Hello and thank you so much for stopping by! Penny Lane Music Lessons started out in 2018 as a side hustle in between my touring, writing and recording schedule as a professional guitarist. As the world came to a standstill in 2020 and all my gigs ceased to exist, my teaching side gig became my full-time job. My goal is to help save time by bringing high-quality music instruction to you, whether that be in your Chicago home or online through Zoom.

I specialize in rock-band-style instruction which became popular in the early 2000’s around the creation of Jack Black's film School of Rock. This style of instruction uses songs, scales and solos as the curriculum versus traditional sheet music. As students develop a deeper interest in learning music, I like to fold in theory and music reading as well. Through my past work I have found that when students are learning things they’re interested in, they progress faster and actually want to put in the work outside of lessons.

I am hyper-focused on tailoring the learning experience to each student and their unique interests and skill level. For the youngsters, I believe in lots of positive reinforcement and patience on the days when focus is a little slow. At any given point in the year, most of my students are preparing for one of our bi-annual rock shows at either a local Chicago venue or online on YouTube for our virtual students. By keeping a goal on the horizon, our students stay much more focused all year as opposed to getting bored and potentially deciding to give up on playing an instrument.

Thanks for stopping by!