I have developed a successful curriculum for children ages 7 through 12 from a beginning through intermediate level.  I use off the shelf method books as well as hundreds of pages of my own materials to enhance the lessons. 

For older students, I have a collegiate level classical, rock, pop and jazz guitar course that I developed while teaching at Vanguard University.  For teenagers that just want to learn how to play their favorite rock guitar songs, I can do that as well.

BASS GUITAR LESSONS

Mark's music theory course and guitar studies helped me develop a style for my new band
Steady Ground.
- Ron Welty
(drummer for The Offspring, 1987-2001)

Our son, daughter, niece, and nephews have learned guitar with Mark for the past 4 months. They've enjoyed practicing every day the scales, theory, and especially the favorite songs that they got to choose or request. They always look forward to meet with Mark for new lessons every week. Since they found that learning guitar is so fun, they started taking piano lessons with Mark as well.
-Trang Nguyen, Westminster, CA

Mark has done a great job teaching our two boys, Dylan and Parker, for the last three years. They have learned to play acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard and drums. We highly recommend him!
-Jan & Steve Varner, Corona Del Mar, CA

As an older adult learning to play bass guitar, I have been very pleased and encouraged by Mark's patience. He demonstrates the ability to teach in a way that is both interesting and fun.
-Linda Vanderplas, Fountain Valley, CA

Small Nylon or Steel String Guitar: age 7

Short Scale Electric Guitar: age 7

Electric Guitar: age 9

Short Scale Bass Guitar: age 9

Steel String Acoustic Guitar: age 12

Bass Guitar: age 12

Guitars

3 initial factors to consider in choosing a guitar for the beginner: weight, action and size.

Weight: An standard electric guitar is made of solid wood and is typically much heavier than an acoustic guitar. For young children, age 7 to 9, the weight of the instrument sitting on their lap or hanging on their shoulder with a guitar strap is often too much and will hinder their daily practice.  For young children, I recommend a small scale electric guitar.

Action: An acoustic guitar typically has a higher action than an electric guitar. This means that the strings are further from the fingerboard and require more strength to play. For the beginner, the steel strings and higher action of an acoustic guitar will cause more soreness in the fingertips than an electric guitar with lower action and lighter gauge strings or a nylon string guitar, classical guitar, where the nylon strings are much easier on the beginner's fingertips. For young children, sore fingertips can hinder daily practice, therefore a half size nylon string guitar is often the best choice.

Size: Some guitar styles are simply too big for most children and some adults to comfortably play. A standard Dreadnought style guitar has a large body. I would not recommend it for children under age 12. Even some adults will find it difficult to play. For children age 7 to 9, I recommend a three-quarter or half size nylon string guitar, small scale electric guitar or even a small scale steel string guitar. A good alternative for older children and many adults is a Concert body style which is smaller and therefore more comfortable and is easier to maintain a good playing position.

For all acoustic guitars whether Classical, Dreadnought or Concert style, I recommend a cutaway design which makes playing on the upper part of the neck much easier. I also recommend acoustic-electric models which allow you to plug into amps, sound processors and tuners. All of my acoustic guitar recommendations below will include acoustic-electric models with a cutaway design when available. I also include less expensive models to consider.

*Click on the following links for the product's image and purchasing information.

Recommended Guitars for Children age 7 to 9 years old:

Carlo Robelli C-6 1/2 Size Classical Guitar; Yamaha CGS102 Nylon String Acoustic Guitar (half size); Fender Squier Mini Strat Electric Guitar; or Jay Turser JTN-3/4S

Recommended Guitars for Children age 9 through Adult:

Electric Guitars- Jay Turser JT-300 (a light-weight full-size guitar); JT-30 (a 3/4 size guitar); Schecter Omen 6 Electric Guitar; Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster; Carvin DC200; DC400.

Nylon String Guitars- Ibanez AEG10NE Nylon String Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar; Ibanez GACE6 Nylon String Acoustic Electric Guitar; Yamaha CG101A Classical Guitar;   Yamaha CG151S Nylon String Acoustic Guitar;  Jay Tursor JTNEQ/TC

Steel String Concert- Fender GDC100 SCE Concert Acoustic-Electric Guitar or the Yamaha APX500 Thinline Acoustic Electric Guitar.

