Auckland
Guitar Lessons | Bass Guitar Lessons, Electronic Dance Music Production Lessons, Keyboard Lessons, Piano Lessons | Song Writing Workshops, Theory Lessons, NCEA Music Tutoring, Online Lessons
Bio
Matt has over 16 years of experience in music education, pushing the boundaries of how we think guitar should be taught. A multi-instrumentalist and an expert in technical development, Matt approaches guitar education through a holistic lens that will have you wondering why no one has taught it this way before.
He has taught hundreds of students from all over the world as a private guitar and piano teacher, spent two years teaching music theory at the University of Otago, served on the Music Education Otago committee, and worked as the Director of Activate Music Academy; a local music school in Dunedin responsible for teaching hundreds of students every week.
In addition to teaching his private students in Auckland and around the country (via Zoom), Matt runs GuitarNutrition.com (a media platform that produces educational resources for guitarists) and continues to work with up-and-coming tutors, providing mentorship, helping them upskill and establish their teaching practice.
Teaching Info
Hey! It’s Matt.
I think a good teacher will help you progress as effectively as possible. But there’s a lot that goes into that. It’s not enough to simply play well yourself. A good teacher will:
- Identify any problem a student is having.
- Help them understand what’s going on.
- Show them how to integrate their physical, intellectual, and aural understandings to overcome the problem.
I’ve taught every type of student. From the one who couldn’t practice AT ALL due to pressure from work, to the one who would come to see me twice a week in preparation for a high-level music exam. Each of them made progress.
Neither of these students is better than the other. They have different goals and reasons for playing. It’s never the student’s job to turn their life upside down to try and achieve some stereotypical expectation of how much practice they should be doing. It’s my job to make sure that every student moves towards their goals as effectively as possible regardless of how much time they can invest.
Everyone plays the guitar for different reasons and finds certain aspects of learning more challenging than others. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.
So, what will we learn? Well, that depends entirely on you.
Send me a message and we’ll get together for a no-obligation trial lesson!
- If you’re a complete beginner, I’ll talk you through the most effective way to get started based on what you want to do and how I see you interacting with the instrument in our session.
- If you’ve been playing for a while and are stuck in any area of your playing, I’ll break down exactly what’s going on and show you what you need to do to fix it.
Even if you don’t decide to continue lessons with me, I’ll provide you with a personalised report that will help keep you on track and progressing. And, you can always join our online community at GuitarNutrition.com for more lessons and support.
If you want to get more of a sense of how I teach, check out some of the free lessons on GuitarNutrition.com.
Otherwise, send me a message and let’s get together for a lesson!
I came to Matthew about 18 months ago wanting to learn how to play guitar and gain an understanding of the theory behind it. In the past year and a half, Matthew has helped me so much achieve a greater understanding of how to play the guitar, such as chords, how the fretboard works and how to move around on it, scales, improvising and a good understanding of music theory. I always look forward to my lessons with Matthew as he's always keen to have a friendly laugh and a chat but always keeps the lessons focused on the task at hand. As well as building my knowledge on guitar, I have also felt like I've gained a lot of confidence since attending Matthews lessons as he's always helped me overcome any brick walls I've found myself facing. Matthew has given me a lot of good learning resources over my time with him for me to take home, I find these very useful because they always help me keep my practice at home on track and reassure me that I'm not practising the wrong things at home. I would definitely recommend Matthew's lessons to anyone considering learning the guitar, as he is not only a really great musician but is also a really great teacher who is always able to explain things very clearly and I have found that he's very quick to adapt his approach to my individual way of learning to better suit my needs. He always keeps the lessons light-hearted and friendly but at the same time he makes sure to use the lesson time as efficiently as possible so you always get the most learning out of it as possible.
Michael Harris
[I started lessons ] to express myself via a guitar and get the very basics so I could at least strum a few bars, especially improvisation. It's hard learning a new skill at age 64. Matthew led the way for me and helped me to attain a new skill. [He’s been patient] despite my age-related struggles to recall, learn and retain details. I can now bang out some stuff that has been in my head for years and years. This has become a blessing as I now have a way to relax and play the blues. Matthew makes sure you do things the right way and coaches with a firm hand that ensures you learn to do it right. I like to do things my way, but [his] resources were helpful when I could not figure things out. Matthew has a way of making the hard work easier going yet sets the rules that have to be followed. And, based on that, yes, Matthew is to be recommended.
Jim Rendall
I didn’t have any specific goals when I started with you, I was just looking to learn an instrument, because I enjoy music. I had seen two guitar teachers before you- I started lessons with you because of your personality. As for my time with you, I have felt inspired to discover more types of music, learning guitar has made listening to music, so much more enriching. I personally think you make guitar approachable and your knowledge and understanding nature is why I enjoy our time together.
Rachael Percival
Our daughter Lucy had a passion for the guitar so we decided to look for a tutor to help her develop. Matt not only taught Lucy the fundamentals of playing her guitar to a high standard but more importantly did so in a fun way that she enjoyed. The end result 3 years on is Lucy gaining a place at university to study music. I highly recommend Matt as a tutor.
George (Lucy's dad)
Our son started guitar lessons with Matt Stuart when he was 9 years old and continued lessons with Matt for 5 years until Matt moved from Dunedin. In the time our son was Matt's student he improved his guitar skills immensely. Matt guided our son through 2 Rockschool exams where he gained distinction in both exams. Our son enjoyed Matt's teaching style and always looked forward to his weekly guitar lessons, as Matt's lessons were always fun. We always found Matt approachable and easy to talk to. Matt was always able to explain musical concepts at a level that was appropriate to both our son and ourselves. We would highly recommend Matt as a music tutor.