Ariel Rosenberg, Buffalo Grove
Started Guitar Lessons: Age 14
Guitar Lessons: 2017 - Present
Shows Played: 9
Songs Played Live: 54
Songs Recorded: 37
“Taking guitar lessons through Mike Walsh over the past six years has made me unrecognizable from the guitar player I used to be. Even before I started lessons with him, Walsh was not only quick to point out the improvements that I needed to make to improve my playing from fretting to pick grip, but he also drilled the proper techniques into me to the point if I tried to play the way I did back now, it frustrates me to even try to pick much less actually play.
In addition, Mike Walsh works tirelessly to create new, innovative ways to bring the reality of being a recording and performing musician that other guitar schools might overlook. Starting out, I had very little knowledge of what a guitar player actually looked like on stage; apart frompros that have been playing for years. But, once he started working with me on that, it definitely made me realize "okay, I can actually do this in front of people and look COOL. "
Mike Walsh's performance training classes have also made me a better social musician. Having taken many 1 on 1 lessons privately in the past was nice for individual growth, however Walsh's classes have introduced an often overlooked aspect of musicianship to me: collaboration. By having multiple people in a show performance training class, there's a sense of both building off others' creativity for solos or even performance ideas, but there's also a sense of challenge since sometimes you want to play as good or better than the person next to you; in a way pushing you to your limits and helping you grow arguably more as both a musician and player than a 1- 1 hour with a teacher might.
Mike Walsh's school system and tireless creativity to make the school engaging and unique have undoubtedly made me a player that I would not have seen myself as before I started with him.”