:) more available times :)

Hello and welcome if this is your first visit.

If you glance to the upper corner you will see a tab “timetable”. Click on it and you will be taken to a page where you can view the available times I have for lessons.

Take careful note:

At this time, I am at st.benedict’s on monday, tuesday and wednesday afternoons. St.stithians on thursday and friday afternoons.

I have made some slots available for gr.4-7 students during school on thursday mornings, but I have notified those parents directly.

Cya soon!

April holidays

Hey hey. I am changing the layout of the blog.

Term 2 is coming (private schools) and I suggest if you have any cool projects please post. My students are always doing cool stuff so let’s make this more interactive.

Where have you been?

Halooooooooo!

It’s been ages since I updated everyone. I have been super busy with the school’s schedule and slotting in all the students. Border-lining on a nightmare for me as one particular school only started 2 weeks after all the private schools opened, as the 80/20 rule states; 20% of you clients give you 80% frustration (and insomnia).

 

So.

 

Text books are on the way to St.Benedicts College and I am making plans to find a way to get St.Stithian’s on board as far as billing goes. No Comment on NSA at the moment; books for free are simply not possible.

I am also ordering cables (well I always do for myself) and my students are always keen on seeing what I use in my rig. Mogami cables are currently my favourite and the jacks I use are Amphenol cables. For R115 you can get a 2meter cable with standard Amphenol jacks. If you want the gold plated jacks and longer cables please ask (the are a little more expensive, but cheaper than the retail stores as I don’t have to pay VAT and and all that.

Please click on my links. I am opening a few pages with my diagrams and other gig news (BY THE WAY MY BAND GOT A RECORD DEAL!).

See ya on the fly-paper

 

Shawn

 

 

 

 

 

 

HELLO!!!

Hi and welcome. I have booked most of the pupils, but there are many more gaps to fill. Look on the right >>>> and you’ll see a link that says TIMETABLE.

That is my calendar. It gets updated throughout the day so keep your eyes on it and make sure I have it correct to avoid clashes in case I make a mistake -which I do-.

I will update this more over the weekend, so keep in touch.

 

 

BYEBYE for now.

Bye Bye 2011

End of the year exam slow-down has hit us.

 

I’ll be dealing with plans for next year during the December break so here’s wishing you all a merry Xmas.

 

Term 3 holiday

So the public school’s are on holiday for a week before end of year chaos erupts… I hope I get some sleep.

I had the pleasure of watching my students on stage last night http://www.belowice.co.za and they looked great! They started their band when they were still in primary school and have made it this far. I’m really proud of these youngsters as they have collected many prizes along the way and have amassed a full p.a system and will be doing their second recording in studio soon. They are available for U18 parties if you wanted to through your kids a cool entertaining set!

There are re-writes of the Rockschool exams happening end of October so I urge kids to take advantage of the chance to practice more. I hope it was an eye-opener for the kids and fellow-staff members that contemporary music is NOT the easy way out; it’s simply a differently approach to music that will be more welcomed by younger generations.

Take note : I play with many classical players in the “real” world so when you hit the arena of gigging for a living, those classical/contemporary assumptions quickly disappear when you have a conductor shouting at you for not playing correctly or simply being fired from a theatrical because you lack the “feel”.

Classical assumption is still something I battle each day and have to smile each time I hear my fellow staff member guitar teacher woman claims I cannot read music and don’t teach my kids how to read. That’s how it goes. Those same people watch their favourite shows on tv not realising that the music they hear is actually written by a modern-day composer that most probably studies everything from pop music to ethnic Samoan music and can play instruments from those cultures.

Have a look. Famous for the Simpson’s Theme:

Alf Clausen http://alfclausen.com/ (the Simpsons +)

Mr Danny Elfman http://elfman.filmmusic.com/  (the Simpsons +)

Thomas Newman http://users.telenet.be/obelisk/tnc/ (six feet under +_

Jeff Beal http://www.jeffbeal.com/ (ugly betty+)

Please do contemporary musicians a favour; realise that we have to study these types of music as well as rocking out on stage to earn a living, but ultimately to feed our own need of excellence on our instruments in the music world.

chAT SOon

This post is for Adelle Struwig, Jaco Swart, River Pheonix, Johnny Frusciante, Hillel Slovak

Holding thumbs about Rockschool exams being re-written. Will update as soon as I hear any official release.

