3 guitars - an acoustic guitar and two electric guitars

Have fun learning how to play the guitar

Learn how to play your favourite songs and become the musician you always wanted to be


guitar teacher from Preston sitting with a yellow electric guitar showing a student how to play chords

Hi I’m Adam,

After I got my Grade 8 from Registry of Guitar Tutors (RGT/LCM) I wanted to help other people in Preston learn how to play this awesome instrument. Over the last 10 years as a guitar teacher (enhanced DBS checked) I have helped a wide variety of students of all ages to become the guitar players they want to be.

Some start their guitar lessons as complete beginners not knowing how to play any chords or even the best way to hold the guitar. Many have heard that they are ‘too old’ to learn the guitar. Others have become disheartened as they have tried to learn from online guitar lesson videos such as YouTube or from books but just struggle to progress.

Let’s put the fun back into playing the guitar!


Once I retired I decided that I would at last learn to play the instrument (electric guitar) that had fascinated me throughout my life. I started out by teaching myself through books and on-line videos. Although I made some progress, it was obvious that there was so much more to learn. It felt over-whelming to try to tackle that by books and on-line, without any one to one guidance and without the ability to ask questions.

Fortunately I found my way to Adam’s website. That was the turning point, and from then on, under Adam’s excellent, patient and tailored tutoring I have progressed much further than I ever thought possible.

Adam has an incredible amount of patience when I am getting it wrong and an uncanny ability to diagnose why I am finding something hard. With a few words of advice and a demonstration he can often put it right there and then. Every lesson is a pleasure and I always leave them thinking that I have moved forward.

He has spent time with me to find out what sorts of music I like and uses these to teach, which then makes practising a pleasure.

For anyone interested in learning to play guitar, or in developing some existing playing skills, I would recommend Adam without hesitation.

Steve Crawley a guitar student of McCabe Tuition Preston

Steve Crawley

Adam is a great teacher and he has really helped me to improve and learn new skills after having two previous guitar teachers. The lessons are great. He has a real interest in what music I like and what I want play. Adam takes time to learn the song and is always prepared for the lessons. I would highly recommend Adam as a teacher as he is very enthusiastic and an amazing and talented guitar player himself.

guitar student from preston

Zoe Cunliffe

Having started the guitar from scratch at the age of 40 I was dubious but Adam has made learning the guitar easy. Without the regular support and lessons there would have been many other things that would have got in the way of finally picking up and strumming the guitar. I should have done this sooner!

Headshot of a guitar student who has guitar lessons

Andrew Flynn


Which guitar do you prefer to play?

Lessons available in Fulwood and Lostock Hall, Preston as well as Online (and a hybrid of online and in-person lessons).

After trying to learn the guitar by myself for years and having numerous teachers before, I can easily say that Adam is by far the best person I’ve had teach me guitar. Adam is a very patient teacher and makes lessons interesting and fun, while catering to my music tastes. In just a couple of months of having lessons with Adam I noticed progress in my playing and I’ve been pleased ever since with how I’ve come along due to Adam’s tuition. I can’t recommend him highly enough!

Headshot of a guitar student from Preston

Liam Carroll

HOW THESE GUITAR LESSONS WILL BENEFIT YOU

I have always wanted to play guitar and after checking out numerous YouTube tutorials I decided it wasn’t for me and I’d need the personal support. Having guitar lessons with Adam is the best! This guy is so patient, positive and encouraging and he adapts teaching methods to suit me. He will explain and demonstrate as many times as I need. Being naturally inquisitive, I like to ask ‘why’ and ‘how’. Adam is always happy to answer my questions. I have learnt so many tricks and techniques in the 6 months since I have been taking lessons that I would not have been able to do myself. I am so pleased with my progress and I couldn’t have done it without Adam’s support. My lessons are relaxed and fun. Thanks Adam

Ash a guitar lessons student from Preston

Liv Collins


Check out this completely improvised solo

Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to create a guitar solo from thin air? I’ll cover this in your guitar lessons and you will be jamming with other musicians in no time.


Are these guitar lessons right for me?

Let’s get something out of the way.

I have no interest in wasting your time. The faster you learn how to play the songs you want the more you are going to enjoy playing the guitar.

It’s as simple as that.

Some start as complete beginners not knowing how to play any chords. Most don’t even know the best way to hold the guitar. Many of these guitarists are adults. Sadly, they have heard time and time again that they are ‘too old’ to learn the guitar.

I don’t buy it and nor do my students.

If you are like me when I first started learning how to play the guitar, you just want to be able to play something that sounds good. Extra points if it’s something that you can play to impress your friends!

Testimonials

Adam is a genuinely great guitarist, and all round nice guy – two things you definitely want from a teacher. The thing that has impressed me most though is his professionalism and personalised approach from the start – getting to understand what I wanted from the lessons and then planning out objectives for the quickest way of achieving them. I have definitely progressed more in a couple of months of having lessons with Adam than I did in over a year of struggling to try and teach myself. Already recommended him to another mate of mine, and would do the same for any other guitarist looking to learn and improve.

A man who had guitar lessons in Preston

Ian Hardman

Being taught by Adam over the past year has vastly improved my knowledge about the theoretical side and practical side of guitar playing. With Adam having a laid back, patient personality, it has also made it easier for me to play fluently and not to worry about making mistakes. It’s also eased playing in front of audiences! Overall Adam is an awesome guy, it’s great to have a tutor as experienced as him and would definitely recommend him to a friend.

