Iain Harris

Strings guru with a passion for music

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Iain Teaches:

  • Guitar
  • Bass
  • Ukulele
  • Songwriting
  • Composition

Subjects I teach include:

●  Acoustic Guitar
Fingerstyle | Travis Picking | Hybrid Picking | Altered Tunings | Approaching Standard as an Open Tuning

●  Electric Guitar
Chord Tone Soloing and Target Notes | Modes and Arpeggio Substitution | Jazz Grips and Chord Melody

●  Slide Guitar
Technique and Visualization | Left- and Right-Hand Muting | Combining Slide and Fingerstyle | Fretting Behind the Slide | Slide in Standard Tuning | Mastering Open Tunings

●  Bass Guitar
Walking Lines | Scales and Arpeggios

●  Fretboard Navigation
CAGED and Triad Shapes | 2-Notes-Per-String Scales | 3-Notes-Per-String Scales and Sequences | 1-2-1 Arpeggios and Directional Picking

●  Music Theory
Keys, Chords, Scales, and Arpeggios | Arranging and Transposition | Practical Theory for Guitarists

●  Composition
Song Structure | Keys, Key Changes and Borrowed Chords | Songwriting Systems | Lyrics | Beating Writer’s Block

  • Music Compound
  • Music Compound
  • Music Compound

Hi, everyone! I’m Iain. I was born in the north of England, lived in London most of my life, and have been in the U.S. since 2010.

I’ve been playing guitar and bass for 40 years, both with bands and accompanying vocalists/solo artists, mainly in the genres of singer/songwriter, folk, country, blues, and classic rock. I’ve been working with private students since 1995.

I’ve worked in some varied fields — psychoanalysis, transport logistics, orchestral publishing, opera, and boating — but music has always been my passion and I’m very happy to have found an environment that lets me talk about music all day, which is what I would be doing anyway :-)My main aim as a teacher is to make sure my students “get good” a lot quicker than I did! It took me ages to see how all the different parts of music fit together and how scales and chords and keys interconnect, and I just wish I could go back in time and show the teenage me all the things I know now. :slightly_smiling_face: Seeing people suddenly “get it” and get inspired by how much they are improving is the most inspiring thing for me.