 

…Drugs and music…

This has to be let open and discussions have to come of this. People need to know what perceptions fly around so I invite anyone to please send it their opinions. Your opinion is the truth and don’t be shy to admit and fight etc. Open forum for everyone to see what everyone else thinks.

 

I have been posting clips on my facebook account of The Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s guitarist John Frusciante. Please take some time to share with your kids as everything I stated on facebook is harsh but real and John Frisuciante is still one of my biggest inspirations on guitar and I need to make it straight that I am very anti-drug use so I hope it comes through.

People see me as a skinny guitar junkie type that always talks “fairy” talk, but I have never taken any drugs. Most of my fellow musicians would then say I am being biased about being anti-drug use seeing that I have never taken any. Well, I have lost many friends since high-school, spent many nights as a teen driving around town hanging with my brother going on “Drug-Runs” and partying, but I never took. I saw the danger and destruction it does and is actually very counter-productive to any artist.

Taking drugs or drinking never enhances the skills of an artist. Good artists are born that way. They have a pre-disposition to annalyzing things a certain way and being gifted with the “left-brain” mentalitty from a very young age. Most good artists practice their butts off, but because they love it and feel compelled to better themselves and know they will never reach that goal, but its fun anyway. So when situations open themselves up to anyone and bad habits sink in, unfortunately, sometimes those bad habits are impossible to shake and it ends up controlling your entire existence. You stop playing music, you stop eating, you make excuses not to go out, you sell your guitar, house, sign away all your royalties and end up living on the streets coz your habit has taken control.

Taking any form of external help to better yourself as a person can have dire consequences, so please please PLEASE be careful kids. I have lost many students and fellow musicians and best friends. Don’t do that to your friends and your family.

 

Keep

 

 

busted my back

hey all,

 

quick post: i hurt my back again today, sorry for not getting a replacement, it happened 15 minutes before my afternoon lessons started so i had no choice but cancel.

 

anyway, im playing in the musical at st.benedict’s, so come and enjoy the show its great entertainment for mid-week fun.

Books for End of year + NEXT year!

Hey,

 

I will be taking orders for text books this week. I will need to pay for the books when I collect them, so for those of you who want to buy the books THIS month (September) please finalise the order by Sunday the 18th so I can collect them next week. For those who want to buy the books in October please let me know and I will go through to fetch the second (and hopefully last) batch of books. Take note: this is for the GUITAR HANDBOOK, not the rockschool books. Each pupil has to have a handbook, as I have run tired of having kids lose their notes.

 

You can get the Rockschool books straight from Lovemore music. They have a facility where you can place the order over the phone and they will drop off the books at the relevant schools – so I heard-.

If you/your kid is doing subject music then the requirements are:

• Grade 6 Rockschool for Matric
• Grade 5 Rockschool for gr.11′s
• Grade 4 Rockschool for gr.10′s
• Grade 3 Rockschool for gr.8-9

I suggest the book called Hot Rock Guitar (Rockschool) for the beginners or even just for those who are eager to learn cool stuff. Hot Rock guitar is a really cool book. Another important book for most eager students who want to learn some great skills in Rock Soloing; the book Rock Lead Basics from M.I (a hal leonard publication).

 

Rigtho, following my blog will become a must, as I don’t have all the time in the world to take phone calls and all that. I have other jobs too and teaching is merely a passion and I won’t be teaching for much longer.

 

BYE FOR NOW

Here we go!

So letting everyone know. My wednesdays are taken up in befordview, so only lessons on wednesday afternoons at st.Benedict’s unless I have arranged lessons privately at your home.

I am ordering books and will take the final order this friday. I will need payment next week so I can pay for the books and go fetch them, the books are R180 each.

For subject music kids (or those willing to try at later stage) I will suggest you get the Rockschool books and/or the Hot Rock Guitar books from Rockschool http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/01006046/details.html

Lovemore music at the Thrupps centre in Rosebank is the best shop for getting curriculum based music books, and generally all the schools buy from them anyway.

