Chrissie Wills
Student

I have been having guitar lessons with Richard Perkins for about 2 years and I would highly recommend him as a guitar tutor! He is very patient with new learners and will aim to teach you any song you wish to learn, even if he hasn’t taught it previously.

He provides helpful feedback and will give you a good range of things to practice and will write it down for you in a way that suits your individual learning needs. If you are keen to learn, he will aim to fit in a lesson for you as often as you would like (even though he does get very booked up!).

I started learning as an adult and although learning new things does tend to take longer when you are older, I feel very happy with the progress I have made in this short time. I wanted to be able to play the guitar for years, but never got round to it before; wish I’d done it sooner as I am really enjoying my lessons. Highly recommended!

Jane Middleton
Parent

Richard has been teaching my son, Luke, guitar for 4 years and during that time I have been hugely impressed by his energy, enthusiasm and commitment. He has been very good at engaging with Luke, and tailors his teaching to what his pupils want to learn rather than forcing them down a set route. There are plenty of extra-curricular activities, such as an annual Christmas busk and regular Monsters of Rock workshops. Richard really goes the extra mile, with invaluable advice on where to buy guitars, accessories, pedals etc, and is very efficient at helping time-challenged parents like me stay on top of the lesson schedule when it’s disrupted by school holidays etc!

Andrea Macaulay
Parent

My son Josh has been having lessons with Richard for just over a year. Josh has poor word storage, i.e. he has problems filing words in his head, which causes difficulties in learning new words, learning what words mean, remembering a word when he wants to say it and understanding words that are said to him. Hence Josh is very under confident. Richard has helped Josh build up his confidence and every week Josh is enthusiastic about going to the lessons. He remembers all the rock riffs that he is taught with great ease. The guitar band workshops filled Josh with dread but he performed with the other children and really enjoyed himself.

Richard is a great tutor and I would certainly recommend him to one and all.

Kevin Veale
Student

As what I believe is known as a “mature” student I came to Richard for my first ever face-to-face electric guitar lessons at the age of 43. I knew a few riffs but had never managed to play a song all the way through or play along with a backing track. I was a bit nervous and not sure what to expect.

Richard put me at ease very quickly and spent time to really understand my musical tastes and goals for the guitar. We quickly got into things & focused on one song at a time – always chosen together so I remained motivated and learned something I really wanted to play. Richard was always happy to answer any questions I had, even to the point of sending the lesson off on a tangent. We always had a laugh discussing music, gigs, bands and guitars & very quickly the relationship stopped feeling like student & teacher.

We often played along together which is not only fun but is great for anyone feeling a bit unsure as the limelight is shared. Occasionally something completely new would be thrown in like slide guitar or recording techniques to keep me on my toes.

I’ve taken so much confidence out of the lessons. Playing along with backing tracks/songs is now the norm and I regularly get together with friends to jam at rehearsal studios. I’d never have been able to do this beforehand – not from a playing perspective, timing perspective or being confident in playing/messing up in front of others!

Kate Goodwin
Parent

Richard has been teaching rock guitar to my son since he was aged 6 and offers a non-traditional and fun approach to learning the guitar, accompanied with instilling a love & appreciation of rock music. If you’re after a very formal, exam-based music “grade” style of teaching, then Bath Guitar School is possibly not for you or your child. But of course, playing the electric guitar isn’t really about that, and Richard’s approach includes regular band workshops & performances for that real band experience plus individual performances uploaded to YouTube which enhance the weekly tuition sessions. Music theory is included in lessons, but in such an incidental way that it doesn’t feel like a chore.

Richard encourages parents (particularly of younger children) to sit in on lessons which is useful for monitoring and encouraging progress in the early days. As time goes on, it is clear Richard has a nice rapport with my son and I look forward to seeing his further progress over the coming years.

Paul Baker
Student

I have been a student of Bath Guitar School for almost two years. If I was going to try and describe my experience in a few words it would be ‘tailored’ and ‘well-rounded’ lessons. Richard is happy to go at the pace of the learner and adjust the lessons as needed to accommodate individual progress. Some weeks I pick things up more quickly than other weeks, and Richard is happy to let my learning dictate the pace. My lessons are also a great mix of playing, technical skills and theory. The lessons are led by learning new songs and along the way we work on the technical skills and guitar theory for that song, which keeps things very applied. And perhaps most important of all, my lessons are fun. Richard keeps a very casual and accessible environment to the lessons and so we often have a good laugh along the way. Highly recommended!

Kim Grant
Parent

Richard is a fantastic teacher. He shows a huge amount of expertise, patience and good humour whilst he is keen to get results through building up his student’s confidence. Our 9 year old daughter Wren started 2 years ago as a complete beginner (with non-musical parents). She absolutely loves going to lessons with Richard each week. As with a lot of beginners, she finds practicing in between times a lot more challenging. However, Richard keeps finding ways to engage and encourage her to build good habits and to persevere. The performance opportunities Richard schedules throughout the year including; Studio ‘band rehearsals’ with fellow students, two concerts at Moles and busking for charity at the Christmas Market, provide a much broader, impactful experience for the students. We are very grateful to have found Richard and would recommend this school wholeheartedly!

Paul Stansall
Student

For me Richard’s approach to teaching guitar, is proving ideal. I love songs, I love the guitar and now I enjoy performing. He has helped me put all three elements together so that after regular lessons and near daily practice, I’m gaining in confidence. On top of this, Richard’s Acoustic Club sessions provides a friendly setting with space and facilities to perform songs and swap notes with student colleagues. This has given me a clear target to aim for each month. Richard’s passion for music, his dedication to teaching and wide musical knowledge encourages me to look forward to what’s coming next in my guitar playing.

Mari & Pete
Parents

Richard has been such an inspiring teacher. Our son has been able to learn to play the electric guitar in a way that has stayed fresh and interesting. Richard’s teaching style is intuitive, calm and humorous and he is able to differentiate the information easily to suit our child’s needs. We were very impressed by how quickly our son was able to play a list of well known riffs only weeks after starting lessons. Our sons confidence has been greatly boosted by starting these lessons. Being able to play the guitar has deepened his love of music. In addition the opportunity to play in band workshops and perform on stage at Moles is a fantastic experience and a very special part of what Bath Guitar School offers its students.

Fabien Courtois
Parent

Our daughter has always wanted to play the guitar, and luckily we found Richard! He has been teaching her for 8 months, and we are impressed to see what she is able to play already, she is only 7 years old. June is rather reserved of character, Richard gave her a lot of confidence in her, we appreciate his relational and professional qualities. June loves going to his classes. It’s a beautiful meeting between a student and a teacher! The work is serious accompanied by humour. Our daughter is learning very fast. Well done Richard and June! And thanks for everything, Richard, You are very brilliant 🙂