About

What you'll learn

My guitar lessons are tailored to all skill levels — from complete beginners picking up a guitar for the first time to experienced players looking to refine their technique and deepen their musical understanding. Lessons are designed to be supportive, engaging, and enjoyable, while helping students make consistent, long-term progress.

For beginners, we start with the fundamentals: essential techniques, core skills, simple riffs, and practical exercises that quickly get you playing real music. From the very beginning, lessons focus on developing rhythm, timing, coordination, confidence, and musical awareness by playing along to songs and backing tracks wherever possible.

For more experienced players, lessons begin with a quick assessment of your current ability, musical interests, and goals. From there, we build a personalised roadmap focused on the areas that will help you progress most effectively — whether that’s technique, improvisation, songwriting, theory, rhythm playing, lead guitar, or expanding your musical vocabulary.

A core part of my teaching philosophy is that learning guitar should feel exciting and inspiring. That’s why lessons are built around the music you genuinely enjoy listening to and playing. By learning songs you love, you’ll naturally develop essential guitar skills while also gaining a deeper understanding of music theory and how it applies in real-world music.

As you progress, we’ll gradually introduce more advanced exercises, technical drills, and practice methods alongside the songs you’re learning to help strengthen technique, improve accuracy, and accelerate your development.

After every lesson, you’ll receive personalised lesson notes outlining:

  • What we covered during the session,
  • What to practise before the next lesson, and what we’ll be working on moving forward.

This helps keep practice focused, structured, and motivating between lessons, so you always know exactly what to work on and how you’re progressing.

Lesson add-ons

During our lessons, you can choose to tailor your experience to your music goals!

🎓 Grade Preparation

Work towards recognised guitar grades with structured preparation, song guidance, technical exercises and mock exams.

🎵 Songwriting & Composition

Develop your own musical ideas and learn how to create songs, riffs, chord progressions and melodies.

🎤 Performance Preparation

Prepare for performances, auditions, concerts or other musical opportunities with guidance on confidence, stage presence and performance technique.

🎧 Recording & Production

Learn how to record/ make music or a song with any instrument using DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations, such as Logic Pro X, Reaper, Cubase, as well as related hardware/ software that will be used) (VISIT MUSIC PRODUCTION BOOKING PAGE).

🎸 Technique Development

Focus on specific areas of your playing, such as picking, rhythm, fingerstyle, soloing, improvisation, bends, vibrato and speed.

📚 Personalised Guidance & Lesson Notes

Receive individualised guidance and feedback throughout every lesson, suited to your goals, ability and learning style. After each lesson, you’ll also receive lesson notes outlining what we covered, key areas to focus on and what you can work on before your next lesson, helping you stay motivated and make consistent progress.

My journey as a guitarist

"I picked up my first guitar at the age of 6, and from that moment, music became my passion. What started as a hobby quickly turned into a lifelong journey of learning, performing, and sharing the joy of music with others.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of performing at various venues, collaborating with talented musicians, and teaching students who share the same love for the guitar. Since beginning to teach, I have had immense joy in guiding others along their musical journeys and am looking forward to pursuing this further."

- Calum MacDonald

my skills and experience

01

2000+ teaching hours

With over 2,000 hours of teaching experience, I have worked with a wide range of students across different ages, abilities and musical backgrounds. From complete beginners learning their first chords to more experienced players looking to develop their technique, confidence and musical understanding.

02

professionally educated


I pursued a degree in Music, developing a strong academic foundation in music theory, performance and musicianship. This experience has helped shape my approach to teaching, allowing me to combine musical knowledge with real experience to create engaging and effective lessons.


03

Inclusive Teaching Experience

I am DBS checked and have experience in teaching students with learning disabilities and additional learning needs, adapting lessons and teaching approaches to suit individual learning styles, abilities and goals. Lessons are delivered with patience, encouragement and flexibility, creating a supportive and fun environment.

My teaching aims

Developing skill, confidence, and passion through each lesson.