MUSic Lessons
Guitar/COmposition/Improvisation
“Harry has helped me move beyond following tabs and chords online. Playing the guitar for me is now musical. His teaching is engaging, easy-to-understand, and structured. A person like me with no prior musical background can follow his lessons and progress each week in guitar techniques, music theory, and even improvisation and composition.”
“Sean describes Harry’s teaching style as ‘intuitive and helpful.’ In two years of teaching, there was never a disappointing session for Sean. He was always eager to see Harry and to learn from him.”
“Harry Bartlett is a gem of a teacher. I find him to be respectful, personable and engaging. A gifted musician with a deep knowledge of music theory, Harry truly connected with my son. Lessons were consistent, focused, and full of well-planned out exercises which were practiced diligently and happily through each week.”
I am a graduate of the University of Toronto's Jazz Performance program and have 8 years experience as a teacher and professional musician. I offer lessons to students of all ages and ability levels.
If you’re coming to me as a beginner, we’ll talk about the fundamentals of guitar technique and some basic music theory; leaving you with the skills to play along with your favourite songs.
If you are a more advanced player, I’d like to share some ways in which you can develop your own voice on the instrument. To do this we will dig deeper in to the mechanics of the songs we learn; exploring what it is that makes them unique and attractive. Through a combination of personalized exercises, structured improvisation, and composition, you will develop genuine ownership of these techniques and concepts and an ability to freely make use of them.
(PS to beginner students: we can also talk about those things, it’s not as daunting of a process as it sounds to be!)
Every lesson is followed up with an email to review what we worked on and suggestions as to how you can practice it. I will also attach relevant material in PDF form.
ABOUT ME
I am a recent graduate of the University of Toronto's Jazz Performance program with a diverse set of experiences pertaining to music education. Teaching has played a large role in my life for almost as long as I have been playing the instrument. I am always excited to share with my students what I have learned through my own education and professional career.
Raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, my formative musical experiences were based in the blues and folk tradition. I then developed an interest in jazz and improvised music, and moved to Toronto in 2016 to study Jazz Performance at the University of Toronto. While much of my music is rooted in the jazz tradition, I am inspired by and incorporate a wide range of musical idioms into my playing and composing. As a bandleader I have appeared in major festivals and venues across Canada and released my debut EP, Harry Bartlett Trio in July 2018.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND STYLE
I believe that music should be connected to the concept of play at every stage in one’s development. To achieve this, I strive to create an open and comfortable environment conducive to learning.
With a grant from the FMUA (University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association) I developed and presented a program on Open Improvisation to high school students across Canada in November 2019. This project successfully provided young musicians with an opportunity to improvise in a context free of right and wrong. This provides a sense of confidence and a deeper connection to making music for students, which speaks to my philosophy as a teacher.
As a teacher I have held positions at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music, Sweet Music Lessons (Toronto, ON), High Park Music (Toronto, ON) as well as 8 years of freelance teaching.
Teaching method
I offer a patient and intuitive teaching style, with every lesson centred around the student’s interests. In our first session we can work together to set goals and from there I will develop structured lesson plans. As we progress your goals and interests may change and I am happy to join you on your ever changing path!
I like to use the music that inspires you to play as source material for our lessons. Together we will learn these songs by ear and it is my hope that after taking lessons from me you will have the skills to do this on your own. Each piece we work on will offer unique opportunities for growth as a musician and through learning them there will be opportunities to discuss technique, music theory, and improvisation. I also offer supplementary material in PDF form.
ONLINE LESSONS
Since 2020 I have been teaching over Zoom. With a high quality audio configuration, I have found these to be working out really well. I am also open to teaching in person and am happy to discuss more if you prefer that route.