Guitar

"The way I teach, it's the music that is most important and not the guitar. Personally I think that looking at things solely from the standpoint of the guitar is kind of self-restricting and limiting. One of my goals is to get students to appreciate the universality of things musical. The instrument doesn't matter; what's important is the person that plays the instrument. After all, all true art is nothing more than an expression of the human condition. The instrument is only the medium to bring out what's inside of you, so the most important thing is what's inside."

"In my Survey of Guitar Styles class, I try to give students insights into some historical players, respecting the tradition of the guitar. I acknowledge the present, but want to raise students' awareness of the more traditional players, not just in jazz but in blues. I'll play the blues great Albert King, and students will inevitably say he sounds a lot like Stevie Ray and Hendrix. And without disrespect, I'll say, 'Well, it's kind of the other way around.'  Then, after class, a lot of students will come up and ask, 'What's a good Albert King recording I should check out?'"

"Good musicianship is about the fundamentals; it doesn't have to be intricate to be good. Technique is fine, but it's not everything. I stress accompaniment skills and time feel a lot. For most players, time feel is probably the most important skill, because you're usually part of a rhythm section. Your job a lot of times is to complement what's going on, so you have to be really good at listening to and interacting with other musicians. That's what makes great players great."

"A lot of kids who come to Berklee are struck by the magic of the songwriting process. So I feel like I'm showing them how the trick works. And the magic always comes back when they get into the emotional side of things, because they're putting their heart and soul into it."