Guitar Lessons Riverside, CA

Guitar Lessons in Riverside, CA
with Karl Johnson

Rates and FAQ

Lesson Rates

Lessons are half-hour sessions once per week, held on the same day and time each week. Intermediate and advanced students can benefit from one hour lessons, which are generally not recommended for beginners.

Half-hour lessons are $100 per calendar month, and hour lessons are $170 per month. A family with 2 or more members enrolled in half-hour lessons is billed at the hour lesson rate ($85 per student).

Tuition Information

Lesson tuition is due on the first lesson day of the month for the entire month. Any tuition amount paid on or after the 8th of the month is subject to a $10 late fee. I accept cash, checks drawn on a local bank/branch, and PayPal transfers as payment. There is a $30 fee for any returned check.

I don't charge an additional amount if there are 5 lesson days in a month, but I also don't deduct for holidays on lesson days. In most cases, this averages out over a year's time to be two to four additional ("free") lessons in favor of the student.

I also accept lesson services purchase orders from River Springs and Sky Mountain Charter Schools; gift certificates for lessons are available.

Missed Lessons

There is a 48-hour cancellation notice required for missed lessons. If timely notice is not given, the lesson will not be rescheduled. All rescheduled lessons must be taken within the month that the missed lesson occurred, and in no case are lessons missed by the student credited or refunded.

If I miss a lesson, I may work with you to reschedule the lesson within the same month. If you cannot make this time for any reason, I will credit the lesson fees forward into the next month. If I know in advance of a month that I will be unavailable, I will pro-rate the lesson fees for the month at the time you take care of that month's tuition.

Books

If we will be working with a book or series of books, I'll provide the first book to you at no charge. Other books that may become necessary for you to use in your lessons are your responsibility to acquire.

Other materials, such as handouts, charts, and transcriptions are included in the monthly lesson tuition.

If you have additional questions about taking guitar lessons or would like more specifics on how to get started, please call me at (951)231-5070 or use the contact form on the home page of this website. Thanks!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you teach children?
Definitely! Children have some advantages in learning that adults don't always have - the most important being more free time to play the guitar. I always do my best to keep sessions fun for kids, but I also know when to be a little more serious to help them learn what they need to know to play songs.

Will I learn songs?
Yes - that's the whole point of playing music, isn't it? :)

Do I have to have my own guitar?
While my students are welcome to use my instruments during their sessions, they'll need to have their own instrument on which to practice their assignments at home. If you'd like some basic advice on picking out a beginning guitar for yourself or your child, I'll be glad to help you in that department as well.

How long does it take to be good at the guitar?

That depends on what you mean by "good". Most students can play simple songs within a couple of weeks of starting lessons. More advanced songs will take longer to learn, since you'll need to learn different skills to be able to play those songs. Most students can learn to play songs they've heard on the radio/CD/MP3 within 3 to 6 months.

Depending on your goals, the length of time an individual takes lessons can be from 6 months to several years.

Should I take hour or half-hour lessons?
If you're a beginner, one half-hour session per week is about the right amount of instruction time for you to progress at a good pace. If you have prior playing experience or are learning more advanced music or musical concepts, hour sessions will give us the time to make sure you understand and can implement all of the things we are working on at the time.

How much should I practice?

I ask most beginning students to work on their assignments for a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes per day. You can play more than that if you wish, and play other things as well, but please spend that minimal amount of time working on the things I ask you to work on each day.

Also remember that the more time you spend practicing, the sooner you'll be able to play the music you really want to play.

Are you a "professional"?

If you're asking if I make my living playing music, yes. This is not a hobby for me; I teach, record, and play music as a full-time vocation. I have quite a few recording credits, am registered with BMI as a songwriter, record and play with a group under a record label contract, and have taught literally thousands of people how to play the guitar over the course of my career.

Thanks for visiting!