Lesson Rates
30-minutes: $30 ($120/month) 45-minutes: $45 ($180/month) 60-minutes: $60 ($240/month) My Approach to Teaching I'm constantly learning new ways to expand and improve my teaching methods. Different people learn in different ways. My goal with each student is to understand what motivates them and how to most effectively develop their musical abilities. I teach practical music theory and guitar skills using music that students like and choose. Sometimes I challenge students to leave their comfort zone by trying things like improvisation or exposing them to music they are less familiar with.
In addition to helping students achieve their musical goals, I teach them to enjoy the process of getting there. Learning to love the journey is crucial for developing life-long musicianship. Much can be said about the benefits of learning music. It's fun, therapeutic, challenging, rewarding, and proven to boost cognitive abilities in many areas, especially math. Whatever your goals, I would love to help you reach them! |
Bio John has been performing and teaching for 20 years. He holds a Master's degree in Guitar Performance and has taught undergraduate classes at East Carolina University and South Piedmont Community College. John specializes in solo guitar works by Latin American composers. To book John for your next event, contact him directly or through Key Signature Entertainment. John offers private lessons in-person and online.
In addition to his expertise as a classical guitarist, John has many years of experience performing and teaching a broad range of musical styles including jazz, blues, rock, fusion, pop, country, folk and more. John teaches students of all ages and levels and is a registered Suzuki Guitar Instructor. His students have won awards and become successful as performers and teachers. |
Reviews
Lessons
"John's patience and willingness to share more information on Guitar theory, strumming and picking techniques has helped me a lot in understanding and practice well. The tips and techniques that I have learned during the lessons has given me the confidence to pick up the song tablature and continue practice on my own. Thank you John." -Leela M. "John Doll has been something of a wonder in teaching my child, who is 8 years old. Somehow he coaxes real songs out of a little guy who hardly ever practices. John can play anything you ask or a child would ask, without thinking twice. This is great when it comes to putting a classical guitar spin on ACDC, then morphing into James Taylor, Eagles, Taylor Swift, then hopping back to the lovely Ode to Joy. He is a pleasure to work with and I would highly recommend him!" -Elizabeth N. "My son thoroughly enjoyed his lessons with John. John is a truly gifted musician and his talent is vast. My son was always excited to go to his lessons; and would enjoy showing us what he learned when he got home. I was impressed with how quickly he caught on and I give a lot of the credit to John. I would highly recommend him." -Liz C. "John is a wonderful, patient teacher. He works hard to teach to the interests and tastes of his students than taking a 'one-size-fits-all' approach straight from a book. My son's skill and interest has increased dramatically under John's tutelage." -Sheila R. "Our daughters have been taking guitar lessons with Mr.Doll for around 5 months now, and they really look forward to the class with him. Mr.Doll gives them goals to work on after every class and he modifies the music per each student's skill level and abilities. Another great thing is that he encourages them to work on songs that they like and since our daughters love singing, he encourages vocals along with playing the guitar. He is also very flexible with scheduling make-up classes." -Sudhir K. "Being a 34 year old flutist attempting to learn the bass guitar on my own, I needed someone knowledgeable and understanding. John is that guy! He takes the musical background I have and applies it to the bass, while encouraging me to be creative and develop my own style." -Rachael S. |
Live Music "I want to say how incredible John Doll was last week. I appreciate how much work you put into it, going back and forth with all of my whacky requests. He was even running a bit late that day, left me a voicemail to say he would be a few minutes, and even called back again just to ensure I got the message and wasn’t worrying. I can’t tell you the number of times in my life musicians have just been late with no regard whatsoever. I was very impressed by John’s desire to do a great job and cover all his basis. He also played wonderfully and the members remarked on what a nice touch it was to have Spanish music (and have it coming from the balcony!). So, I just want to say thank you for your help and for getting us the perfect guitarist for that Tour of Spain Wine Dinner.” -Kristina B. "John was very professional throughout this process. He was always quick to return emails and offer great suggestions. Most importantly, his playing was intuitive. It was exactly what I had imagined, but better. Everybody I talked to said something about the guitarist. He was magical. He moved the entire room with one song after another. If I was trying to make a name sending guitarists, then I would send John. Enough said. Make it happen captain." -Rose B. "Great at taking direction and delivering on what is described as well as showing up on time and being professional. John is incredibly talented, incredibly humble and just an all around genuine nice person. I would recommend him to anyone!" -Kelly F. "John arrived on time and played beautifully during the entire event. He was extremely professional. I highly recommend him!" -Loralie C. "Our guitarist, John Doll, did an incredible job at our wedding. John was extremely professional and very kind. I highly recommend his talents and services for all!" -Amy F. "John played along with a violinist at our daughter's wedding. We were very pleased and have received many comments about how beautiful the music was." -Ben B. "John was very professional with the whole process. I sent him a list I wanted to play and he made sure he was ready at the wedding to play all the songs I wanted. He made sure to stay in contact with my wedding coordinator so I wouldn't have to worry about things during my big day. I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for a musician for an event!" -Erin R. "John played at our wedding ceremony last month and I couldn't have asked for a more talented, accommodating, and professional musician! He was willing to learn some new songs that we really wanted added to his already impressive playlist. Our guests were complementing him days after the wedding. I highly recommend John!" -Gillian D. |