South Pasadena Guitar: LESSONS IN THE HOME
Quality Guitar Lessons
John Klof has been providing quality electric and acoustic guitar lessons, IN THE HOME, for over 25 years instructing both children and adults.
He offers private one on one lessons though special arrangements can be made to instruct multiple students. His teaching philosophy is to encourage his students to choose the music they want to learn. This enables each student to decide on their own direction and be taught in a way that is best suited for them and keeps them interested and self-motivated. At the home guitar lessons (some restrictions apply). Please call (626) 441-4563 for details. Teaching Methods His teaching methods are basically a two part process and are influenced by his experience in child development and music. His students learn to play by following him on the guitar and/or by tablature notation. Tablature is a form of notation that shows guitar fingering rather than musical pitches and is commonly used with rock and pop music. The second part of his method is promoting good musicianship, or the quality of playing, and is encouraged by developing good listening skills.Students learn-
Favorite songs
Chords
Lead guitar
Strumming techniques
Scales and more
John teaches current rock/pop music to contemporary music of other generations.
Teaching Background
John has taught guitar and piano and composed both commercial and classical music for over 25 years. He also has had the opportunity to be part of the teaching staff in academic and other institutional settings. His teaching background includes Immaculate Heart College, Pacific Oaks (children), Five Acres Residential Treatment Center and School in Altadena (children), The Pasadena Mini School (adolescents) and All Saints Preschool in Pasadena.
Education
At Immaculate Heart College John received a full scholarship to study composition with Dorrance Stalvey and complete a double concentration in music and developmental psychology. His thesis was entitled Child Development Through Music and was written while working on assignment at Pacific Oaks Children's School.
Postgraduate
John studied music at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory in Aix-en-Provence, France with Karlheinze Stockhausen and a second time the following year with Iannis Xenakis. The topics of study included interpretation, performance, composition, computer music technology, conducting, analysis, and music applied mathematics taught by instructors from IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) and the George Pompidou Center in Paris. After returning from France he studied music composition and interpretation at the University of Southern California with composer Earle Brown and Film scoring with Nancy Beach at California State University, Los Angeles.
Awards
The French government made it possible for John to study in one of their international programs. He received grants, through the Minister of Culture, from The Gulbenkian Foundation, The Foundation of France, les disques Phonogram, les disques Erato, les edition Salabert and Polydor International to study music in France with Karlheinze Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis. He received a composition fellowship from The National Endowment for the Arts and a Subito recording grant from the American Composers Forum.
Family Background
John and most of his six brothers and sisters went through school in South Pasadena and graduated from the high school. His interest in music started in grade school where he studied clarinet and then played percussion in the school orchestra. In middle school and high school he learned the guitar and piano in order to play pop/rock and classical music.
Improvisation/Composition
Students of any instrument can participate in the improvisation program. Since improvising is a form of music writing, music theory and the fundamentals of harmony are taught first. How to start and in what direction to go are some of the primary concerns with improvising and teaching these basics will give the student a better understanding of how music functions.
Portrait by Teri Lyn Fisher
John Klof
(626) 441-4563
klof@netzero.net
41-456
link to:
Portrait by Teri Lyn Fisher
Contact Information
(626) 441-4564