Tuition

How long have you been teaching?

How many pupils have you taught?

Have any of your pupils appeared in bands?

Do you teach for any professional bodies?

What’s the most requested song that pupils ask to learn?

How long before you can tell if somebody is talented?

Are there people who’s playing you cannot improve?

How long have you been teaching?

I began teaching professionally as a sole trader in January 1990.
Prior to that I had done some part time tuition in The Music Shed music shop, in Newport.

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How many pupils have you taught?

As of 21/08/08 my pupils’ phone number book/database, in which they should all be recorded, shows 1,102 names, since 1989.

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Have any of your pupils appeared in bands?

Yes, many of them have, but I’ve lost touch with a lot of people, so presumably there must be many more than I am aware of.
I’ve only really kept a record in recent years, but I do know for sure that people who have received tuition from me, whether it was long-term or short, have appeared in the following bands:

Addiction – Rohan Bishop (to whom I gave bass tuition) and Neal Abraham (guitar).

Along The Line Of Ruin - Mark Richardson (guitar) and Rhys Madley (bass & guitar).

Amorpha – Barry Meacham (guitar).

Angels Fall To Flames - Chris Mahoney (guitar) and Rohan Bishop (bass).

Antimony - Michael Tennant (bass).

Asylum - Dan Fouweather (guitar).

Awaken – Rohan Bishop (bass).

Back Alley Sally - James Neye (guitar) and Dan Black (bass).

Beethoven - Matthew Abraham (guitar) and Joe Coote (bass).

Best Kept Secret – Tom Owen (guitar).

Big Mac's Wholly Soul Band - Martin Twine (guitar).

Black Casper – James Neye (guitar).

Carlton B. Morgan & The Supernormals - Sassy Hicks (bass).

Cause For Concern – Dan Fouweather (guitar).

Chucawac - Martin Twine (guitar).

Cold Fusion – Chris Harding (bass).

Columbia - Paul Shepherd (guitar) and Shane Moran (bass).

Crimson Ruin - Stuart Fouweather (guitar).

Death Of Cool – Gerwyn Hancock (guitar).

Dr. Agon – Russ Chambers (guitar).

Druid – Sam Pupich (guitar).

Elastica – Donna Matthews (guitar).

Elephant Fish - Amy Coltherd (guitar), Liz Kitson (guitar) and Jessica Haggerty (guitar).

Enzo- Luke Doherty (guitar).

Ever After – Andrew Dent (guitar).

Favourite Author - Mark Squire (guitar).

First Step To Failure - Dan Morse (guitar).

Free Peace Sweet - Chris James (bass).

Futureplan - Mark Squire (guitar) and Chris Allison (guitar).

Noise – Chris James (bass).

Noisecandy - Chris James (bass).

FTMO (From This Moment On) – Gareth Jones (bass)

Goldfish– Peter Edwards (bass).

Gracie – Marc Hill (guitar), Mike Brown (guitar) and Steve Cook (bass).

H.L.D. (Hitler's Lost Daughter) – Dave Beer (guitar).

Honour Among None - Dave Beasley (bass).

Huxley – Peter Edwards (bass).

Idiom – Paul Hull (guitar).

Jack vs Jill - Mark Squire (guitar) and Chris Allison (guitar).

Jag – Peter Edwards (bass).

Jettison – Rob Mould (guitar), Greg Mould (bass) and James Lawrenson (guitar & bass).

Lean Mean Rock Machine – Rob Mould (guitar).

Little Unknown – Andrew Lambert (guitar) and Craig Taylor (guitar).

Long Acre - Shane Moran (bass).

Lo Ryder – Charlie Watkins (guitar).

Lucent – Mike Brown (guitar).

Marks Set Go! - Chris Mahoney (guitar) and Owen Lloyd (bass).

Mayonaise – Paul Hull (guitar).

Mojo Rising – Darren Douglas (guitar & bass).

Mongoose – Paul Shepherd (guitar) and Shane Moran (bass).

Novello – Peter Edwards (bass).

No Reason - Andrew Lambert (guitar) and Craig Taylor (guitar).

Of Noble Blood – Gareth Jones (bass).

Open Ocean - Toby Evans (guitar).

Paradox – Kenny Williams (guitar) and James MacArthur (bass).

Purple Thursday - Dan Morse (guitar).

Rothschild - James Neye (guitar) and Dan Black (bass).

San Andreas – Rhys Madley (bass & guitar).

Save Your Breath - Adam Parslow (guitar).

Section 8 - Dave Beasley (bass) and James Lawrenson (bass & guitar).

Sexy Vegas Superstars – Gavin Dowding (bass).

Shinobi – Paul Hull (guitar).

Sound System – Lewis Mitcham (guitar).

Stand-down – Rhys Jones (guitar).

Stoney Broke – Dave Powell (guitar).

Stormflies – Nick Thomas (guitar).

T.B.A. – Andrew ? (bass).

T.S. Blues Band – Jamie Wilkins (guitar) and Jeff Watkins (bass).

Target - Russ Chambers (guitar).

Ten Men Wide – Huw Evans (guitar).

The Amsterdam Scenario - Peter Edwards (bass).

The Beavers - Jon James (guitar), Mark Squire (guitar).

The Belgians – Sassy Hicks (bass).

The Blues Sisters - Mike Reeves (guitar).

The Calm - Mark Harry (bass).

