Music Teachers Topher Gayle  Instrument(s): Guitar, Mandolin City: San Jose County: Santa Clara Phone: E-Mail: music@tophergayle.com Web Site: I've been playing music for 30+ years in many contexts, including bluegrass, blues, folk, and rock. I am currently in San Jose's Briarwood acoustic group ("bluegrass and more" http://www.briarwoodmusic.com), Palo Alto based Coyote Blue (swingin' twang - see http://www.coyotebluemusic.com), The OpporTunists (contra dance), and several more projects. I studied music at Boston University, concentrating in music composition. I've taught at Rocky Mountain Fiddle camp (http://www.rmfiddle.com) in 2006 and again in 2007. I play and teach mandolin, mandola, fingerstyle and flatpicked steel-string guitar. I also teach musicianship, improvisation, arranging harmony, learning by ear, and workshops in using home computers for recording and music editing. My students are encourated first off to have fun! Lessons emphasize the practical use of theory to help students understand what they're hearing. This allows them to have more fun in social music situations such as jams and campfire circles, where being able to learn and play by ear is just plain fun. I teach primarily from my home in San Jose.

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