About Nicolas
Nicolas, an experienced guitar instructor, offers online and in-home lessons, specializing in electric and acoustic guitar, alongside music theory. With a minor in Music from Trinity Western University, he's honed his skills over 15 years of playing and 5 years of teaching. Fluent in English and Spanish, Nicolas tailors lessons to individual needs, balancing what students want to learn with essential concepts. His philosophy emphasizes music's ability to resonate with the soul, fostering freedom of expression. Book an interview now.
BOOK AN INTERVIEW WITH NICOLAS NOW
My personal philosophy on music is that music resonates with the human soul. It is a means of creation, whether that be through the form of dancing, singing, playing it, or even consuming and enjoying it. The spirit needs to express itself in order to feel free, and I as a teacher am happy to help liberate the spirits of my students. My personal teaching philosophy is that the needs of the student supersede the needs of the teacher. In order for learning to be fun, engaging, and interesting, there must be a balance between what the student needs to learn and wants to learn, and as a teacher I must be flexible enough to give the student a balance of both. For example, if I want to teach music theory to a student but they want to learn how to finger tap, then I can use finger-tapping as a means to teach music theory to the student. That way, both the students' needs and wants are met simultaneously.
Name: Nicolas (Full name will be provided upon registration)
Age: 30's
Gender: male
I have attended Trinity Western University and earned a minor in Music. I have studied both the electric and acoustic guitar for the past 15 years. I have 2 years of teaching both electric and acoustic guitar to students of all ages (elementary school age - adult). I am well versed in music theory. My area of expertise is rock and metal. I have been a teacher for the past 5 years.
Ever since I picked up the electric guitar 15 years ago, I haven't been able to put it down and constantly work on my music theory, improvisation, and technical skills. Most of my abilities were self taught, but when I took my music minor in TWU, I was able to hone my on my composition skills, digital recording abilities, and versatility of playing styles. Volunteering at church and playing for worship bands (and eventually leading them) also helped my performing abilities, as well as my leadership and communication skills. Being an ESL teacher for the past 4 years have also helped me learn to develop custom curricula for individual students, so that no 2 students have ever received the same lessons. Lastly, being a professional guitar teacher for a total of 2 years has given me tons of confidence (and materials) to help teach anyone who wants to learn from me. Teaching and music have been my life for quite some time, so to be able to teach music is truly an honour.
English
Spanish
Rates and Studio Policies
Registration Fee: $25.00 (One-time lifetime registration fee may be used by all family members)
Rates for instruction:
30 minute private lesson: $39.00
45 minute private lesson: $49.00
60 minute private lesson: $59.00
Travel charge: additional $15.00 per visit (for lessons in a client's home as opposed to my studio)
1. Cancellation Policy
Lessons not cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice are billable to the client and payable to the teacher. This does not of course apply to travel fees unless the notice is effectively given at the door and the teacher has travelled to the location.
2. Cessation (quitting) Policy
A client must provide a 2 lesson notice period to stop lessons. So a weekly student needs to give 2 weeks of notice, a biweekly student works out to 3 weeks notice and a twice weekly student works out to a week of notice.
3. Illness Policy
Lessons cancelled due to illness or extraordinary circumstances with less than 24 hours notice remain billable to the client and payable to the teacher.
BAH teachers are encouraged to offer a make-up lesson at a future date in the interest of client relations and general goodwill. This only makes sense as teaching a student with the flu for example, will ruin the rest of your week's employment.
No more than 2 lessons may be made up due to illness within a 60 day period.
4. Rescheduling Policy
Any lesson can be cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice.
Summer Vacation and Extended Absence Policy
Clients may schedule longer absences for trips etc. 24 hours notice is required.
It is normal and typical for students and about 20% of our teachers to schedule a break in the summer. We do not enforce a notice period (see cessation of lessons) at the end of a long summer break.
5. Evaluation Period
There are no free trial lessons with Beethoven at Home but we do offer a 2 lesson evaluation period where it is easy to try out a teacher. There are no free lessons during the evaluation period and clients may choose to discontinue the lessons at any time by providing the required 24 hours notice. After the student's 3rd lesson the required 2 lesson notice period will apply (see cessation of lessons above).
Lessons in your home
Nicolas is available to teach in your home if you are located in the following areas
Online lessons
Nicolas can provide online instruction. While other platforms are possible BAH strongly recommends the use of the Zoom video conferencing platform as it is optimized for music lessons and audio quality.