Guitar Lessons with Nils Crusberg Exeter, New Hampshire (NH)

Guitar Lessons

Nils Crusberg has taught guitar, bass, and alto saxophone full time in the Seacoast area of NH for ten years. He teaches out of his studio in Exeter, NH six days a week (Monday-Saturday). On occasion, he teaches at the home of his students (in other words he does "house calls"). All ages and abilities are welcome. Nils is interested in all styles of music. He covers different techniques and explains why music is arranged the way it is. He teaches his students music THEY are interested in, allowing for a fun learning experience.  Aside from teaching methods on the guitar, he has lesson plans outlining the music business, music law, career guidance, classical four-part harmony (SABT), studio recording, acoustical physics, guitar repair, guitar effects etc.

Teaching Children
With younger students, Nils focuses more on creativity and songwriting. Students ages 6-9 can be discouraged by the difficulty of playing the instrument. Doing technique drills and forcing the reading of standard notation on younger students can make the student lose interest in music. Instead, Nils uses a guitar, keyboard, drums, and the bass to create original compositions and recordings.

Teaching Teenagers 
With pre-teen and teenage students, Nils focuses more on the proper methods and techniques. He also explains why certain notes sound best together (music theory). He has over 500 popular songs on file, to teach to his students. Their interest is maintained, because he teaches them the songs they like. If they have the desire to read standard notation or learn about in depth jazz concepts, he can present those ideas to them.

Teaching Adults
Adult students have a variety of musical goals. Some want to simply learn a few songs. Some want to brush up on their playing. Others want to play on a professional level, and use Nils’ instruction as a supplement to college. Many adults don't have a lot of free time. He takes that into consideration when he provides them with lessons.

Credentials
Nils studied jazz theory with a private instructor (Joe D'Angelo) in Worcester, MA for three years. He moved to Colorado in 1990 and studied music at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He graduated with a BA in 1995. Rock, Blues, and Jazz are his strongest fields, but he is well versed with most other styles. He has studied Classical, Bluegrass, Funk, Afro-Pop, Reggae, Latin, even Native American and Cajun. He has performed on a professional level in Colorado, California, Hawaii, and New England. He currently performs and records with the J.Kells Band and Boom Lava. He has written, recorded, and produced three full length LP's.

Schedule

Nils teaches in downtown Exeter, NH at Exeter Music. His rates are $20 per half hour.  He works Monday-Saturday. Most lessons are scheduled between 2:00pm-7:00pm. Saturday lessons run all day from 9:30am-5:00pm.