Jam Session Workshop

Ready to take your playing from the practice room to the real world?

Join our monthly 3-day Jam Session Workshop and gain hands-on experience in group playing,

improvisation, and live performance — all in a fun, supportive environment.

What is a "Jam Session"?

Jam sessions are events that take place where people can join in on tunes that they know to improvise on. They're usually a great way for students to not only explore musical ideas on their instrument, but to form bonds with other like-minded musicians.

In Tokyo, there are TONS of jam sessions happening every day of almost any genre.

BUT!

Some guitarists are often intimidated by the aspect of simply just GOING to a Jam session and seeing what happens.

Who this workshop is for

This workshop is for students who want to attend jazz/funk/blues guitar jam sessions, but maybe are worried about not having certain fundamentals together.

This will teach the student the fundamentals needed, as well as build the confidence to be able to play with others in a Jam session setting.

"My goal is always to provide encouragement and coaching to beginner students as they become more familiar with their instrument, as well as provide a clear path to any student’s particular goal. Students will also learn basic care for their instrument such as tuning, and storage tips." - Ryan

Study guitar in English, Japanese, or a mix of both

①English Only

Students with English as their primary language, and/or who would like to enjoy lessons only in English.

②Japanese and English Mixed

Students who would like to work on their English or Japanese,

with some support in their primary language.

③Japanese Only

Students with Japanese as their primary language and/or would like to enjoy lessons only in Japanese.

For English language learners, the best way to solidify and build on the language you are learning is to use it in practical situations outside of your study time. Learning a musical instrument in the language your studying is a fantastic way to strengthen your language skills.

Gain confidence from feedback after each lesson on your progress

Motivating feedback on your progress after each lesson, along with

homework to supercharge your progress.

Feedback is the key for guitar lessons at OGS!

Curriculum

A typical lesson is usually split into three parts. ①Note reading. ②Basic Techniques. ③Repertoire development. These parts can be added or removed depending on the student's needs and goals, however these are the standard parts of an OGS lesson.

①Note Reading

There are two textbooks recommended for studying note reading:

Hal Leonard Guitar Method

The Hal Leonard Guitar Method is an excellent textbook for students with zero experience with note reading. This textbook covers notes on the treble clef, and how to read them using the first couple of frets on the guitar. Learning to read basic rhythms and notation is also covered.

Berklee Press: A Modern Method for Guitar

Students who have previous experience with studying music on another instrument may find the Hal Leonard Guitar Method a little simple. For students at this level, the "Berklee Modern Guitar Method" is usually recommended. This book moves at a much faster pace, and covers a wide variety of notation reading such as notated chords, multiple keys, and reading on different positions of the guitar neck.

It's very common for students to start on the Hal Leonard Guitar Method, and then move onto the Berklee Guitar Method afterwards.

②Fundamentals and Technique

OGS Basics

Beginners usually have trouble finding a straight-forward path to cover the basics of the guitar. OGS Basics is an original step-by-step method covering common guitar chords, scales, and finger exercises which will set students up for success.

This learning method has been crafted from 20 years of practical experience teaching guitar students, and covers the basic fundamentals for playing guitar in the 21st century.

Curriculum Contents:

Basic open chords
Basic strumming patterns
Basic scale training
Power chords
Note names on the fretboard (5th and 6th strings)
Introduction to improvisation
Introduction to 12-bar blues

Total of 20 units

③Repertoire Development

Developing repertoire puts everything learned in the first to parts of the lesson into practical use. The focus of this section is to learn songs which a student wants to be able to play. The goal is to develop a collection of songs that the student can then perform on their own time for enjoyment, or to perform for others.

The student then also has the option to perform at one of two recitals held every year. Recitals are a great way to develop confidence, and solidify everything that they have been working during their period of time as a student.

Fees

“Ryan is an excellent and patient teacher. As an adult student wanting to play for fun, he helped me lock down the basics so that I can learn on my own. Ryan was so amazing that he continued to teach me over Skype when he moved to Japan." - 40 year old banker

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