GUITAR LESSONS AMSTERDAM

Welcome to my music teaching practice. I'm Karst van Oosten and I'm a guitar teacher and I teach guitar lessons in Amsterdam Oud-Zuid close to the De Pijp (Museumplein/Roelofhartplein area).

About me: I'm a certificated musician and multi-instrumentalist with over two decades of practical experience both as a working musician and as a teacher. I'm allround, which means that I have affinity with a broad range of musical styles and genres among which are singer-songwriter (accompanying yourself on the guitar while singing), rock, metal, jazz, blues, funk, fingerpicking, classical/spanish guitar and flamenco, on acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar and ukelele.

I teach in both Dutch and English. My Dutch is of native proficiency and my English is of full professional proficiency.

One of the things that make my lessons unique, is that I'm a multi-instrumentalist and beside guitar I also play and teach drums and bass guitar. This enables me to accompany students on these instruments simulating a band or ensemble situation in order to focus on interplay and the relation between your parts and that of those you play with.

Teaching philosophy: Every student is different and has their own learning style and their own goals. Some might be more practical and intuitive, others more analytical or theoretically focused. That's why I tailor my lessons to the specific student in front of me.

Naturally certain basic skills are important, skills such as the development of your sense of rhythm and musicial hearing, and proper technique and some theory. Other than that right from the start we'll focus on the music that you like. You don't have to learn children's songs when you actually want to play rock. And unlike the popular myth you don't have to start out on acoustic or classical guitar if you want to learn electric guitar, bass guitar or ukelele. If you want to learn to play classical or acoustic guitar however, of course that's what we're going to focus on right from the beginning. In other words: focus will be on the instrument of your choosing, and on the musical style and/or techniques that you want develop.

Examples of goals and things we can work on in the lessons:

    - The basis of playing guitar from scratch. You
      don't need any previous experience and it doesn't matter what age you are:
      anyone can learn to play guitar.
    - Playing chords, riffs and solos
    - Interplay/playing in a band, band coaching
    - Improve your ability to play in a specific playing style or technique
    - Expand your repertoire and learn how to figure out songs by ear
    - Learn how to improvise in styles such as jazz, blues and rock
    - I can help you prepare for auditions or entrance exams for music schools such as
      Dalton Muziek plus, Conservatory, Rock Academy, or Popschool
    - You are an intermediate or advanced player who wants to broaden their horizon
    - Improve your theoretical knowledge on chords, scales and harmony
    - Learn or improve your ability to read music, Ear training

What ages and experience levels do I teach?: I teach to both absolute beginnners, intermediate and advanced players, hobby players and professionals of all ages. Whether you want to accompany yourself on your acoustic guitar while singing songs by the campfire, play virtous blues, rock or  metal solos on the electric guitar, improvise, start your own band, learn more about writing songs or you want to prepare for music school... that's all possible.

MY EXPERIENCE AS A TEACHER

    I have extensive experience teaching, a.o.at the Utrecht School of Arts (HKU)
    Parnassos (University of Utrecht), School or Journalism (SVJ), both teaching
    classes as well as private lessons one-on-one. Some of the classes and topics
    I taught are:

   - Guitar lessons, bass guitar lessons, drum lessons  
   - Composition, music theory, jazz theory, improvisation
   - Music and studio technology, electronical music, music production,
   - Composition of music for interdisciplinary and media productions such as
     film, tv and theater.
   - Engineering (live and studio)
   - Theory of sound | mathematical and physical principles of musical sound.