Hi, I'm Burt.  I may have been 11 when I started playing around with the guitar.  My first guitar was found under the Christmas Tree, an acoustic from Montgomery Wards.  It was one of those guitars that had the strings a half inch from the fret board.  It hurt to try to play it, but I hardly put it down, even with blisters on my thumb and fingers.  I remember putting a bracelet on the guitar bridge, I liked that fuzzy sound the guitar made as the top vibrated. I guess I was a rock and roller way back in the late 60's. In 1969 I moved, and the guitar was left behind.
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In 1971 at age 14 I received my first electric guitar and amplifier. My Mom bought a guitar and an amp for me for $20 from her cousin Joyce. Her son never touched it. I was so excited!  Luckily for me that guitar had a height adjustable bridge.  It was a 1960's one pick up Teisco E 110. Pictured at the right. The amp was a Discount one watt tube with one control which turned on the amp and controlled the volume. I really miss that amp.  The guitar was cool, but still hard on my fingers when I tried to play it.  Then my guitar playing friend Severn Johnson told me about the virtues of super light gauge strings. He suggested an Ernie Ball Extra Slinky .008 set.  So I put an .008 set on my guitar. 

And then, everything changed. I mean everything changed. A new door opened for me.  (I knew nothing about different string gauges and types at the time). 

What changed?  The G (3rd) string was not wound, it was plain, like the B and E strings (1st and 2nd strings).  Most of all the guitar was much easier to play and to bend strings, but it had an effect on my tone, it became "thin". I did not have a nice enough amp to compensate for the volume and tone drop.  The .008 string sets go from .008 to .038.  The lighter the gauge, the thinner the strings, the easier to play and on the fingers.  I recommend this set or an .009 set for electric guitarists just starting out. I usually have guitar string sets and individual strings available at the studio.  If you need strings call or text Burt at 410-739-1511.

The original strings were heavy gauge, similar to what AC/DC rhythm guitar player Malcolm Young used, which are 12 - 56 gauge electric Gibson nickel round wound strings. They have a tremendous bottom end and thick top end, which was the tone/ sound I was used to. At the right playing on The Jetty stage with Jack Selway for our friend Kim Sohn on her birthday. That is what she wished for.

FYI - 12 -56 gauge acoustic guitar strings are used on many acoustic guitars, and are considered "Light" gauge. That string gauge for electric guitars are also used on electric guitars for drop D tuning, and for E standard tuning, and the low, haunting C# tuning heavy metal players sometimes use. There is a YouTube audio file of me playing a classical song on a Yamaha acoustic guitar with 12 - 56 strings near the bottom of this web page.  Please give a listen. 

I used the .008's for several years (known as eights or "oh oh eights" in guitar talk), and got used to their tone, as I had a Peavey and a Kustom amp by then. Then my friend Chris Franklin insisted I put "hard tension" strings on my classical guitar for better tone, and that I go up one level to have a better tone on my electric guitars, so I went on to .009's (nines) and .010's (tens).  Sometimes even .011's (care to guess what they are called?), depending on the scale length of the guitar.  (My Gibson Les Paul Custom, and Les Paul Jr. got nines, and I put tens on my Fender Mustang).  Scale length of the guitar?  What's that?  No it is not a musical scale.  Keep reading. 

Guitar scale length is the distance in inches from the guitar nut to the bridge saddle (s).  Fender Strats and Teles are 25.5",  Gibson Les Pauls are 24.75".  A Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 has a scale length of 25".   A Gibson Byrdland (Ted Nugent) and a Fender Mustang (Nirvana's Kurt Cobain) both have a short 24" scale.  Guitar scale length also has an effect on string tension and the selection of strings.  The longer the scale length = greater string tension for the same set/ gauge strings.  The lighter (smaller) the gauge strings =  less tension, and easier on fingers to bend, but there is a trade off in tone.  Meaning to put elevens on a 25.5 scale Strat or other guitar will take considerable hand and finger strength to be able to bend the strings.  I do not recommend it unless the player has considerable playing experience.  If you are struggling with your guitar on a longer scale length such as a Strat style, start with an .008 set. Try a .009 set on a shorter scale Les Paul style or Fender Mustang student scale guitar.  Now you may be able to understand why I was able to put heavier gauge strings (.010's) on my Mustang.  We can talk about all this later on during our lessons in person or by ZOOM.

Since we are talking scales, how about a music scale this time? Do you want to learn a new scale or a new position to play it in?

For a Minor Pentatonic Guitar Scale Click Here.  This is the scale most often used in Rock and Blues Guitar Leads.  Click Here to hear me play lead guitar using this scale.

