Susan Palmer's Guitar Studio: Lead Cat Press

My college professors gave me several things to work on, and I needed to find a teacher who could help me improve on those points within an extremely short, three month time span.

But instead of my usual feeling embarrassed by what I didn’t know, Susan is always incredibly kind, patient and encouraging, which really helped me maintain a playful mindset through my learning.

Having her personalized instruction, even in a group class setting, really makes a difference over practicing on my own with instructional videos or books.

Her knowledge of the guitar and of music theory is impressive, but even more impressive is her ability to convey this knowledge to the student.

In this, I have learned so much -- not only about music notation and the instrument itself, but also *how to practice* and *one's approach to musicianship* which are equally as important when it comes to getting better at guitar.

Susan's structured approach feels very grounded and comfortable, and the way she holds me kindly and firmly accountable to practice has pushed me to grow and be more confident in my playing.

Her well-rounded blend of theory and practice has transformed my relationship to the fretboard and filled the gaps in my education.

I didn't quite know what to expect when I started taking lessons from Susan a year ago, but I can honestly say that learning the guitar with her has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my adult life.

When I wanted to learn a tune for the holidays, we used that as the context to learn inversions, voice leading, and improvisation.

I enrolled in her beginner small group guitar lessons and she was able to keep all three of us at a pace that was comfortable for us, even when we weren't all on the same level.