Chris Ousley
Takoma Park, MD
" hello, I'm an American Roots Music Teacher"
Services: Banjo, Guitar, Ukulele
- $6330 min
- 0Classes Taught
- 2Recommendations
I play American roots music and whether you play guitar, banjo or ukulele, I can teach you the chords, voicings, rhythms and phrasings that define the styles of bluegrass, old time Appalachian, country, traditional jazz (swing, ragtime, dixieland) and folk. A relaxed teaching style coupled with a lot of support and information will help you reach your musical goals.
Listen to my music at sligocreekstompers.com and bumperjacksons.com to get a better idea of what you can learn to do.
Student Recommendations
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Sandy R. August 23, 2011
"I picked up a guitar and started writing songs with basic chords a few years ago, and since then have started to noodle around a bit with the ukelele and banjo--albeit with elementary knowledge of music theory. Luckily with Chris, I didn't have to choose one instrument -- he taught me how to play all three at the same time. Whereas other teachers stick to the book and force you to go through scale after scale before doing anything interesting, Chris asked what I wanted to learn and taught me on the spot. Because I've started to play out occasionally, he tells me how to think about my songs so that I can work with other musicians -- explaining chord structures, speculating about what the bass part would be, etc. He's got both the technical knowledge and the intuitive musical sense to make it all fit together well. Not to mention that he's fun and easy to be around."
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Taryn M. August 23, 2011
"In my opinion, Chris is an ideal instructor. He's super talented and he knows what he's talking about, but he's not pretentious so he's also great for beginners like me who have never played an instrument before. He made everything accessible for me without making me feel like an idiot (which must have been tough because I was/still am fairly clueless). The environment is casual and friendly, but you dive right into things so you can get the most out of your lesson. All around, my lessons with Chris are always a great experience with a talented instructor. "