By the way, if you know A minor pentatonic, you already know C Major pentatonic too! Same as if you know the 7 note C major Scale you know the 7 note A Natural Minor Scale. How is that possible? I will explain this concept during your lessons. The Relative Minor part of music theory. It is VERY easy don't worry. Theory is not needed to understand relative minor the way I will show you. But you will learn some music theory and how it is applied from the keyboard to the guitar. It's easy the way I teach it.

After you get the "feel" of the A Minor Pentatonic try out an "A" Natural Minor Scale. Also known as the Aeolian Mode, A is the sixth note in the C Major Scale and is minor. This scale is one of my favorites! Play this one over an Am based chord progression such as Am F G Am. Or a 2 5 1 in C Major for wedding style music. The Dm7,G7,CMaj7 chord progression is known in jazz circles as a 2-5-1 in C Major. Tip: You can use the exact same A Natural Minor Scale scale for both chord progressions. And much more.

For a new scale and feel we change one note of the A Natural Minor Scale mentioned above with a Major 7th. The 7th note of the minor scale is raised a half step (one fret) from G to G#.   In guitar talk a full step is 2 frets, a half step is just one fret. We are talking theory now though, Intervals, which we will eventually cover in lessons.

This new scale is an "A" Harmonic Minor scale. Try it over an E Major chord for a Rock, Middle East, Classical  feel and sound. This scale is used by heavy metal shredders quite a bit! If you are ready to learn how to shred, I have someone that can teach you. She is a killer player. Just ask me for her contact info.

Me, I am NOT a shredder .I am an Old School Rock and Southern Rock (and some blues in there) guitar player. I strive to put feeling and emotion into my playing. I don't feel that when shredders play.

More about my journey learning how to play the guitar.

I started out as a self taught guitar player that learned by ear. There was no internet in the 70's and I lived in a rural town, but I did have the Gene Leis Instruction Chord Book for Guitar. That book really opened my eyes. Gene explained things in a way that was easy for me to understand, and the illustrations were a big help.

Plus there were a small selection other guitar instruction books available. I read everything I could get my hands on. I can't remember how I got Gene's book. I lent it to a buddy in 1981, he never returned it. So I ordered one from the internet.

I am amazed how much his 50 plus year old book is still very relative today. It is available at the studio if a student wants to borrow it.

The '70's. A great decade for rock music. During that time if you wanted to learn how to play a song, you would put an album on the turntable and listen very carefully. That was how I learned to play songs by ear. I did a lot of lifting the arm on and off albums and repeating parts of songs until I was finally able to figure them out. I almost wore out two Uriah Heep albums and the first Black Sabbath album learning the songs. Uriah Heep Demons and Wizards is on the left, Black Sabbath's first album is pictured on the right.For those that think the band Black Sabbath are devil worshippers, read these lyrics that will dispel that myth . once and for all. Please read those lyrics, and if inclined listen to what a great song it is. It can be found on YouTube. I did take a guitar class in 8th grade. The class size was around 70. There were nowhere near enough guitars to go around. I learned the melody of House of the Rising Sun and a few beginner chords. That's about it. I learned more from the other guitarists there. They showed me songs and guitar licks I did not know, and I showed them the little bit that I knew.

At the left, jamming with Unplugged and Overserved at the Eastern Bay Trading Company pole barn. 

I am a guitar player, but also a guitar teacher.  I have been told I am a great guitar teacher by students, school teachers, parents and professional musicians. I love teaching and helping to unlock the never ending secrets of the guitar. Try me.  Why?  50 plus years of experience, and because sometimes all it takes is a comment, a new lick, scale, chord, a song or solo you always wanted to learn or one you may have not heard.  Maybe what you just read about the A Natural Minor and A Harmonic Minor or other scale. It is those types of things that have helped to unlock the secrets of the guitar, and have made such a difference in my guitar knowledge and guitar playing. They will make a huge difference in your knowledge and playing too. 
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Well, at age 16 I found myself playing in a local band. In the basement.

That band never played out, but I did learn a lot about playing in a band. We played almost all Uriah Heep songs. I played in a few bands through the years honing my craft, playing all styles of music.  Rock, Southern Rock, Country.  My duties included both rhythm and lead guitar. Click Here for a partial song list, which you will find varies. UPDATE: There are way to many songs to list so I stopped adding to the list. Much on the list is what I consider old school rock and southern rock, most of which was current when I was out playing live gigs (quite a long time ago). 
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2024 - My most recent gigs have been playing with the Chris Sacks Band, and with Chris Sacks when he plays solo. I first played with the Chris Sacks Band in 2019, pictured at the left having a blast in the rain under the tarps. At the end of the night Chris gave me an open invitation to "sit in" and play whenever I wanted. And, a bartender said to me "I knew you taught guitar but I had no idea you could play like that". I have played with the Band several times and at the last four annual Elk -A - Ritaville parties at the Kent Island Elks. I have also played with Chris at the Elks when he is solo several times. I played with Chris in November 2024 at the Island Pub in Stevensville as well.

