This is the new web home of The Behrens Guitar Studio which I started in 2003 in Austin, TX. My old web page was destroyed when Yahoo took down their small business platform. Since I'm involved in many avenues of music and production it just makes sense to consolidate my service offerings into one page.
Lessons at The Behrens Guitar Studio
The Behrens Guitar Studio was founded in 2003 in Austin, TX by guitarist Sean Behrens with the initial mission of teaching classical guitar to young children through the Suzuki Method or Mother Tongue Approach. Offerings are now expanded to include electric guitar lessons and electric bass lessons. All ages and abilities are welcome. I am now accepting students for the Spring of 2025.
GETTING STARTED
So you're interested in studying music on the guitar or the electric bass ...WONDERFUL!!!
Here are the first steps:
1. Call the studio or send me a text to the following phone #: 512-445-9564. Do not send me an email asking me how much I charge. I won't answer it. I want to talk to all potential students. If you don't have time for that then you probably don't have time to practice either.
2. If you are signing up a child the next step is to arrange to come observe the lesson of an existing student.
3. If you don't already have an instrument, don't buy one until we meet first. I can save you a lot of money, time and frustration.
WHAT I OFFER
WHAT ARE MY QUALIFICATIONS?
I have been playing and teaching guitar now for over 35 years. I have an extensive musical background that even includes woodwinds going back to Jr. High and High School. I hold a Masters Degree in Classical Guitar Performance from The University of Denver and I have completed 4 Units of Suzuki Training as well as Practicum. I have also run guitar summer camps. I have a wealth of experience playing electric guitar and electric bass in bands and also in live sound production.
I offer comprehensive lessons in classical guitar, electric guitar and electric bass. I teach all ages and all levels.
One of a my specialties is in teaching young children using the Suzuki Approach. You can read more about that here.
I enjoy giving my students performance opportunities. In recent years, I have started bringing students to some of the open jams around town, going so far as to make sure there will be the necessary instrumentalists to back the performance.
Students who learn under me can expect that I will meet them where they are and take you as far as you are willing to go. I will teach you proper technique, posture, music that fosters musical and technical development as well as reading and theory. Most important, is I teach you HOW TO LEARN.
THE SUZUKI METHOD OR "MOTHER TONGUE' APPROACH TO MUSIC LEARNING
The Suzuki Method or "Mother Tongue" Approach to music learning as Shin'ichi Suzuki called it was developed in post war Japan by Shin'ichi Suzuki. He was trying to find a way to start a 4 year old child on the violin. His realization that all children are fluent in their mother tongue and dialect by age 4 is the vehicle for his approach. In a nutshell, the thing that you want the child to learn must first exist as a value system within the home environment. Children listen to the music they will play long before they play it to develop a sensitivity to the sounds of their chosen instrument and what good music sounds like. The parent plays a very important role as the home coach. Prior to the child starting, The parent comes to take lessons with the teacher so as to at the very least be able to proficiently play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This gives the parent some working knowledge to help with their child's practice at home and insure that the lessons are practiced correctly. The parent need not be a virtuoso. Think of it this way, if you have working knowledge of what your child is learning in school, then you are in a better position to help your child succeed when they are having difficulty. The ages appropriate to this approach are 5-10. For more information call the studio to discuss details.