Steel String Dreadnought (children under age 12 should get a small scale dreadnought like the Rogue Starter Acoustic Guitar, you can see a comparison of the two sizes in the picture above showing my student and me playing)- Alvarez Artist Series AD60SC Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Cutaway

Instrument Tuners

These are tuners that I have used and I would recommend; they are great for acoustic and electric instruments: The Boss TU-80 is the tuner I recommend to all of my beginning level guitar students; it is an inexpensive chromatic tuner that includes a multi-rhythm metronome. For intermediate and advanced level guitarists, I would recommend the Peterson VSF StroboFlip. For a foot pedal tuner, the Boss TU2 is a good choice, but for ultimate precision, get the Peterson StroboStomp2. Please note: foot pedal tuners cannot tune acoustically; unlike the previous tuners listed, they have no built-in microphone; they can only tune instruments that use a guitar cable.

Metronomes
The model I recommend for most of my students is the Boss DB-60; it is a multi-rhythm metronome that is useful for a wide variety of styles.

Amps

Strings

For an acoustic steel string guitar, I would recommend Elixir 11050 Light Acoustic Guitar Strings or D'Addario EJ16 Light Phos Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings. For an electric guitar, I would recommend D'Addario EXL120+ Super Light Electric Guitar Strings or for light gauge strings on the top with extra heavy gauge strings on the bottom for power chords, get Ernie Ball 2215 Skinny Top/Heavy Bottom Guitar Strings. For classical guitar, I would recommend D'Addario EJ45 Pro Arte Normal Tension Classical Guitar Strings. For all guitar strings, be sure to get compatible gauge strings that your guitar is set-up for, especially if you have an electric guitar with tremolo.

Cases & Gig Bags

I do not recommend inexpensive gig bags for guitars. Insufficient padding and reinforcement leaves the guitar vulnerable to dings and the tuning machine heads will get bumped, possibly damaging them while putting the guitar out of tune. A good quality gig bag would be Road Runner. For a hard shell case I would recommend SKB. Try out a hard shell case before you buy it. Place the guitar inside. It should be reasonably snug. The neck should be well supported and cradled. Run your fingers between the machine tuners and the bed of the case. There should be some space between the tuners and the bed. You do not want the weight of the instrument being supported by the tuners. Nor do you want the instrument knocked out of tune every time you place it in the case.

Bass Guitars

The standard bass guitar neck is about 6 inches longer than a guitar neck; you need long arms and adult-size hands to play a full size bass guitar comfortably. For children age 9 to 12 or anyone with short arms or small hands, consider the Squier Bronco Bass a short-scale (30 inches) bass or the Jay Turser JTB-3 bass which is half-size. For full size basses, I would recommend getting a 5 string bass. My favorite professional bass is the Carvin (model IC5 or LB75). For a student bass guitar consider the Jay Turser JTB-400C or the Fender Standard Precision Bass. See Amp recommendation above.

Here is a test to determine whether you should get a standard size bass or a short scale bass. Select a full size bass and adjust the strap so that the neck is just above your elbow. With the neck level to the floor and your forearm level to the floor the neck should be an inch or more above your forearm. Adjust the angle of the instrument so that the head of the bass is higher from the floor than the body, at about a 45 degree angle. From this position you should be able to reach and play the first fret without your elbow exceeding a 90 degree angle. If you have to stretch your arm out to reach the first fret, you should consider playing a short scale bass.

Purchasing Tips

1) When shopping for a guitar or bass, play the actual instrument you are planning to buy. The one in the box may not sound or play like the one on the rack.

2) Check the intonation. Be sure it plays in tune all the way up the neck.

3) Check the action. If the action is too high, the guitar will be difficult to play and may cause intonation problems. If the action is too low, buzzing may occur as the strings hit adjacent frets when you strum. The action can be adjusted on most guitars. A set-up on a guitar usually includes filing and polishing the frets and adjusting the neck and saddle to improve the action and fine tune the instrument. A guitar repair man will charge over $100 for this job. If the guitar is already set-up the way you like it before you buy it, you can save some money and time.

4) If you are shopping for a student model guitar, compare your selection with a professional model. Buy the one that sounds and plays the most like the professional model guitar. Let me know if you would like more assistance in selecting an instrument.