Farrington School of Music — Local services in Maplewood

I have been receiving lessons from Ian for a month now, and I am loving them! He is kind and considerate during lessons, making sure to tailor the lesson to what I wish to focus on more that week.

My goal for enrolling in guitar lessons was to play songs for my family and friends as a pastime. I told Ian this during our first lesson when he asked me about my goal for lessons, and since then, he has created a plan to get me to that level. Because pop songs were my focus, we focus mainly on chord charts (major/minor triads). However, curiosity has also led me to do lessons on music theory (fretboard notes, scales, chords outside of main triads), and Ian answered my questions thoroughly.

One of my favorite moments when working with Ian was when he reassured me to enjoy the music. As someone who wishes to perfect each song quickly, I often don't take time to smell the proverbial roses. I was getting frustrated with very small mistakes, and Ian noticed this. What he said then has stuck with me. He told me that each time a song is played, it is different. This depends on my mood, the audience, or even the type of guitar. To truly have a song in my repertoire means playing that song countless times. And more. It's cliche, but music is a process to be enjoyed. It is not perfect. And with any skill level, music should be fun, not a burden. THAT stuck with me.

On a practical note, Ian is also the only teacher I know of that writes custom song charts for his students using an application known as Guitar Pro. He is proficient, writing in vocal tracks, drum kits, and bass lines, and he even taught me how to use the program on my own. This program is not subscription-based and has a one-time fee; however, for any aspiring songwriters or guitar players, it will ease the burden of finding sheet music and writing your own songs. I am thankful to Ian who...

Ian Farrington is an absolutely amazing guitar teacher. To start, Ian is a fantastic & knowledgeable musician and guitarist. He is very good at communicating his lessons and teaching. He really knows how to simplify a concept or technique and then build from there into more complex techniques and faster playing. Saying that, in the few months Ian and I have worked together, my guitar skills have drastically improved. Next is Ian's Professionalism, which in my opinion is unmatched in the industry. He is on time, extremely well prepared, kind and understanding. He emails me a lesson plan the night before so I can properly prepare for our sessions and really make the most of our time together. He also assisted in creating a binder in order to organize my music and techniques. Overall Ian's Professionalism and organization really allows me to get the most value from our lesson time as well as my individual practice time. Ian has been an absolute pleasure all around in terms of his attitude, knowledge/teaching skills, organization, commitment and overall professionalism. I can't say enough about him....

We have already had 3 guitar lessons with Ian and each class our son was very inspired and exciting. Ian approaches each lesson very professionally to involve our kid and encourage him to fall in love with music and guitar. Despite we have classes at our home, Ian brings all necessary equipment with him. He is very organized and sends us the necessary materials before each lesson. He is also using different musical programs and gave us the tutorial how to work in these programs between classes (and it was absolutely free of charge!). Ian is very open and responsive to all our questions. His lessons are very creative and allow our son to make a great progress and develop even after 3 classes, Ian is very patient and explains everything in very clear way. Our son is waiting for the next class and enjoys every class. We are very happy with Ian and hope that our son will start playing...