There are a few other books I suggest and will discuss that when the time is right, but now the Guitar handbook is the first priority, and subject music students I suggest you get the Rockschool books asap.

Cheers!

Can’t wait to kick some butt on the guitar front!

Term 3 starts

(Sigh)

What an awesome long break we have all had.

I am ordering new text books this term; R180 for the handbook and there will be some of you doing subject music so there wil be an additional bookr two I would suggest you get, but that handbook will be your first priority.

mmm. Speak soon!

 

 

Update

Hey,

 

Hope you are all enjoying the holidays… It’s been a crazy busy time for me and I have just finished a high-court appointment last week that I have been working on since 2006… So I can breath -for now-

Anyhow, I got lots of art and even cooler effect pedals for everyone to check out, just go to my FaceBook page and keep in touch.

Another thing, due to changes in legislation coming regarding copyright, I will be making my own teaching material for free for you, but I do have some awesome teaching books that I have been using for the last 10 years. I will make a list available soon; these books come highly recommended and you can always sell them back to me or my students to keep your pockets alive and ready to buy more books as you get better.

As always I’m in such a rush writing these blogs so I should have time later today (only) to update it properly.

Signing off with some AWESOME NEWS: My guitar turned 31 on Saturday the 20th so wish it a happy birthday when you see it.

 

Chat later

 

Shawn comes to St. Benedicts!

Shawn’s Axe will be in action in Bedfordview pretty soon. Hope the new kids will enjoy the lessons.

Other news: Rockschool Exams around the corner. Extra lessons on Saturdays coming soon; the first bunch of posters have been printed and we await response. June 25 could be the start for extra lessons for learners.

Cya soon!

Click on the right > > > for my timetable

Term 2!

Greetings and welcome back.

Rockschool exams Rockschool exams. That is our focus and we will kick ass.

So make sure you get your required Rockschool books; http://www.lovemoremusic.co.za is the better place to get your orders from.

I use photostats till you get the books , for those youngsters who spent their cash on Easter eggs or xbox games . Take note; you have to have an original book on the day of the exam! And the candidates’ books get stamped so you cannot use a friend’s book on the day.

I have the following doing their exams:

Steve van Wyk gr.5
Keenan O’ Sullivan gr.5
Tafa Ndlovu gr.3
Duncan Barnard gr.3

Also: Book your times, new term new schedule ‘ey.

TERM 2 starts here!

We are getting ready for rockschool! Woohoo. Whilst the private schoos are on holiday, I suggest ALL my students use this crucial time to put in as much practice as possible daily. Yeah, yer on holiday, but I’ll help you make it fun.

Use the early morning time when the famiy’s still sleeping to put in some secret practice time. Mist of your holidays are probably spent visiting family and hosting guests so obviously you are expected to be gentlemen and be polite when your family has visitors. So, no, I did not force you to practice when grandma or your annoying in-laws are having lunch. I’m forcing you to practice without anyone knowing.

So, its day 1. Let’s see how it goes.

Search for shawn’s axeguitar on facebook and twitter to keep in touch with my kids today.

S

April!

MMM. Flu. Term almost over at saints, but then NSA starts again.

Term 2 plans: NSA kids will have attend workshops with me to learn how to use the apple macbooks and I will need you all to work on an advert for our department as I will be using it as an entry for the Ilife Competition.

I urge everyone to keep up to date with me online. Ask questions and you can all pitch in and give your input. Saints kids are learning more and more about the use of modes so NSA kids please help and give answers.

Other than that, my schedule is getting more and more intense and I am getting more and more older *and crazier*, so bare with me. My band is releasing it’s 3rd album tomorrow, I am starting classical guitar lessons and I need to prepare for my exams too. Eish.

Lets see how this year pans out.

Still Busy bee (with mrs.B too)

Hey.

A short post whilst I wait for an on-line class to start (I am attending a globalwarriors seminar each week since 2010)…

Now my students from saints had a show tonight *woohoo*. Just some quick pointers for starting bands.

