1^st lesson free

Paul

5 (2 reviews)

Rate $25
Response 9h
Students
Number of students Paul has taught since their arrival at Superprof
4
Number of students Paul has taught since their arrival at Superprof

5 (2 reviews)

$25/h

1^st lesson free

Guitar
Acoustic Guitar
Autoharp

Former choir director, singer-songwriter and music tutor to the blind teaches acoustic guitar and autoharp, including chords, strumming, picking, playing by ear, and transposition

Guitar
Acoustic Guitar
Autoharp

Lesson location

- online

About Paul

I studied acoustic, pop, classical, ragtime, blues and jazz guitar: my own guitar instructor was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London.

I love to teach music, have been a choir director and substitute music and orchestra teacher for K-12.

I've played guitar for more than a half century, teaching guitar for about 20 years, autoharp for about ten, but spent most of my working life teaching university English (Literature and Writing).

In the 1970s and 1980s, I played in bars and coffee houses, and later directed church choirs and music ensembles.

I love to play guitar, and in recent years, also play auto-harp. I also play some piano, violin, mandolin, and banjo.

Every week for more than ten years, I've taught autoharp lessons to a blind and handicapped student who is now in his early 30s. Since he cannot read sheet music, for him I've created hundreds of audio recordings that speak the chord names over the songs. It has been fun and rewarding.

About the lesson

It's good for students to find a good match:
- I play an acoustic-jazz influenced style on a nylon-string guitar because of how the ease of play allows more options, but also play other instruments.
- A nylon-stringed guitar is also good for beginners still building up callouses on their fingers.

My lessons typically begin with a discussion with the student to plan together what songs and techniques to work on.

Simply learning and remembering chords for the larger view of a song is a large step. Finer technique can come later.

For students during the 2020 Covid pandemic, especially for the blind, I've recorded songs
- with an extra track that speaks the chords.

These recordings have often required
- transposing to an auto harp-compatible key,
- transposing to a key suited to the vocal range of the student,
- including a slower version with spoken chords to make it easier to learn at first.

Because lessons over Zoom have too much delay to allow a teacher and student to play together online, I send music (mp3) files as well as lyrics and chords, so my student can play along while I observe how the student is doing.

My lessons are for beginning and also intermediate or early-advanced students. My approach is more focused on playing by ear, and by chords, similar to the Suzuki approach that places importance on hearing the song first.

I do not teach sight-reading or playing by tablature.

Some songs I've taught in recent years:

A Friend Of Mine Is Going Blind - John Dawson Reed
A Kiss To Build a Dream On - Louie Armstrong, The Distance cover
Ain’t Misbehavin’ - Fats Waller, Mikalyn Hay cover
Alive in the World - Jackson Browne
All I have to do is dream - Everly Brothers
All My Loving - Beatles
All the Pretty Little Ponies - Kenny Loggins cover
All the world is one - Peter Mayer
American Tune - Paul Simon
Arms of the Angel - Sarah McLachlan

Back in the Saddle Again
Banks are Made of Marble - Pete Seeger cover
Bare Necessities - Eliza Gilkison cover of her father’s song
Be Sure it’s True
Best Friend (Margie Adam) / Peter, Paul, & Mary cover
Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell / various covers
Birmingham Sunday - traditional melody, lyrics Richard Fariña
Blackbird - Paul McCartney
Blowing in the Wind - Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary cover
Blue Boat Home - Peter Mayer
Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell / Lars Andreas Aspesæter cover
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel

Carolina in my mind - James Taylor
Charlie & the MTA
Circle Game - Joni Mitchell
Circle of Fifths - Raun Mackinnon
City of New Orleans - Steve Goodman

Dancing Song - Peter Mayer
Dancing in the Dark - Springsteen, Ruth Moody cover
Death of an Unknown Poet - Jimmy Buffett
Did Trouble Me - Susan Werner / Tom Jones cover
Doctor My Eyes - Jackson Browne
Don’t Let Us Get Sick - Warren Zevon
Don’t Look for Love - Thom Burke Bishop
Down to Earth - Peter Gabriel (from Wall-E end credits)
Drift Away - Mentor Williams / Dobie Gray, The Nylons - covers

Every Day - Buddy Holly, James Taylor cover
Even Here We Are - Paul Westerberg / Shawn Colvin cover
Fire and Rain - James Taylor
Flying Red Horse - John Gorka
Follow You - Ben Rector
Forever Young - Bob Dylan

Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen, from the Shrek soundtrack
Happy Together - The Turtles, The Nylons
Here Comes The Sun - George Harisson, The Beatles
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Higher Love - Steve Winwood
Home to Me is Anywhere You Are - Tom Paxton
The Horses - Ricky Lee Jones / Kenny Rogers cover

I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon - Sesame Street, Shawn Colvin cover
I Saw Her Standing There - Beatles
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas - Lake Street Dive cover
I Will - Paul McCartney / Beatles (White album)
If I Only Had a Brain / Wizard of Oz / various covers
I'll Be There - Jackson 5
In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
It had to be you - Gus Kahn, various covers

Jamaica Farewell - Irving Louis Burgie
Jenny Dreamed of Trains - John Denver
Junk - Paul McCartney

Kiss Me Goodbye - Melody: Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring / Lyrics: Prestwood

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac / Dixie Chicks cover
Lean on me - Bill Withers
Leaving London - Tom Paxton / Norah Jones cover
Life is Beautiful - Keb Mo
(Listening to the) Maestro - Marc Cohn
Lives In the Balance - Jackson Browne
Love is Here to Stay - George and Ira Gershwin

