Dr Mark Poole Guitar Tuition

21/10/2024

No music books, no formal grades or exams, just 18 years of showing pupils how to play the guitar with no pressure!

Tunes I've taught that have been successfully played well by my pupils in the last 2 weeks: Blackbird, Here Comes the Sun, I Feel Fine, Something, We Will Rock You, Another One Bites the Dust, I Was Made For Lovin You, James Bond theme, Theme from The Pink Panther, Superstition, 20th Century Boy, Seven Nation Army, Smoke on the Water, Three Little Birds, Count on Me, Green Green Grass, 500 miles, Uptown Funk etc etc.

And music theory taught: The 1,4,5 chord pattern, extended chords, suspended chords, 2, 5, 1 jazz chord progression, polychords, modes and ther moods, pentatonic blues scales, moods of different chords, which chords fit with various genres of music.

Techniques taught: arpeggio, slides, bends, hammer-ons, harmonics, vibrato, muting, funk strumming with syncopation and chord slides, reggae strumming with chord dampening, fingerpicking blues and folk styles etc etc.

Just in case you wondering what kids can learn without music books!

18/10/2024

In the last 12 months I've driven over 15,000 miles in all weathers to deliver guitar lessons all over the Midlands and the North West. That's the equivalent to travelling half way around the world! I'd say that's pretty dedicated. But obviously there are the occasional weeks when this constant travelling to teach lessons is not possible (usually due to car repairs because of the thousands of miles driven in a not brand new car!).

On the other hand, I've also from the comfort of my own music studio, delivered hundreds of hours of online lessons to pupils as far away as Canada.

And two things that constantly amaze me as a guitar teacher are as follows;

1) The incredible progress that my online pupils have made. Some of my absolute highest achievers have been doing online lessons for years and are now playing every chord, scale and mode known to man, and mastering the most complex rock, pop, jazz and classical tunes.

2) The determined reluctance of some to even try one single online lesson (even just as a replacement lesson when my poor car needs repairing due to driving thousands of miles a year).

For the small downsides of a non face to face lesson, online lessons are usually far more focused than lessons at school, with far less distractions. There are actually more upsides than downsides and it's a fact that the average child actually achieves more in an online lesson than they do in a school lesson. Because my teaching system documents every single thing my students have learned I know this to be the case. My highest achievers Alex, Shaan, Josh, Toby, Narayan and James are all online pupils (some for as long as 4 years).

So, please, parents of kids, understand that when driving thousands of miles in not the newest of cars, it's inevitable that there might be weeks when lessons can't happen in person. But so that the momentum isn't lost, just try the substitute online lesson and you'll see how much your child can achieve.

With the option of the online lesson always offered when travelling is tricky, it means a lesson NEVER has to be cancelled/rescheduled, but rather just delivered in a different form on occasional weeks. And you will be surprised at the positive results! If you want guaranteed continuity, do always take up the offer of an online lesson when face to face lessons can't happen. It's honestly so much more productive and more fun than missing the lesson and complaining 🙂

20/08/2024

Excited to be starting lessons at two new Midlands schools this September. Three schools in total now plus my numerous private pupils - online and in person. I still have spaces available in Leicestershire for in person lessons or online lessons anywhere. Friendly, fun and relaxed approach from experienced teacher with 20 years of teaching experience plus decades of performing/composing experience, a PhD in music and culture and enhanced DBS.

27/07/2024

As well as 'fun' 😁, another word that sums up my guitar lessons is 'variety'. In any given week of teaching I will cover hundreds of different topics as well as tunes!

The way I see it, learning the guitar or any instrument should be as broad a learning process as possible. Everything relates to a bigger picture and what may appear as tangents are always tying things back to each other in the context of the bigger musical structure...

For example, let's strum the chords to a punk, pop or rock song...These styles of music are often based on a 1-4-5 chord progression. The 1-4-5 chord progression is based on the first, fourth and fifth notes of the major scale...Lets talk about that major scale and its pattern of tones and semitones...Whats a tone and a semitone?...Let's talk about that! Are there other scales? Yes, loads...for example a blues scale (based on a minor pentatonic scale), which along with these techniques - hammer-on, string bend, slide etc goes along quite nicely with the punk, pop or rock song we started off by strumming to 😁

And so it goes on. The beauty of musical tangents...all linking back to the mathematics and structure of music ultimately.

12/07/2024

Teaching approach of Dr Mark Poole Guitar Tuition

I have a clear philosophy behind my teaching, which is very much pupil-centred and underpinned by a belief that children respond best when they are presented with the idea of music as fun. I like to think that my pupils stick with their lessons for a long time primarily because the lessons are stress free and friendly with the emphasis very much on enjoying
playing music without the pressure of formal grades or exams (although plenty of fun tests and quizzes to keep them on their toes!). I also believe that when kids are not talked down to and have their own interests fully acknowledged and engaged with, they will make far more progress.

