Matthew Smith

Hi everyone!

My name's Matthew, I'm an American music teacher living in Greece.  I've been teaching music online for over 4 years.  My classes are aimed at beginners to upper intermediate students who are interested in a modern and fun approach to learning to play music, with an emphasis on learning to play by ear. 

The instruments I teach are guitar and piano, though I invite students of any instrument to study with me if they'd like help with music theory, comprehension and ear training.  Send me a message or book a free trial lesson with me!

I teach students using a modern approach, with the primary goal being to eventually learn how to play music by ear.  Along the way, I provide a well-rounded musical education individualized to the needs of each student. 

This approach is designed to teach music in a similar way to how we learn to speak our native language, through exposure and imitation. Using this approach, learning to read music is not required, though a basic understanding of notation is recommended for some students to aid in musical comprehension and developing repertoire.

After getting familiar with new students and their current level, as well as covering some basics of how music works, we will jump right in by finding some songs to learn in an appropriate style.  These may be favorite songs of the student's choice or of my recommendation, depending on the needs of the student.

Along the way, I will introduce proper technique, exercises, listening skills, and musical vocabulary in a natural progression, grounded in your favorite music.  For students interested in composing their own music, I provide composition assignments designed to explore creativity, borrowing ideas from songs or exercises they currently know how to play, reverse engineering the composition process until the student feels comfortable to try their hand at their own original ideas.

Other topics I cover include how to properly read sheet music, harmonic and structural analysis, reharmonization, composing and arranging for multiple instruments, computer-based music production, ABRSM (or other) exam tutoring, among more.