Everything Guitar is committed to delivering the best education available

on acoustic and electric guitar.

Teaching Methods

My lessons use a variety of methods and materials developed over 25 years of teaching guitar. Instruction is tailored to each student's interests and goals. I am patient and comfortable with beginners as well as advanced guitarists. I teach 40 to 50 students a week. My students range from 8 to 65 years of age. I enjoy teaching ALL styles of guitar. You name it.

I take the student who has never touched the guitar and introduce them to fundamentals of guitar playing as well as basic music theory. One goal is to have the student make music as soon as possible. Technical exercises, sight reading, and music theory are easier to comprehend using simple songs as a reference. The concepts become less abstract and the material more relevant.

No two students are alike. Each brings a unique learning style and set of skills. A lesson plan is designed with this in mind.

Learn to:

• Read and understand music notation and TAB

• Play by ear

• Play with musicians and bands

• Play your favorite songs and styles

Everything Guitar also offers subjects taught at Berklee College of Music and the University of Southern California. College preparation is available.

Rich Arnold

Guitarist - Teacher

I find teaching people to play the guitar a very rewarding experience. For 25 years, I have had the pleasure.

I was born and raised in Central New York. I discovered the sounds of Rock and Roll music in my early teens. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Aerosmith were just a few of the bands that caught my attention. I learned to play on a beat-up acoustic guitar. It was fun to make an attempt at what came out of the record player.

My high school music teacher encouraged me to learn to read traditional music notation. My father located a teacher in a nearby town who studied at Berklee College of Music. After graduation from high school, I headed to Boston to attend Berklee. I earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music in 1983.

I have been a Lecturer, Department Assistant, and Teaching Assistant at USC. These positions have given me the opportunity to teach guitar in a variety of settings to diverse groups of students.  I have successfully taught guitar in private lessons and classrooms numbering up to twenty-two students.Students in my guitar classes come from a myriad of backgrounds and interests – many facing unique challenges. Language difficulties, physical challenges, and emotional development are only a few issues that require special approaches to teaching the guitar. One of my most rewarding teaching experiences involved Guitar Masters, an outreach program in conjunction with the Challengers Boys and Girls Club. We taught at-risk pre teens and teenagers.

I have a Master's degree in performance from  The University of Southern California, Studio/Jazz Guitar Department.