Many standard music lessons use the same book for every pupil and all pupils play the same tunes and works through the same stages/grades. My lessons,
however, are very much tailored to each individual pupil/group recognising that every child has their own unique pace of learning. While I have a clear structure re the fundamentals that all kids should learn, I also try to take the lessons in the direction of the kind of music
they enjoy and are thus motivated to play. So, whether it’s the theme tune to their favourite film or TV programme to their favourite pop song, (new or old!) or classic rock riff, I will work it out and teach it. And at no extra cost, time permitting, I will write out the basic guitar tabs and chords for pupils. I also make regular youtube tuition videos (exclusively and freely available to my pupils only) for further learning support.

While the emphasis is on fun, there is still a serious structure to my lessons. From a very early stage I throw in quite advanced music theory, but in an ‘easy to understand’ way that doesn’t scare the kids too much! For example, from an early stage I introduce my pupils to
the different moods of chords and how chords work together, how certain songs are based on certain scales and chord progressions etc. It’s surprising how kids of a very young age can begin to understand music theory that many would think of as too advanced. But
introduced gently and in context, nine times out of ten, this knowledge is quickly absorbed by young minds. And if it isn’t then it’s gently repeated until they start to get it. Two of my older pupils who started lessons with me at primary school and went on to do music at GCSE level, proudly told me that they were the only two pupils in their GCSE class who had an immediate understanding of the 1-4-5 chord progression. They’d known this since primary school through my lessons.

So, while I don’t do formal grades and exams, I do introduce advanced music theory and do regular tests and quizzes to keep the kids on their toes, along with fun challenges. This all helps to keep the lessons structured but also enjoyable and engaging, the two most important words in learning music!

03/07/2024

Well done to my year 5 pupil Narayan (with me since year 1) who today performed Count on Me and 7 Nation Army for his school's Year 5's Got Talent. Here's a review of his lessons from parents.

03/07/2024

It's notes like this from your school guitar pupils at the end of term that make this job truly a blessing.

02/07/2024

Latest testimonial/review from parent of one of my highest achieving year 5 pupils who started in year 1 at school and has continued online for the last 2 years.

If you like the sound of this approach and are interested in lessons then please get in touch. Lessons are available either online or face to face in Leicestershire.

27/06/2024

Many of the hundreds of kids I've taught over the years ask me about my band and what we play. So here's my band in action playing a mix of my own compositions and funk/soul covers.

7Storeysoul live at The Musician, Leicester, June 2024 playing a potent mix of innovative, original funk and soul along with a few classics!See www.facebook....

24/06/2024

I have spaces available for new pupils in Leicestershire and Warwickshire. See photos for an idea of what you'll get from my lessons.

21/06/2024

Me and my band 7StoreySoul live at The Musician last week.

7Storeysoul covering the 70s funk classic by Stretch - Why Did you Do it

13/06/2024

What you get with Dr Mark Poole Guitar Tuition is a teacher with a genuine passionate belief in the critical value of music education. I live and breathe music as a teacher, prolific songwriter, musician and Dr of Music Culture. I spent 5 years researching and writing my doctorate in music and culture and before that I wrote my MA dissertation on popular music and everyday life. I ran popular music and society courses at Leicester and Loughborough University for many years.

In my first degree in social sciences I studied developmental psychology and alternatives in education and I'm a firm believer in tailored, pupil centred learning. I've taught over a thousand pupils, many with Special Educational Needs in schools across the country over the last 13 years. I've also taught very successful online and private lessons with pupils continuing with me from early primary school to college and uni age!

One of my biggest passions is my band 7Storeysoul: a 9 piece band/project I've run for the last 19 years. We play my own funk/soul compositions plus classic covers. Come and see us play tonight 8pm at The Musician, Leicester. See comments for links!

21/12/2023

Congratulations to my highest guitar achievers this term: Alex and James, Barnie, Ife, Ruben, Neil and Alex K. My pupils also all had a great go at playing a range of Christmas songs this last couple of weeks including I Wish it Could Be Christmas, Merry Christmas Everybody, Rockin Robin, Jingle Bell Rock, Rockin Around the Christmas Tree, Jingle Bells, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and We Wish you a Merry Christmas. Well done to all my 55 pupils on Zoom and across all schools this year! Here's to teaching/learning lots more tunes, chords, riffs and general guitar knowledge in 2024! 🎸 🎸 🎸 🎶 🎵