Pete Smyser – Guitar Lessons & Live Music Performance

After I retired, I decided that I wanted to learn to play jazz guitar. Since I had never played any instrument and couldn’t read music, I had no idea what an ambitious goal that was. A friend invited me to join him to hear Pete perform. Pete’s playing was remarkable, so I asked him if he taught beginning students. That was some years ago. I am still a long way from my goal, but I am really pleased with the progress that I have made. Pete is a very organized teacher, and while he could obviously do master classes for guitarists at the highest level, he has been extremely patient with me as a beginner. It is bit of a ride to his studio from my home in Philadelphia, but it is more than worthwhile for the quality of instruction.

I took lessons with Pete for a few years. If you’re looking for a guitar teacher, I can’t recommend him highly enough!
When I began taking lessons with Pete, I had been playing guitar on my own for a brief time, learning open chords and looking up tabs. Pete quickly corrected some issues with my technique, and the basics that I had struggled with became second nature. But even more importantly, he taught me theory — how to build chords, how to improvise, and how to play over the whole guitar neck. After just a few months of lessons, I had learned enough jazz theory to play in my high school’s jazz band.
In addition to jazz, Pete taught me classical guitar. I didn’t know anything about classical guitar when I was starting out, but after becoming familiar with the technique and repertoire, I really fell in love with it. It changes the way you approach the instrument, even when you are playing different styles.
No matter what level of experience you have with the guitar, and no matter what types of music you want to play, you have a lot to gain from Pete’s teaching.

Pete Smyser is a world class jazz guitar performer, educator and advocate for the arts. I studied with Pete personally for more than five years, in which he helped me advance my guitar proficiency significantly. I have also worked with Pete in arranging and coordinating concerts at a variety of venues and he is the consummate professional. I highly recommend his services, whether as a performer, educator, or musical event coordinator.