Testimonials

Joe Walker is the most thorough, responsible, and knowledgeable guitar teacher I’ve ever had. He covers all topics and genuinely cares about his students. He holds a masters degree in music, but also has a priceless amount of real-life, gigging experience, which makes him the most well-rounded guitar guy around. I’m thrilled to finally have found a guitar teacher who understands my needs.

Pauline F.
3/12/12

My son (age 7) and I (age 45) have been taking lessons with Joe and have both had a fantastic experience. He has had a deep education in in Jazz guitar, and a lot of experience performing blues-based rock. He is able to break down a riff into its components and use songs to expand our understanding of chords and scales, while keeping it fun. He is patient and careful in how he challenges my son but also keeps him engaged. The Deft Digits web site is a great resource.

Nat B.
3/2/12

I really enjoyed the lesson you gave me on the bass guitar. Even learning a little bit of Purple Haze was very cool. I cannot wait to learn to play more.

I thought your lesson was easy for me to follow, and made me believe you can learn to play no matter what age you are.

Justin H.
2/3/12

I wasn’t sure how I would take to an actual lesson. In fact I’m probably a music teacher’s nightmare. I’m self-taught from an old Mel Bay Intro to Guitar book and have no academic musical background at all. Phrases like pentatonic scales, harmonic minor, diminished resolutions have no impact on me whatsoever. I cannot read music, I’ve only played “by ear” and along the way managed to get from strumming to an arpeggio or two and a reasonable facsimile of Travis picking. I should mention I’m 50ish with a very liberal “ish.” You know how set in our ways we are. So, it was with some trepidation that I contacted Joe and said I needed help getting back to my guitar after a 20 year lull. All I can say is “wow”! It was an hour well spent. Not being able to read music didn’t slow him down in the slightest. He worked with what I could do, changed my positions is some cases and gave me a good overall strategy for getting back into the game. He started me on Barre chords so I am now on my way to knowing all the notes on the guitar, in (not quite) nine days. Once these indentations turn into callouses…

Joe has a very easy going teaching style and can obviously relate to all manner of students. It seems that whatever style you play he can buff up the glow or get you to where you want to go. Do not let your lack of music theory hold you back. He could really help you!

Michael M.
1/30/12

Joe is a great teacher – friendly and knowledgeable. Taking lessons with him taught me a lot about so many subjects – guitar specific things like fretboard knowledge, and more general subjects like theory, arpeggios, or learning tunes. Also Joe gave me good practical advice for playing in jam sessions.

As a teacher he listens, is organized, and gives good feedback. In my case I had plenty of homework outside of the lessons to help me reach my goals.

Dan S. (via Yelp)
1/21/12

Joe is very professional and encouraging. He’s a guitar teacher who displays patience and calmness while still making it fun for our son. Joe took the time to find out what kind of music our 11 year-old is interested in learning and then tailored the teaching to his interests.

Stacy G.
12/10/11

Joe is a terrific guitar teacher. He’s patient and encouraging. He intuits my confidence and nervousness well and then adapts his teaching approach readily. He has a very fluid teaching style and he makes learning fun. I give two thumbs way up.

Sam Z. (via Yelp)
10/26/11