About the Lessons
Herb David Guitar Studio welcomes all ages (3-100) of active, busy people (with little time or lots of time) wanting to have fun playing at any level of skill, any type of music (classical, rock, jazz, pop, folk, flamenco, blues, ethnic, etc.) on guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, piano, harmonica, drums, bass, etc. We do voice lessons too. Lessons are not packaged. After meeting each student, lessons are developed to satisfy the individual’s goals and interests. Lessons are private one-on-one or small groups who want to learn more theory and ear training.
Lessons are offered 7 days a week:
- Monday-Friday: 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Sunday: 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Would you like to sign up for lessons?
It's easy! Just visit our signup page, take a minute to fill out the online form, and we'll get in touch with you soon.
Group Lessons
We are excited to offer several group classes for people of all ages and skill levels. Groups meet for weekly 60-minute sessions over ten weeks, at a time that will be scheduled according to the convenience of the participants. Classes are organized so that people of similar ages and skills are in the same group. The cost is just $250 for ten 60-minute sessions.
The Classes
Pop/Rock (teens)
Form a band that plays the best of rock and pop, from the early '60s to today. Sign up and make a killer rock band!
Acoustic/Folk (adults)
For acoustic instruments only – play folk, folk-rock, bluegrass, and the like. Hand drums and other percussion welcome too!
Blues
Play with others in a group that covers the best blues/rock musicians like the Allman Brothers, Muddy Waters, Santana, Eric Clapton, and more! Learn how to blend vocals, lead guitar and rhythm guitar with bass and drums to make a tight group.
Beatlemania (all ages)
Play in a Beatles-only cover band. Learn great Beatles songs and play with other musicians at a similar skill level.
Sign Up For Group Lessons
Please use this form to provide us with some general information about you and your musical experience.
Jean Agopian
Flamenco Guitar
Jean Agopian, Flamenco guitarist and singer, was born in Marseille, France. He has performed in France, Canada and the United States. His technical ability as a Flamenco guitarist, combined with his sensitivity to his students, has kept him much in demand as a musician and teacher.
Glenn Bering
Sitar/Tabla
Jean Glenn Bering studied sitar and tabla with Rajin Sachdeva, as well as advanced tabla technique with Thomas Hunter, who studied sarod with Ali Akbar Khan and tabla with Zakir Hussain. Bering holds a Masters in Music Degree from the University of Michigan, and has studied and performed the music of various cultures, including: Arabic, Japanese, Javanese, Russian and Spanish Flamenco. He is currently the principal percussion accompanist for the U. of Michigan Dance Department where he has been employed for 14 years.
Mike Brown
Guitar: Acoustic/Classical/Electric/Bass, Ukulele; All Styles/Levels
Mike Brown is a guitarist who has been playing and studying for 15 years. He made his start teaching himself electric guitar and playing in rock bands, and has recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University's classical guitar program. Mike teaches both electric guitar and acoustic guitar styles, popular styles, fingerstyle, beginning jazz, beginning bass, classical, music theory, and ukulele. Mike teaches adults, and is particularly well suited teaching children and teenagers, helping them to discover their own musical identity.
Jason Burbo
Guitar: Acoustic/Classical/Electric; All Styles/Levels
Jason Burbo has been teaching music in Ann Arbor since 1995. He has studied music with Glen Betcher, Benjamin Bunch, Mike Grace, Lee Dyament, and Brian Roberts and is an alumni of Community High School (Ann Arbor), Wayne State University School Of Music (Detroit), and the Musik Akadamie of Basel (Switzerland). Jason’s musical education has concentrated on classical and jazz guitar, choir, piano, and music theory. He is a recording artist on Small Stone Records (Detroit), has toured the United States, and has appeared on recordings by Chubb Sessions Band, Morsel, U.S. Sheep, Sissy, and PostPrior.
5-String Banjo, Guitar, Ukulele; All Ages/Styles
Al Davenport performs with the Prodigals and the Hatfields. On 5-string banjo, Al teaches fiddle tunes, old time tunes and reels. On guitar he teaches acoustic flat picking, surf, "Stevie Ray Vaughan style" and folk style strumming and singing. Al also teaches ukulele.
Guitar: Fingerstyle/Folk/Country/Pop; All Ages
Beau was one of the first performers to play The Ark, and was a teacher at the Herb David Guitar Studio in the late 60s and early 70s. He also taught at Dick Lurie Guitar Studio in Cleveland (1971/76), The Guitar Workshop in Oyster Bay, NY (1976/77) and the Contemporary Institute of Guitar in Port Washington, NY (1977/84) a school he co-founded. While in New York, Beau fronted his own seven piece country band, a group which played at NYC's famed Lone Star Cafe, among other clubs. Beau's chamber music compositions for three one-act plays were performed off-broadway at the Theatre of the Open Eye in NYC. Between 1987 and 2005 Beau resided in Nashville, TN, where he was active as a performer, accompanist, and studio musician.
Jason Dennie
Guitar: Intermediate/Advanced Fingerpicking/Flatpicking Bluegrass (Alternate and Standard Tunings), Mandolin
Jason Dennie is an acoustic guitarist combining elements of folk, blues, bluegrass, new age and contemporary techniques. Jason gives many workshops of flatpicking and advanced finger style techniques. Jason helps student get comfortable with their instrument and works with unlocking creativity and enhancing practice time. His two solo guitar CDs have gained him national attention. Jason has won 3 Cammy Awards for Best Folk/Bluegrass Instrumentalist. (You can also check out
www.jasondennie.com.)
