Robert Zo

    I am a multifaceted musician who plays guitar, bass and drums and teaches guitar and bass but, primarily I consider myself a  guitarist. I have learned through the years the importance to taylor the lessons around the students and sometimes parents in some instances. Patience is key, as some people are quicker at learning through watching , while others have bigger ears and retention ( they will find the right note somehow) others are more inclined to know when the notes arent right.  Encouraging students at whatever level is key, letting them know you understand because you show your human side to them and relate your own learning experiences not only from earlier but currently.  

     Entranced by music at a young age , my parents would find me hording their records and be infatuated with the record player listening to the beatles, earth wind and fire, stevie wonder, freddie fender, jim croce, and anything they had, but escpecially motown, I was entranced. I still get that feeling when music is good, the goose bumps happen.  My two Uncles also played a key role in exposing me to bands such as kiss and mott the hoople, pink floyd, led zepplin, bachman turner overdrive and the ramones.  Later during high school and while primarily playing hard rock heavy metal music I was turned on to rock fusion a la allan holdsworth, dixie dregs, mahavishnu orchrestra, and jeff beck's there and back , wired, and blow by blow. These albums knocked my socks off, and still do.  

     I started teaching guitar when I was in High school.  Mostly to people who had seen me play in several bands throughout my early years in central Michigan, and some friends. Later I taught at my home in Los angeles, Crescent city CA, Arcata CA, up to now a few in Springfield TN. 

     I graduated Guitar Institute of Technology in 1989 and was taught theory, reading charts and getting a better understanding of what is it that I knew in terminology as well as being openened up to the incredible diversity and limitless possibilities that the guitar has. 

     Some of my favorite players are Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jimmy Herring, Scott Henderson and earlier influences were harder rock and metal Eddie VanHalen, Randy Rhoades and Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham from Thin Lizzy, Ace Frehely from Kiss. 

     My experience teaching has run the gamut from players who are just beginning and need to learn basic simple rudiments like garden variety chords and fingerpicking as well as barre and power chords.  as well as learning songs or leads for others and showing them how is it played.  The other is more of a structured approach where the student already has a certain amount of chops and is curious about expanding on that with music theory as well and technique.  I would rather try to find out what a student wants then to lead them to a path their not sure of. Nevertheless if a student is a complete beginner, I try and give them the very basics,( how to hold the guitar, tune, names of notes and a selection of chords and melodies to work on) but with this I feel it is important for the student to feel like their playing music and proggressing at whatever level their at, which gives them the satisfaction and drive to want to continue because they feel like they are learning. 

     I have no set rules on how a student is to be teached is usually comes from the student.  I do use certain books to help explain and break down the seemingly difficult task of understanding the guitar and why there are so many ways to play the same things in different positions all over the neck.  I encourage ear training by asking the student to tune..higher or lower,,and then on to hearing notes from their favorite songs and transcribing if possible. playing on one string for strengthening ear interval recognition and position playing so as not to get too comfortable with patterns.  For the players who already have a set direction but just need to take it further , I give them more difficult things based in theory which allowed me to stumble upon things in my playing that might have taken years but were more tangible once I could see the correlation between scales, chords, harmonization and substitution.

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