Over the pandemic, faced with a loss of all gigs and in-person lessons, it felt like the world itself moved online. With a lot of unexpected free time and being a guitar teacher myself, I saw an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
Joel Hoekstra (guitarist for Whitesnake, Cher, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Night Ranger, and Broadway’s Rock of Ages) advertised on social media that he was offering a limited number of online lessons via Skype from his apartment in New York. I immediately got in touch.
“I’m mainly looking for people that can commit to a weekly time slot for at least a few weeks. Content is up to you, I tab it during, send it over after, and you’re free to record it via Skype.”
Once the lesson was booked, I made sure my online setup was ready. As a guitar teacher myself, I already had a solid setup including a UAD interface, Adam Audio monitor speakers, and an Aston Origin condenser microphone, all of which worked well with my Mac Mini for online teaching and learning.
Receiving lessons over a screen was initially strange and a little surreal. Despite that, Joel was friendly, informative, and inspiring. He guided me through minor pentatonic positions, scale usage, and phrasing concepts, sending scanned tab sheets instantly from New York to the UK.
I recorded every lesson so I could revisit them as many times as I wanted. This turned out to be one of the biggest advantages of online lessons. Not a single detail was lost, and I can still revisit those sessions today.
We covered a huge range of topics, including major, harmonic minor, melodic minor and diminished scales, as well as tapping, legato, hybrid picking, jazz standards, and sweep picking. Despite the physical distance, the depth of learning was exceptional.
There were some challenges. Occasional internet dropouts caused brief interruptions, and once a power cut meant I missed a lesson entirely. Time zone differences also caught us out a couple of times during daylight savings changes.
Despite these minor issues, the overall experience was overwhelmingly positive. I continued lessons with Joel for over a year, saving recordings and tab sheets from every session. We built a strong professional relationship despite living on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
The skills I developed, combined with a year of focused practice and learning from one of my guitar heroes, were genuinely life-changing. This experience showed me what’s possible with online guitar tuition and the level of professionalism required in the music industry at an elite level.
About the author
Matt Wensor is a professional guitar teacher based in Northampton, England. He has many years of teaching experience, working with students of all ages and abilities, and continues to develop his own playing while helping others do the same.