Michael Gavin
Violin/Fiddle/Tenor Banjo/Guitar: All Ages/Levels
Michael Gavin has played fiddle for 20 years, primarily in the Irish traditional style with which he grew up, although he is known to experiment with other styles such as classical, American folk and bluegrass styles, and jazz. He performs with the Crossroads Ceili Band and other groups around Southeast Michigan, and has shared the stage with such great artists as Liz Carroll and Ashley MacIssac. Some of Mike’s students have been awarded first place in the Midwest Irish fiddle competition. Though specializing in Celtic styles, he teaches reading and classical techniques along with ear training, enabling students to become conversant with a variety of musical genres. He is also accomplished as a tenor banjo player in the Irish style, and as an accompanist on guitar; and he teaches those instruments as well.
Paul Gunsberg
Drums/Percussion/Ear Training: All Ages/Styles
Paul Gunsberg is a drummer/percussionist who has been playing since the age of five. He is a graduate of The New England Conservatory of Music, where he recieved a scholarship to study jazz drumming with Bob Moses and Billy Hart. He has performed and recorded with a wide variety of musicians in equally varied musical settings. His teaching method promotes learning music by ear and encourages students to seek out their own unique musical path. He welcomes people of all ages and abilities.
Amanda Igra
Piano, Beginning Voice, Beginning Violin; All Ages/Styles
Amanda Igra has been playing the piano her whole life, and is very excited to share her passion for music with her students. She is a student at U of M, and her teaching style can be described as relaxed, patient, and fun! Amanda teaches all ages, and all styles of music including pop/rock, classical, show tunes, as well as music theory.
Justin Johnstone
Acoustic/Electric/Classical; All Ages/All Styles
Justin Johnstone has been dedicated to the study of guitar for over 15 years. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Wayne State University with a degree in Classical Guitar Performance. He has studied with many wonderful instructors including: Chris Casello, Mike Grace, Helene Rottenberg, Lee Dyament, and Brian Roberts. He has also performed in a number of master classes with such players as Marcos Dias, Fabio Zanon, and Lily Afshar. Justin has dedicated much of his musical career to diversity. He has written, recorded and performed a variety of music styles including Rock, Jazz, Blues, Metal, Funk, Hip-hop, Classical, Folk, Country, Celtic, Klezmer, Polka, Fusion, and Experimental. His teaching style is one of dedication to the personal development of each individual. He believes that learning the guitar should be as fun as it is challenging, and that everyone has there own pace, needs and desires.
Guitar: Beginning/Advanced, Rock, Jazz Fusion, Folk, Blues; All Ages/Styles
Composer and guitarist Carl Michel studied for a brief period at the West Bank School of Music in Minneapolis (1976) and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston (1977-1979). Today he lives in Ann Arbor, MI, where he continues to work. The Carl Michel Group, a jazz quartet, has been performing in the Detroit area since 1995. The Carl Michel Group (+), a jazz octet, has been performing in the Detroit area since 2000. In 1998, he started his own record label, Play On Records, and has produced and released two CDs that feature his compositions, "The Carl Michel Group" and "The Carl Michel Group (+)". In 2005 Carl Michel was awarded an Emmy by the National Academy of Television and Art Sciences for his original music score in Storytellers Media Group's 2004 documentary, "Dusk & Shadow - The Mystery of Beverly Potts." (You can also check out his website,
www.carlmichel.com.)
Guitar: Acoustic/Electric/Open Tunings/Slide/Fingerstyle, Bass, Mandolin, Ukelele, Harmonica; All Ages/Styles
Sean Rogers enjoys teaching students to have fun singing and playing songs, as well as learning to read notes and tab, and to understand and apply music theory. He has over 25 years of performing experience -- playing a wide variety of instruments and styles -- and has been teaching at the studio since 1994. Sean is the lead guitar player for longtime local jam band Deep Space Six (www.reverbnation.com/deepspacesix).
Classical Guitar
Helene Rottenberg is a Professor of Music at Madonna University. She has a Master of Musicology degree from the University of Michigan and was a student of the late Argentinian guitarist Manuel Lopez-Ramos. Helene has performed extensively in the Midwest -- particularly in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area -- since 1975. She has often played as a featured performer in chamber music concerts at the "Festival of the Lakes" in Alexandria, Minnesota, and has appeared on Minnesota Public Radio. She plays professionally in a flute/guitar duo, Divertimente, with flutist Susan Lazar, and they recently have released their first CD, featuring music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Bela Bartok. She performs as a soloist and also enjoys playing in various ensembles. She is currently a performing member of the Tuesday Musicale of Detroit, and a regular performer with Chamber Music at the Scarab Club and the Detroit Concert Choir.
Guitar: Beginning/Advanced Rock, Folk, Country, Blues; All Ages
Chuck Swanagon teaches a variety of musical styles on both electric and acoustic guitar. He has been playing for 40 years, and has performed as an acoustic soloist, an electric lead guitarist, and had done many sessions in recording. Chuck was formerly an instructor at the Lapeer School of Music. (
Attention, Seniors! Chuck offers a senior citizen discount during certain lesson times. Please see our
specials page for more details.)
Jess Willyard
Guitar, Bass, Ukulele; Rock, Blues, Folk, Metal, Reggae, Punk Rock; All Ages
Jess Willyard has been playing guitar and bass since age 14. He has played with a variety of bands including Sista Otis and the Wholly Rollers, Banned From Earth, Ann Arbor Dub Project, and with Tibetan vocalist Yungchen Lhamo. In his class you'll learn chords, guitar tab, music theory, how to sing and play, and how to perform in front of an audience.
Would you like to sign up for lessons?
It's easy! Just visit our signup page, take a minute to fill out the online form, and we'll get in touch with you soon.
Acoustic Guitars
