With 10+ years teaching experience and 25+ years as a musician, Ed's passion for playing and teaching music is a matter of vocation.

Ed has a long history of helping all kinds of people, of all ages and abilities in a wide range of genres and contexts. Whether you want to study for graded exams, entrance to a conservatoire, or more informally for pleasure or your own development, he is confident he can help you!

He teaches guitar, music theory and saxophone for all grades. He has 20 years experience playing guitar and 25 years experience playing saxophone (alto and tenor). In recent years he has focused largely on music theory, and has completed advanced theory qualifications. He is therefore fully equipped to help you working through your graded examinations at any level.

Although he plays a variety of music professionally, he is most passionate about classical music. If you are also a keen classical fan and want to learn more about how music works and how these wondrous works are created then he can help you. Music theory grades help to demystify some of the underlying principles of classical music and music in general.

Many of his guitar and saxophone students are also very keen on jazz, and he has spent the last few years working through the Real Book and reharmonising jazz standards. He plays jazz on both guitar and saxophone, so if this is the student's area of passion, they can not only spend time working through the underlying theory and harmony, but also have fun playing the tunes collaboratively. If you're interested in developing your improvisation skills, this can also be studied in depth too.

Rock and metal are two areas where he has the best part of three decades experience. He currently plays in two prog rock/metal bands and has extensive experience playing the rock/pop repertoire in functions bands. From shred to the absolute basics, Ed can help you work through wherever your music taste takes you! Although his grade 8 qualifications enable advanced tutoring, he has a wealth of experience teaching younger students, and rock is often a great starting point for them.

Ed's approach to music teaching is simple: tailor the approach to the needs of the student. Teaching is at its most effective when the student is happy and engaged, so firstly one must undertake an approach which fosters this mindset. Indeed, sometimes it is best to work in reverse: let the student go where they want to go, as this will inevitably be an area where they are happy and engaged, and then use this space to teach in (this is particularly effective for younger students). Of course, the needs of someone learning out of a sense of casual curiosity or enjoyment are different to the needs of someone working towards a grade 8 exam, so this will also be reflected in the teaching style and practise.

Ed's Associated Board and Trinity grade 8 distinction qualifications leaves him with a detailed knowledge of how to excel in both of the premier exam routes. But, if it is sheer enjoyment or curiosity that fuels your desire to learn, then he can meet you here too, as this is exactly what fuels his desire as well!