Teaching

• How do your lessons work? 
  Tuition is always tailored to suit every individual’s specific needs. Whether you’re a complete beginner, you’d like to play favourite band’s songs, you’re a singer wanting to accompany yourself, you’d like to start learning music theory or aural awareness, you’d like to be good enough to join a band, you’re a more advanced player; wanting to brush up on some new skills or techniques, you’re a fledgling songwriter wanting a few tips or you’d like to study graded exams, I might be able help! 
  Whatever your goals may be, I always try to make lessons fun.
   

• All lessons are from my from my accomodation in Groningen (€25 per hour) or online over Skype/Facetime (€15 per hour).
   

• How much practice should I do? 
  This depends on how fast you want to progress. The more you practice, the quicker you will progress and the better you will become. 
  I recommend practicing your instrument every day for as little 10 minutes if that’s all you can afford. It is much better to do lots of short sessions than to practice for two and a half hours for one day a week! 
  To be able to learn and improve, it’s important to work at whatever is covered in a lesson over and over. You need sufficient practice time to take in the information from one lesson before going on to the next. 
  You need to do your homework!!
   

• How often should I have lessons?
  This also depends on how fast you want to progress. I recommend lessons on a weekly basis. However, weekly lessons can be quite an expense over time and people who work full time or have families can find it hard to practice enough between weekly lessons. For this reason I offer weekly or fortnightly lessons and you should bear in mind these factors before deciding what is right for you. Established players can still benefit from weekly lessons but may also want to consider fortnightly or even occasional lessons. 
  If you let me know your availability, we can talk you through the options and my available slots.
  
  
  E x p e r i e n c e

• With his band WinterKids Tom recorded, toured and released music throughout the world. With record releases in Japan (Columbia Records), USA (Starbucks Records), Germany (Tapete Records), UK, Austria, and Switzerland
   

• Live television and radio on Channel 4, BBC radio, German TV and satellite channels & other smaller stations
   

• Touring experience in UK and overseas. From large open-air festivals to small clubs in UK (Koko, Truck Festival, Glastonbury), USA (SXSW, Mercury Lounge NY), Japan, Germany, Sweden, Austria & Switzerland
   

• Achieved Top 30 track on US radio & UK single releases - reaching no.7 in the UK Independent chart
   

• Experience of recording sessions, productions and mixing. Worked in a wide variety of studios including Sawmills, Air & Parr Street
   

• Worked with award-winning producers including: Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Paolo Nutini, Gomez), John Cornfield (Muse, Oasis, Razorlight), Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro) and Mike Cave (John Martyn, Elvis Costello)
   

• HND in Music Practice with Merit grade at ACM. Diploma in Music Practice with Merit grade. Studied under top industry professionals such as Pete Friesand (Alice Cooper), Paul Geary (George Michael, Jools Holland) & Stefan Redtenbacher (Steve Winwood)