Guitar student from Preston

Rob Newton

I knew it was important to learn how it all worked. Furthermore, I understood why I played these shapes that were called chords. But honestly, I just wanted to play something that sounded cool. What’s the point in understanding how it all works if you can’t do what you wanted to do, play the guitar?

I had guitar lessons from the very beginning. My guitar teacher was great. I wouldn’t have wanted to learn any other way. The feedback and consistency was really important. Crucial in fact.

But I’ve got to admit… although the guitar lessons were really helpful there were times that I just wasn’t interested in what my guitar teacher wanted to teach me. I couldn’t see why we were focusing on parts of guitar playing I was never going to use (or at least not right now).

We keep the lessons relevant to what you need to know to achieve your goals. I don’t teach you things ‘just because you should know about this’.

That’s why when I became a guitar teacher I wanted to get to the best parts of guitar playing in the lessons as quickly as possible. I also wanted to get rid of the unnecessary parts.

I don’t want my students to get bogged down learning all of music theory before you can play a song that you know. We don’t focus on things that are far too advanced just because the book put it in that order.

I want to make sure you learn what is relevant, not just because ‘you are meant to know it’.

This is the approach I have taken with all of my students. I think it is important that you progress towards your goals at the fastest pace possible. I want you to have the shortest route from knowing nothing about the guitar to being able to play your favourite songs.

Because let’s be honest, when you bought your guitar what was your first though?

1) I want to understand complex music theory and be able to change keys seamlessly….

or 2) I want to play that awesome song I can’t get out of my head!

Other students use their guitar lessons to work on more advanced skills

There are plenty of students who start from a more advanced point. They want to refine their guitar skills and techniques in their guitar lessons. Some are interested in studying for their guitar grades.

Some want to improve their guitar solos and improvising skills. Others want to know how to put songs together or to build speed. They’ve got to a point where they can’t seem to move forward. They keep hitting a ceiling with their guitar playing. They’re frustrated that they seem to be unable to get to the next level.

With these students we drill down into their guitar playing to find what is missing that is holding them back. If this is where you are, drop me a message and tell me what you feel is holding you guitar playing back.


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I think I might be too old to start to learn the guitar?

These guitar lessons are for everyone and are catered to you specifically. There is a difference between lessons designed for adults and younger learners so you won’t be made to play songs you really have no interest in learning just because ‘they are in the book and you are a beginner’.

At 26 I thought it was too late to learn to play any instrument. As for a guitar, my knowledge started and ended at knowing what one looked like. Adam is the best kind of teacher I could of asked for. Being a new parent my time for practice is limited but Adam has stayed patient with me and has helped me to develop from knowing nothing to playing some of my favourite songs.

I would recommend Adam to anyone interested in learning to play guitar. He makes playing look easy but also stops it from being overwhelming by breaking playing down to ways that I can pick up notes, bars and songs so much better.

Ash a guitar lessons student from Preston

Ash Forbes

Adult guitar lessons focus more on the type of music you want to play sooner as you will have a much clearer idea about what type of guitarist you want to be. That also means we are unlikely to be following a book at the beginning if at all.

Also, some of the more complex concepts will be easier for you to understand compared to a younger learner. So there is really no need to worry about being too old to learn the guitar, as long as you are able commit time to practice between the guitar lessons.


I have questions about how to practice the guitar better…

How you practice the guitar is one of the biggest factors to you making quick progress in your guitar playing.

In your lessons I will also teach you how to get the most out of your practices.

If you want to get started check out how you can make the most out of your guitar lessons by making your practices better — even with limited time.

And for your electric guitar players you should also take a look at why you shouldn’t always be practicing with a clean guitar tone.


What lessons are available?

The guitar lessons are held in Preston. You have a choice of two locations:

  • Fulwood, Preston
  • Lostock Hall, Preston
  • If you aren’t from the Preston area, or only commute/study at UCLan in Preston part of the year, live online lessons are available, or even a hybrid of in-person and online guitar lessons.

Fulwood, Preston

Lostock Hall, Preston

Firstly, you can chose to focus on a type of instrument:

But most students are more interested in learning different styles of music. For a a wide variety of styles, the most diverse type of guitar is the electric guitar. If you haven’t bought your first guitar yet, you might want to think about if an electric guitar or acoustic guitar would suit you better.

If you are more interested in bass guitar the good news is they are very versatile and you will be able to adapt through different styles very easily.

No matter what instrument you chose to learn on (by all means you can learn on more than one) there is a wide variety of styles you can learn:

  • Rock (this is the most popular and spans over thousands of bands from the 60’s all the way up to the present day)
  • Pop
  • Acoustic styles such as finger-picking
  • Punk Rock
  • Blues
  • Ska
  • Reggae
  • Lead guitar styles
  • Country
  • Folk

The list goes on and on.

The guitar lessons are held in Fulwood, Preston and Lostock Hall, Preston.

Both Locations are have easy and convenient parking outside.

The Fulwood location is just off Garstang Road, in close proximity to both the M6 Junction 31A (Preston East) and 32 (Preston North), the M55 and Blackpool Road. This helps students that travel from Fulwood, Lea, Broughton, Bamber Bridge, Leyland, Clifton, Freckleton, Kirkham, Cottam and Longridge (just to name a few) multiple ways to get to their lessons.

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