Brian Zellmer

Hello, I'm Brian! I am an early childhood development teacher, performing for young kids age 2 months - 4 years old! I've been playing guitar for 17 years, picking up my brother's guitar and teaching myself in middle school! The instrument led me to all sorts of opportunities such as a degree from Belmont University, recording music videos, playing music festivals, and getting to work with babies and toddlers. 

In 2018, I received a bachelors in Music and Entertainment Business from Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee, where I ended up meeting my band mates to form the band (Pepper Said) I am still in today! As band music director, I have trained over 10 for hire musicians, making them music charts, and instructing them individually across drums, bass, and guitar.

Since then I have toured the Midwest performing a sold out show at Schuba's Tavern, played multiple main stages at Mile of Music Festival (2022, 2023), Oz Art's Festival of Ghoul's (2019), Nashville's Musician's Corner (2022). Additionally, the band has recorded at Gnome Studio's, Dark Horse Studios, and even a studio in Brooklyn, NY! We have filmed music videos, had radio interviews, and over 100,000 listens on Spotify.  

I later created a solo artist project (Kirkwood), writing and producing my own music using Logic Pro X. Last year, I was asked to fly to Nashville to arrange and record a cover of How To Save a Life for a popular YouTube channel, The Acoustic Room, which currently has reached over 400,000 views in less than a year. 

My goal with teaching guitar is first and foremost ensuring that the student is having fun with their instrument! Learning how to have fun is the most important part of playing guitar and builds interest in further deepening that skill! 

If you want to know more about me or whether the student would be good a fit, send me a message and I'd be more than happy to answer any of your questions! 

My teaching style revolves around getting beginner - intermediate students to have fun with their instrument. From lesson 1 the student will be playing their guitar, and learning the songs they want to play! Once we get into the playing stage, we will then move deeper into becoming creative, and learning the notes and scales for your instrument. 

I also teach songwriting classes to help those looking to boost their creative skills, and find an authentic sound that fits them the best!

And for those struggling with live performance anxiety, or how create a stage presence, I can help make significant improvements to your performance!