1. Check your guitar tuning (backstage) 5 minutes before you get on stage.
2. Get off stage if there is a technical issue that is taking longer than 1 minute to sort out. Talk to the crowd during that crucial time when the guitar player is fixing his/her cable or jam something that takes the attention OFF whatever is happening on stage.
3. Look at the crowd! Do not stare at other musicians onstage the entire show, it looks like something is wrong or like you are trying to point out a hassle on stage. Look at the sexy girls (or guys) in the crowd! That is why you are in a band RIGHT?! (joke)
4. Keep the crowd wanting more. If you have to do an encore, do it ONLY if the stage manager says it is ok. You have about 20 bands sharing a stage and you cannot be a minute late otherwise the whole festival ends late because ONLY YOU thought it would be a good idea to play sweet home alabama for the 3rd time. The crowd liked the show, leave them wanting more…
5. Vocalists: Why are you playing tonight? Mention it to the crowd, you are more likely to get the call back from the booking agent because you are a musician that is aware of why the charity event is happenin

Well done to Below Ice, you guys have done an awesome job so far.

Other than that! IT IS HOLIDAY TIME! The staff from NSA are going on a seriously needed rest. Mr. Trevor has had a tough term, especially with sleep deprivation and a newborn child that came into his life. Well done to Trevor!

Well done to my awesome Gr.11 guitar students! We should celebrate the fact that *insert name of music school* has no longer any dealings with us. That syllabus has done serious harm last year, and we can now get back to the fundamentals and get back on track to make you each as good as you really can be.

Rock en roll.

Busy Busy Busy

Hey!

This is is going to be quick and painless… here goes.

It’s very late and I had zero time to invest in my usual rantings… So, one very important warning to all the new pupils, their parents and all new musicians popping into my life.

If I ever hear you say something like

• “Contemporary Musicians cannot read music”
• “Contemporary guitarists just read TABS”
• “Drummers don’t read notes, they just bang things”
• “Jazz musicians just wing it, that is why I choose not to join your theory/composition class, sir”

I have been teaching music since 2001. If you dare say things like this to my students you have two options : Run or Hide. I come across as a very calm teacher at most of the private schools, but my art school students know I can break a music stand or two in class if I get upset, DO NOT LET ME GET TO A POINT WHERE I LOSE MY TEMPER!(I have the ability to transform into a hideous grumpy snake like thing with veins popping out my neck and I can bite your head off without thinking).

I get very angry and this was your first and last warning. Do not let me justify the MODERN composer’s daily anger at useless thinking brought on by narrow minded cultural ideals. Did I say Last warning?

Now, with that out the way.

The contemporary music students from the NSA are having their gala performance on Thursday night at 20:15. Come support an amazing group of youngsters that will shake up your thinking this year. It is their first public performance and this show will be bringing you classics from the 1960-70 era. Come dress hippy again, squeeze your partner and paint your faces with flowers and peace signs or just tighten your vietnam G.I boots and rock out in the name of peace. MAP

Now more important news.

I have some crazy clever kids at Saints (and my grade 11′s from nsa). You wanna impress the D&T teacher and let your folks like you coz you will be spending LESS of their hard earned money? Follow this

nooooo…

Hey,

It’s one of those things. And things teachers don’t wanna have to tell the public, but I have no need to impress anyone so I’ll come out and say it: I have had an awful tummy bug now for days and can’t get rid of it. It’s one of those things that teachers have to deal with especially when coming in contact with the little ones as they cough and splutter all over you…

My lessons this afternoon are cancelled. Hope I’m back in shape for the week…

We have serious deadlines due at nsa for their big awesome festival of fame.
This is an annual festival that the art school holds and I guarantee that our contemporary kids are kicking serious butt. If u can make a visit please do.

Anyway,

Stay away from sick children otherwise you’ll get what I have…

S

Schedule change!!!

Hey Kids!

 

The sport’s season has changed and it is yet another change in schedule…

 

Please send your new times ASAP so I can see who wants to change… Please note that EVERYONE wants the 14:30 slots.

 

Think for a second:

• There are 5 days in a week; that means only 5 kids will get the 14:30 slot.
• If your rugby coach cancels please notify me so I can see if I can slot you in earlier -teachers also wanna get home early-.

 

Cheerio!