Other public "band gigs" were the Summers 2017 & 2018 when I was invited both years to sit in with Rebound at Dirty Dave's Tiki Bar at Kentmorr, Kent Island. They were booked 3 times each year. They allowed me to sit in for all their sets and to close out the evening playing Comfortably Numb (pictured at the right).

For those gigs I always relied on my Core 2002 PRS CE24, my Number 1, a guitar that I had customized to my specs. I have received a lot of questions about that guitar. You can learn more about my Number 1 and the story behind my PRS CE24 guitar here for those that may be interested Pictured below at the left, playing my Number 1 PRS at Kentmorr with Rebound.

The guitar player in Rebound ,Deano Tonarelli and I played in In Trance in the 70's and 80's.

In Trance was the only band at that time playing War Pigs, Jail Break, Heavy Metal, There's Only One Way to Rock, I Got the Fire, Cities on Flame, Denim and Leather, Princess of the Night, Heading to the Highway, Be My Lover, that kind of heavy stuff.

The bar owners and servers loved us. Hardly anyone danced. The patrons sat there and drank while enjoying the live music and our front man Ray Philips shenanigans. The liquor sales were always great whenever we played, as were the servers tips. The tips for the band were always pretty good too.

Back then It was called Heavy Metal, now it is called Classic Rock.

In 2006, a group of my friends and I were the last band to play at The Shanty on October 1st, for free. It was a fundraiser, and I donated two new electric guitars for auction that sold for $600 and $400. At the left is vocalist and guitar slinger Brian Bigham and myself taking a break from loading in. That's me on the right doing what I love, playing lead guitar. The Shanty closed for good on Halloween 2006. It is now known as The Big Owl. The band was Unplugged and Over Served with friends. Friends included Jack Selway who also supplied the sound reinforcement, Herbie Wheatly from DeVibe and Conga, and others. We played for the fun of it and donated our tips (more than $600) to the Sohn family who had recently lost Paul in a horrific boating accident. May Paul Rest in Peace.

I have been invited to share the stage with local musicians such as the Chris Sacks Band, Rebound, Jack Selway, Dave Hawkins, Lisa Rowe, and others at local venues such as the Island Pub, the Kent Island Elks Club, El Jefe, Dirty Dave's Tiki Bar/ Kentmorr, The Shanty, The Jetty, Red Eye's Dock Bar, Johnny's Tavern, Lola's, The Big Owl, Megan's Irish Pub, Blue Water Tavern, Lisa's Small Plates, Luke's, and others. 

At the left, sometimes during the last set it can get rocking, and when it does I put on my crazy hair hat. I There is always an extra one in my bag. Ask me if you want to wear it.

At the right is my 25+ year old Squier Affinity Strat that I call Old School. I use it often when playing live and I don't want to take my PRS. It sounds great and does the job well. I like the tone of its ceramic pickups. My only complaint is the neck nut width of 40 mm. It sometimes causes notes/ strings to be muted when playing chords. Squier guitars are looked down upon by guitar snobs. Who cares what they think? Not me. Squiers are well made, solid guitars. Don't be embarrassed to buy or to play a Squier. Ever. I own 2 Squier Telecasters and 2 Squier Stratocasters. All 4 are well made, solid guitars.

I am building a black Partscaster with a rosewood fret board neck that is 43 mm width and is nice and fat hopefully to eventually replace Old School. I may heve to change out the electronics if the new build does not have the tone of Old School. I can't wait until it is finished! I may put a Stay Humble sticker on it. Maybe a Key West one too. Or another Old School sticker if it becomes my "new" Old School. I am undecided. What would you do?

I practice often, and you should make time to practice often. You may have heard "Practice Makes Perfect".Here is the key: Practice is good, but it takes Perfect Practice to make it Perfect. Strive to get your Practice as close to Perfect as you can. It will get easier, I promise.

Check out some of my free guitar tabs. And learn how to make your own guitar tabs!

Song Tabs, Blank Tabs, Chord Charts, Fret Board Diagrams and more are available for FREE download from my website. All can be found HERE!
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I have been teaching guitar informally for many years and have given Lord knows how many lessons, all for free.  I want to develop Island Guitar Studios. I am "retired" (vintage 1957) and will be happy breaking even and avoiding the red ink if possible. I am finally doing what I have always wanted to do, which is to teach guitar. I teach In Person at the studio on Kent Island in Maryland, plus group lessons at your location, or, I am now offering guitar lessons by ZOOM anywhere the student may reside.   

I was Voted Best Guitar Teacher & Best Private School Music Instruction
To get started on your guitar lessons call/ text me (Burt) 410-739-1511.