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Steve Anthes playing his acoustic guitar in a meadow of wildflowers at sunset

In the Madison studio or on Zoom

Beginner to Advanced Guitar Lessons in Madison

You do not need more random tips. You need a simple weekly system that keeps you progressing without wondering what to practice next. That is what my lessons deliver: a standing time each week, songs you actually want to play, and a short recap video after every lesson so nothing is left to memory. In person at the Madison studio, or on Zoom from anywhere.

Book a first lesson Online coaching instead

What makes these lessons different

Song-first

We lead with the music you love, then pull the technique out of it, so every drill is connected to a real song.

Weekly momentum

A standing time each week turns progress into a habit.

Zero guesswork

After every lesson you get a short video recap and an organized Dropbox folder with your tabs, PDFs and next steps.

Built around your life

Every lesson is shaped around what you want to learn and the time you have to practice. Fifteen focused minutes a day goes a long way.

Experienced guidance

More than twenty years of teaching, festivals, studio work and three albums, distilled into clear, human coaching.

Learn your favorite songs, and the skills inside them

We anchor your practice to songs you care about, and use each one to build technique, timing and ear. A few examples of what a song teaches:

  • "Riptide"

    Vance Joy

    Smooth chord changes, eighth-note feel, clean muting

  • "Stand By Me"

    Ben E. King

    I vi IV V harmony, steady groove, bass-note targeting

  • "Wish You Were Here"

    Pink Floyd

    Intro picking, chord-melody touches, count accuracy

  • "Blackbird"

    The Beatles

    Fingerstyle shapes, string skips, left-hand independence

  • "Seven Nation Army"

    The White Stripes

    Riff mechanics, alternate picking, song form

  • "Tennessee Whiskey"

    Chris Stapleton

    Slow-blues timing, phrasing, dynamic control

  • "Sweet Child O' Mine"

    Guns N' Roses

    Iconic riff clarity, picking economy

  • "Hotel California"

    Eagles

    Chord flow across the neck, solo targets and phrasing

Bring your own list: pop, rock, blues, acoustic, indie, worship, singer-songwriter. We map the shortest path to sounding like the record, or your version of it.

What we work on at each level

Beginner guitar lessons: from first chord to first setlist

  • Comfortable posture, pick grip and a relaxed fretting hand
  • High-success starter chords (Em, G, Cadd9, D) and painless switching drills
  • Strum confidence: down-up eighths, accents, light palm mutes
  • Your first riffs, such as "Seven Nation Army" and the "Wish You Were Here" intro pattern
  • 12-bar blues basics for instant "I am making music" moments
  • Tuning by ear and with a tuner
  • How to practice 15 to 20 minutes a day with a Weekly Guitar Flow that fits real life
  • Three song picks we choose together, for quick wins that build momentum
  • A weekly recap video and PDFs, so you never wonder what comes next

Intermediate guitar lessons: momentum, musicianship and feel

  • Barre-chord efficiency and tension-release habits
  • CAGED and top-string triads to spice up rhythm parts
  • Strum vocabulary: pushes, accents, percussive hits
  • A fingerstyle starter pack (Travis-style hints) for "Blackbird," "Landslide" and similar
  • Pentatonic shapes one to three connected, plus the blue note used tastefully
  • 12-bar blues with turnarounds, and soloing that resolves to chord tones
  • Chord embellishments: sus2, add9, hammer-ons from suspensions
  • Time feel: subdivisions, click on two and four, simple pocket builders
  • A song set like "Stand By Me," "Brown Eyed Girl" and the "Back in Black" rhythm part, plus your picks

Advanced guitar lessons: identity, nuance and expressive control

  • Lead language: bend and vibrato variety, slides, double-stops, articulation
  • Soloing over changes: guide-tone lines, arpeggio targets, tasteful outside moves
  • Modal color in real songs: Dorian funk, Mixolydian blues-rock, Aeolian ballads
  • Harmony tools: ii V I basics, secondary dominants, borrowed-chord moments
  • Chord-melody: arranging verses and choruses for solo guitar, harmonics and open-string ideas
  • Advanced rhythm: syncopation layers, sixteenth-note grids, pocket polishing
  • Hybrid and economy picking, used where it serves the music
  • Tone craft: right-hand nuance first, then smart pedalboard choices

How I teach: fretboard knowledge and playing by ear

See the neck as connected shapes

See the fretboard as connected shapes and sounds, not random dots. We build a neck map with octave markers and root, third and fifth landmarks, use CAGED and triads for tastier rhythm parts and fills, turn pentatonic scales into blues by targeting thirds and sevenths so lines resolve, and outline changes with arpeggio pathways instead of guessing.

The payoff: you can improvise, transpose and write parts anywhere on the neck. Tiny drills, such as a 60-second octave hunt or a chord-tone loop over a two-chord vamp, go into your Weekly Guitar Flow.

Learn by ear

Tabs help. Your ears make it music. We keep it fast and practical: learn songs by ear starting with one-string melodies, sing intervals and then find them on the neck, hear major against minor in seconds, feel rhythm as counts you can say out loud, and connect sound to keys, scale degrees and the progressions behind most songs.

A two to three minute ear drill lands in your Weekly Guitar Flow each week. The payoff: you learn songs faster, solo smarter, and the theory finally clicks.

In-person guitar lessons in Madison or online on Zoom

Lessons happen at the studio on Dorsett Drive on Madison's west side, or on Zoom. Same system, same results. For Zoom you need a guitar and a way to prop up your phone or laptop; I provide the PDFs, tabs and videos. Most students are weekday afternoons and evenings. Directions and the map are on the contact page.

Lesson pricing

Weekly lesson pricing is confirmed when you book. Ask in your first note, or call (608) 617-5859. The $129 a month online coaching program has its own page.

How the first lesson works

  1. 1

    Clarity

    We talk goals, favorite artists, and one song you would love to nail.

  2. 2

    Plan

    I show you how lessons run, my simple policy, and we learn your first song.

  3. 3

    Play

    We get hands on the guitar. You leave with a clear, doable plan and your first recap video in Dropbox.

Guitar lesson FAQ

In person or online?
Both. Madison studio or Zoom, same system, same results.
What do I need?
A guitar and, for Zoom, a way to prop up your phone or laptop. I provide the PDFs, tabs and videos.
What if my schedule changes?
Life happens. We can usually swap when needed.
Am I too busy to improve?
Not with the Weekly Guitar Flow. Focused, bite-sized practice beats long, unfocused sessions.
How much do lessons cost?
Weekly lesson pricing is confirmed when you book. Ask in your first note, or call (608) 617-5859. The $129 a month online coaching program has its own page.

Ready to get rolling?

Reply with two times that work Monday to Friday, afternoons or evenings, and one song or skill you want locked in over the next 90 days. I will hold a spot and get you started. Prefer to talk it through? Call (608) 617-5859.

Book your first lesson Free chord chart (PDF) Free fretboard notes (PDF)