Making Money - Ben Rector
Maybe I’m Amazed / Paul McCartney / Marc Cohn, Indigo Dreams covers
The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
(A) Million Dreams - The Greatest Showman
Molly O’Mally’s Peter Mayer
Moonshadow - Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam
The Morning - Peter Mayer
The Morningside - John Gorka
Morningtown Ride - Raffi
Music Cup - Mark Henley
My Old Yellow Car - Thom Schuyler

Night into Day - John Gorka
No Matter What - Badfinger
Now Touch the air softly - Peter Mayer

O Sun - Peter Mayer
Ode to Big Blue - Gordon Lightfoot
On the Sunny Side of the Street - Jimmy McHugh, lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Our Love is Here to Stay - by George and Ira Gershwin

People Get Ready - Curtis Mayfield / Kenny Rankin cover
Penny lane - Beatles / Kenny Rankin cover
People Still Fall in Love - Thom Schuyler
Pussywillows, Cattails - Gordon Lightfoot / Kenny Rankin cover

Rainbow Connection - Paul Williams
Return to Pooh Corner - Kenny Loggins
Right Down the Line - Rafferty/Bonnie Raitt cover
Rock me on the water - Jackson Browne
Royals - Lorde

Save the Last Dance for Me
Scarborough Fair - traditional, Simon & Garfunkel cover
The second star to the right - Disney - Jonatha Brooke cover
Some people’s lives - Janis Ian
Something to believe in - Parachute
Somewhere over the rainbow
Song for a Winter’s Night - Gordon Lightfoot / Sarah McLachlan cover
The Sound of Silence - Paul Simon
Swing on a Star (would you like to play the guitar)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Teddy Bear's Picnic
Tell Moses - Colvin & Earle
The Times, They Are a'Changing - Bob Dylan
There Goes the Mountain - Tom Paxton
There is a Ship - Traditional, James Taylor cover

Things We Said Today - The Beatles
Till There Was You - The Beatles cover
Trouble and Woe - Ruth Moody
True Colors - Cyndi Lauper / Phil Collins, Eva Cassidy covers
Twilight time - Leo Kottke cover

Under the Boardwalk - Drifters / Rickie Lee Jones
Up on the roof - Carole King

Wading Deep Waters - Crooked Still
When I'm 64 - Paul McCartney / The Beatles
When that morning comes - Neal Hagberg
When you Wish Upon a Star - Disney, covers
Wherefore and Why - Gordon Lightfoot
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
Words - The Bee Gees / Shawn Colvin cover

Yesterday - Paul McCartney / Beatles
You are the Sunshine of my Life - Stevie Wonder
You Can’t Hurry Love - Supremes / cover: Phil Collins, Dixie Chicks
You Have Got To Be Carefully Taught - South Pacific - Michael Johnson cover
You Will Be Found - Dear Evan Hanson
You’ve got a friend in me - Randy Newman, Toy Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christmas Songs:

Auld Lang Syne - James Taylor Cover
Bells are Ringing - Mary Chapin Carpenter
Christmas Bells - John Gorka melody, Longfellow poem
Deck the Halls
Do you hear what I hear - Carole King cover
Gabriel's message - Sting cover
Hark the Herald Angels
Here we come Wassailing - Kate Rusby cover
Holly and the Ivy - Natalie King Cole cover
In the bleak midwinter
Joy To the World
Little Road to Bethlehem - Shawn Colvin cover
Love Came Down at Christmas - Shawn Colvin cover
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Kenny Rankin cover
Stables - Peter Mayer
The Rebel Jesus - Jackson Browne

Review

All of our reviews are collected by us and are 100% reliable. They correspond to a real experience lived by students with Paul.

5 (2 reviews)

J

Jim
- 5
Perfect! Paul is an excellent tutor. Friendly, encouraging and always willing to build the lesson around my specific needs.
Read more Read more

J

Jim

Perfect! Paul is an excellent tutor. Friendly, encouraging and always willing to build the lesson around my specific needs.
View more reviews

Recommendations

Recommendations come from relatives, friends and acquaintances of the teacher

C

Colleen

I am taking autoharp lessons from Paul Fried. Since an autoharp is not as common as other instruments, I felt very fortunate to find someone who could teach me. Online lessons have turned out extremely well, and very convenient. Paul is incredibly knowledgeable, and willing to adapt to whatever style of music I'd like to learn. Also, an amazing plus is that Paul is a genius at transposing pieces to fit my instrument or my voice range. I would highly recommend him as a teacher!
Read more

C
Colleen
I am taking autoharp lessons from Paul Fried. Since an autoharp is not as common as other instruments, I felt very fortunate to find someone who could teach me. Online lessons have turned out extremely well, and very convenient. Paul is incredibly knowledgeable, and willing to adapt to whatever style of music I'd like to learn. Also, an amazing plus is that Paul is a genius at transposing pieces to fit my instrument or my voice range. I would highly recommend him as a teacher!
View more recommendations

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5h: $125
10h: $250

online

$25/h

free lessons

This first lesson offered with Paul will allow you to get to know each other and clearly specify your needs for your next lessons.

Former choir director, singer-songwriter and music tutor to the blind teaches acoustic guitar and autoharp, including chords, strumming, picking, playing by ear, and transposition

Lesson location

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About Paul

About the lesson

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online

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Former choir director, singer-songwriter and music tutor to the blind teaches acoustic guitar and autoharp, including chords, strumming, picking, playing by ear, and transposition

Lesson location

Recommended

About Paul

About the lesson

Review

Recommendations

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

online

free lessons

Other tutors in Guitar

Andy

Davide

Kieran

Christina

Kieran

Michael

Elias

Alex

Daniel

Pierre

Swan

Elias

Michele

Bob

Paolo

Gabe

Matheus

Martin

Luisa

Russell

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