Kenney Elkomous
Classical Guitarist
LESSONS
The Boring Details
Nobody likes talking about this part, so I'll make it as quick and painless as possible:
Hourly at my house (preferred): $50, cash or check, paid at or in advance of lesson.
Hourly at your house: slightly more, depending on distance. Most likely $60 an hour. Let's discuss!
As an active regular student, don't ever hesitate to call or email me in between lessons with any follow-up questions you may have.
One hour-long lesson per week recommended, so you're looking at a $200 a month commitment for private lessons. If the student needs to cancel and/or reschedule a lesson, 24 hours notice is required via email (kenney.elkomous@gmail.com) so as not to incur the $50 hourly charge. There is no charge for canceling or rescheduling a lesson with 24 hours notice.
Discounted rates may apply based on financial need, or other special circumstances.
All ages welcome.
IMPORTANT: You must have a classical guitar if you intend on taking regular lessons with me (no steel string guitars, unless you just want occasional lessons), and it should be of reasonable quality. By reasonable quality, I don't mean an expensive concert-level instrument. The minimum quality guitar I recommend is the Cordoba C3M, which can be purchased at most retailers for $200 or less. Please contact me for other suggestions in a similar price range. A good rule of thumb for classical guitars under $1000 is to stick exclusively to guitars built by Cordoba or Yamaha.
This is of paramount importance for a number of reasons, but namely that a poorly constructed guitar will be difficult to play, thus presenting unnecessary roadblocks to development, and consequently sapping a student's interest in continuing to play guitar. I'm not exaggerating here: a poorly constructed instrument will make you hate playing guitar!
The Fun Stuff
Why take classical guitar lessons? What will we achieve together?
As an instructor, I have one primary objective that I hope you, the student, will share, and that's a lifelong relationship with music. While your career path may not be in music, I hope that our interactions inspire you to take your instrument and love of music with you wherever you go, as a source of healing, comfort, inspiration, and community engagement.
If you're interested in a career in classical guitar, I will guide you through the numerous challenging and exciting career paths available to a working classical guitarist.
Whatever your aspirations, you will find here in New Mexico (see "NEW MEXICO" page!) a robust and supportive community of music lovers. I say "music" lovers instead of "classical guitar" lovers because ultimately, the guitar is your tool in service of music and expression.
Regarding what we'll achieve playing wise in lessons, if you have a bucket list of songs that you want to learn, and you just want me to show you where to put your fingers, then I won't be the best teacher for you. We will work on pieces that are not classical. For example, there are many fine arrangements of Beatles tunes for the classical guitar. However, you must be willing to let me teach you how to read musical notation. There will be no tablature used, except where needed for genres like flamenco.
Ultimately, my goal is not to teach you specific pieces/songs, but to give you the technical foundation to play whatever you want with ease, confidence, and musicality.