many songs that both of you like, and that you can enjoy working on together. 4. Matthew has a very "rock and roll" personality, and by that I mean that you really feel like you're practicing/playing with someone who really likes guitar based music, and is passionate about it, and so it makes practicing with him very fun. It really feels like you're jamming. He's also perpetually in a good mood. My guitar lessons are always one of the major highlights of my week. 5. Matthew's rates are very affordable, and lessons with him are quite frankly the best money I've spent relating to my guitar journey, other than the money I spent buying my guitar in the first place (I mean, I have to own one in the first place, don't I?) I don't mean to sound too effusive in my praise, but after having had other teachers, and now being with Matthew for almost a year, I really realized how much more you get out of lessons with Matthew, and I think that if your goal is to improve at the guitar, you really can't do any better than learning with Matthew. (He also has a cute dog that you can pet!!)

I'm in my thirties, and I started off as a complete acoustic guitar beginner with Matthew several months ago. A few months down the road, I'm now playing more songs than I thought possible, finger picking, reading sheet music (without an initial plan of doing so), and enjoying the journey of learning to play guitar. Matthew has been a great teacher: patient, creative, methodical, and very approachable. I hope to continue learning from him for while, although he does encourage musical independence.

Matt is such a great guitar player and teacher. He's passionate about music and helping his students explore and improve. Lessons are well thought out and Matt's sheet music and handouts are so helpful. No drop in quality when we moved to online lessons for Covid safety. Highly recommend!

After living in many cities and working with many guitar teachers along the way I’m confident in saying Matt is hands down the best guitar teacher I’ve worked with – I consistently recommend him to friends interested in guitar. He is an outstanding and accomplished player in his own right, but where Matt really separates himself is as a teacher. He works to understand your goals and learn about your musical interests to ensure lessons are tailored to your ambitions and style. With this knowledge he develops a lesson plan that delivers clear and tangible progress. In lessons he introduces concepts (songs, theory, etc.) then works with you to break them down for understanding with helpful tools and techniques. What’s more, he reinforces the concept by showing you how else the theory/licks/riffs are used elsewhere. This process continues as he introduces new concepts that build on what you’ve already learned. This style ensures you’re continually progressing by expanding your knowledge and ability, you’re always building on what you can do. Regardless of your level Matt can help.

For the past four years, I have had the pleasure of taking guitar lessons with Matthew - which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Matthew has guided me through (with great patience) many songs and the theory behind them. Lessons never once felt like a lecture from teacher to student, but like a conversation. I always happily anticipated my lessons, because in addition to learning great music from a brilliant teacher, there was always something unexpected to learn, be it about the guitar, the history of music or even life. In sum, Matthew is very good-natured, easy to understand, and very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend his services to anyone wanting (and willing) to put the time in to learn a fun and exciting instrument.

I started "learning" how to play guitar on my own around the same time as my brother. Then, I saw how fast my brother started improving and he told me about Matthew. I signed up and away we went. Matthew is professional yet laidback, encouraging yet keeps you accountable (and he'll know when you haven't really practiced). The lessons are well structured and have a good flow. Matthew is great at communicating the rationale for why we are working on a certain song or technique. He also sometimes adds interesting little history lessons about songs, bands, genres, styles, etc. My guitar playing has definitely improved exponentially since signing up for Matthew's lessons, and my appreciation and admiration of music and musicians has significantly grew.

I have been taking guitar lessons with Matt for over 2 years now. When I came to Matt I was at one of the darkest times in my life and he taught me with so much excitement and patience, that I had something to look forward to every week. He understood how determined I was to grasp the guitar and what it meant to me. He showed me he understood my goals by coming prepared to our lessons with material that was well thought-out, and challenged me both physically and mentally. Not really an understatement when I say he changed my life for the better. And I made a new friend to jam with!! ?