chess
Chess is an ancient game; it has been around for centuries, and with good reason. It often represents the ultimate in human intellectual achievement, but it can also be a lot of fun for people of any mind. It's an easy game to learn, and a challenging game to excel in, unless of course you're a one-in-a-million prodigy! I am no chess master, but I do possess the skills to help you get started on your way to a lifetime of enjoying this great and fun game.
I can teach you the basic moves, positions, and strategies that well get you going on the path to becoming a competitive chess player. I can also teach you several forms of chess notation, which is a way of recording your moves so that you can plan ahead or review your games. My teaching method involves playing what I call "open games", or games in which strategies and possibilities for moves are discussed openly between the two players, so that all kinds of different options are explored and weighed against each other in order to achieve a desirable outcome. With me, it's not about winning or losing; it's about learning the game and having fun!
songwriting
I have been writing songs in all different styles for about ten years. I am trained in music theory and composition, and can play several different instruments. Moreover, I possess a keen awareness of song structure and presentation, and I can help you write the kinds of songs you and everyone else will love to hear and even play.
To my credit I have recorded and produced three solo albums, two albums with groups in which I was the main songwriter, and have a large inventory of songs that I have yet to record and compile into albums. I have experimented with writing songs in a wide variety of genres including Classical, atonal/noise, modern orchestral, pop instrumental, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, country, blues, swing, hip hop, rap, r&b, bluegrass, alternative rock, metal, and ambient/soundscape. If you've got ideas, ambition, or just love music, I can help you channel that creative energy into songs that might get you that Platinum recording you've always dreamed of!
drawing
Drawing is nothing more than an exercise in seeing. Drawing isn't just about making pictures. It's also about visual problem-solving. Learning to draw accurately and expressively will give any student a similar edge as learning a foreign language or a musical instrument. Today, professionals in many fields are taking drawing lessons in order to improve their analytical skills.
This being said, I have been drawing from observation and imagination my entire life. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master's of Art degree from time I spent in part studying drawing. I have taught drawing at the college level, both to beginners and more advanced students. I can help you fine-tune your drawing skills rapidly over time, with practice and patience. I specialize in traditional figurative technique, but I have also studied many other styles and genres of art, and worked with many different media, even digital. With this experience, I can help you improve your drawing skills. At the very least, drawing is a stimulating and enjoyable activity, like a full-body exercise for the mind, eye, and hand.
bass guitar
I initially taught myself to play the bass while I was in high school. When I went to college I decided to take it more seriously, and took lessons in jazz bass, specializing in the fretless bass guitar. I am not a virtuoso, but I have a proficient command of basic technique and the necessary music theory to guide any beginner.
I can teach you proper form, and give you exercises that will help you improve rapidly, as long as you remember to practice! I can also lead you in the direction of some great bass tunes, so that you can contribute to the world of music as a soloist or just keeping up the bottom end in a group.
photography
I like to say that photography is the art of capturing time with light. Not only is this a poetic way to think of photography, but it is also a useful one! I will teach you the basic principles of light and physics and show you how a camera is a tool specifically designed to respond to those principles. From that basis, a complicated camera becomes a very simple system of mechanisms, and once it makes sense it will be easy to learn to use it!
I have five years of photographic experience with digital and analog (film) cameras, and an intimate understanding of how they function and what they can do. Taking great pictures will make those memories more vivid, and can produce some amazing artwork as well.