The Castouts – Adam Parslow (guitar).

The Darling Buds – Donna Matthews (guitar).

The Effect – Dave McCalden (guitar) and Chris James (bass).

The Fuzz Effect – Rob Mould (guitar), Greg Mould (bass) and James Lawrenson (guitar & bass).

The Guillotines - Chris Harding (bass).

The Kick - Cai Williams (bass) and Richard Lockyer (guitar).

The Mop-Top Beatles – Dave McCalden (guitar).

The Poptones – Donna Matthews (guitar).

The Raging Monkeys – Dan Hone (bass).

The Red Ash – Gordon Maxwell (guitar).

The Renegades – Elliot Harris (guitar & bass).

The Six-Mile Riots – Cai Williams (bass) and Richard Lockyer (guitar).

The Sleep - Sassy Hicks (bass).

The Take Over – Tom Owen (guitar).

Today Or Never – Adam Parslow (guitar), Gareth Keys (guitar), Rohan Bishop (bass) and Kevin Murphy (bass).

Tribute To The Beast - Gareth Knychla (guitar).

Two Days Late - Richard Shellard (guitar).

Un4milia – Paul Hull (guitar).

Varispeed – Paul McCarthey (bass).

Warehouse - Mike Reeves (guitar).

Wilcox – Dan Bethell (guitar).

Wildge – Richard Weightman (guitar).

Wired - Mike Ellaway (guitar).

I also know of other pupils who have been in bands, but I’m not aware of the bands’ names. These include Nick Young, Ross Duffield, Matthew Scott, Steve Thomas, Richard Newick, Dave Livingstone, Mike Nash, Paul Williams, Gareth Howells, Mike Collins, Steve Eustace, Robert Shaw, John Mason, Max Hughes, Nathan Hughes, Dave Williams, Keri Pearce and probably many more.

Anybody who can make a correction, fill in any of these band names, or anybody I have left out, please contact me and I will be happy to add the details to the list.

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Do you teach for any professional bodies?

Yes, but only occasionally.
I have undertaken occasional tuition for Community Music Wales since September 2000. If they have a client who needs tuition in my area, they refer them to me. Sometimes they havealso put me in the studio with clients, to help with the performing on their recordings as well as the production.

I have also taken occasional pupils for IMMTECH, since September 2002 and for U.W.C.N. (University of Wales College Newport), since October 2003.

I have been offered the chance to go into schools and teach on several occasions, but as yet have always turned down the offers.

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What’s the most requested song that pupils ask to learn?

I’ve never kept a record, but it would probably be one of the following list:

Basket Case (Green Day)
Enter Sandman (Metallica)
Highway To Hell (AC/DC)
Hotel California (Eagles)
James Bond Theme
Paranoid (Black Sabbath)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple)
Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
Sultans Of Swing (Dire Straits)
Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns ‘n’ Roses)
Wonderwall (Oasis)

And more recently:

How You Remind Me (Nickelback)
I Believe In A Thing Called Love (The Darkness)
Original Prankster (The Offspring)
Take A Look Around (Limp Bizkit)
All The Small Things (Blink 182)
American Idiot (Green Day)
Wake Me Up When September Ends (Green Day)

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How long before you can tell if somebody is talented?

How long is a piece of string?
This is a very difficult question to answer. I’ve had pupils who have shown what I consider obvious talent almost immediately and others who have not shown any for much longer, but the one common factor is that if it is there, it won’t take a great deal of time before begins to surface.

Some very young players can show far more talent than older players who have been playing for much longer if they are lucky enough to be more naturally gifted.
This does not mean that people who do not show this early natural talent will not make good players, it just means that they will have to work much harder, wait longer and even then cannot hope to reach quite the same level.

Also, different people have different ideas about what early ‘talent’ really is, but to compare ages with some players famed for their talent:

When AC/DC released their first album in 1975, lead guitarist Angus Young was just sixteen years old;
Gary Moore was seventeen when the first Skid Row album was issued;
Eric Clapton joined The Yardbirds when he was eighteen;
After three years or so of gigging around California, Edward Van Halen was still only twenty-one when the awesome first Van Halen album came out in 1978;
After two years of trying to get themselves signed, lead guitarist Slash was only twenty-two when Guns ‘n’ Roses released ‘Appetite For Destruction’ in 1987;
When The Beach Boys released their first recordings, all three Wilson brothers were still teenagers, with guitarist Carl only fifteen years old;
When The Beatles arrived in Hamburg, in August 1960, they were all still teenagers; George Harrison was still only nineteen when they released ‘Love Me Do’ and when The Beatles finally split in April 1970, after an incredibly prolific decade of song writing and performing, none of them had yet reached 30 years of age.

The above facts strengthen my belief that being ‘young’ is no excuse for anyone to play badly, or sing out of tune and that if you have the talent, although it is bound to mature and improve with age and experience, it will still show during your teenage years.

From my own personal experience, I was lucky to be involved with some great players when I was younger. The most creative original band I was ever involved with was Mad Hatter. When we began Neal was twenty-one, Tim and I were eighteen, Richi was seventeen and Jon was just sixteen.
I can still look back on Mad Hatter now and feel proud of what we created, despite our youth.

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Are there people who’s playing you cannot improve?

Yes, many and they fall into two definite categories –

People who know more than I do;

And people who think they do!!









Nick Brown - Guitar Tuition, Newport, South Wales.