Don Jones

Hi My Name is Don Jones Of Don's Guitar and Bass Tuition.unit Hextable Kent

I had been teaching guitar on and off for thirty four years in all. During 1997 I was made redundant.

I Made the decision to teach guitar full time, so that I could make a living doing what I enjoy most which was playing guitar.

I have now been teaching guitar and bass guitar full time. Where I have built up a very successful business operating my studio at a business unit now for which I am now in my eleventh year.

I had no real business knowledge. When I first set out therefore my first port of call was the Kent Business enterprise agency. From here I gained all the basic training that I required to get started. Accounting, Marketing, Sales, Administration etc. I would recommend this source of information for any one starting on their own as all the information is free and subsidised by the government. When I attended the agency I also got a small business start up grant which was very useful.

During this time I also studied a couple of home study ICS courses studying Marketing and Retail sales. I also attended an adult education course for accounting and book keeping. These helped to build up my business skills and also build up my confidence.

I then become a member of the Registry Of Guitar tutors. This gave me access to the RGT and also allowed me to enter my students for the RGT guitar and bass guitar examinations. I gained a lot of knowledge by attending the RGT tutor conferences where I was able to meet other tutors. One of the conference seminars was operated By Mr Vic Hyland who presented many very useful and practical ideas in helping to find work contacts and students to be able to improve financial returns. Vic also Produced some excellent training cds which supported the seminars which I also found very useful. Vic Is now setting up a website where tutors can now contact him via email for which I would recommend to any one who is looking to set up on their own. As this will be an excellent source of knowledge for any one looking to make a living playing and teaching guitar. One word of caution to be successful you need to think like a business man not just as a musician I wish you all every success.  

Jan Prendeville

I have known Vic for a number of years, and have first hand experience of his teaching, playing and business skills.

His knowledge of music, playing skills and teaching methods are excellent and he puts all this together into a business which is effective and successful. He has helped me to develop into a successful music teacher and has given me the knowledge and confidence to convert this into a promising business.

Ben Thomas – Kent

Vic taught me guitar from the age of eight for ten years. I studied the RGT grades, using Vic’s Tapes and discs to practise and through this completed all the grades from preliminary to grade eight by the age of seventeen. Over the course of the ten years, Vic invited me to perform with him and his band Red Touch on numerous occasions at various venues.

Since this I went on to the BRIT school and studied musically intensely for two years. In November 2005 I won the Accenture Bursary award joint with violinist Freddie Smith, and performed at the MITS dinner for Michael Parkinson where I was presented with the award as well as having the pleasure of performing in front of the majority of the British Record Industry. I then went onto gigging around London and the Croydon area, mainly performing jazz, as well as rock and commercial music. With my Jazz trio, I performed along side Georgie Fame for the Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group at Port Cullis House, and also playing at the Royal Opera House earlier this year (2006).

In 2005 Touch Productions made a ten part series about the BRIT school.

Within this, me and my song-writing partner at the time were featured, and we also wrote all the incidental music for the series, teamed up with another songwriter whom I am currently working with.

In October this year I went on to win the Paul Walters award for guitar, and I was presented a cheque from the British Record Industry Trust by Sir Terry Wogan, following a performance of my own version of Fields Of Gold at the BBC 2 building.

Without doing the RGT grades with the help of Vic’s easy to use tapes and CD’s, I don’t believe I would have travelled so far as a guitarist and musician at 18.

Bob Morris - Director, Music Education, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation

Hey Vic,

Great to meet you while I was in the UK, I read your book on the way home on the plane. Great stuff!!! That is a much need resource in our field, and great to see that laid out so nicely. Hope you have a great school year. Hope to chat with you again soon.

Sincerely,

Bob Morris

Mark Rolfe - Winnetka Music - Private Music Tuition

Vic

Was at the NLP lecture yesterday, I really really enjoyed it. I wanted to write and thank you. I couldn't help feeling by getting it as part of £40.00 spent on the conference we were ripping you off, you should be charging 100's for this stuff. I related so much of it to my past and current students and made me more aware of how to treat future problems. Just 24 hours prior to the conference I had a guy who came around who had been playing a few years and told me he didn't have a clue what he was doing and wanted to start from fresh so I just wrote induction in my diary. I was most phased when he turned up with perfect posture, perfect technique and was zipping through modes in 5 positions with various pinch harmonics...when I asked him why on earth he had come for a lesson he told me someone was once told him he was rubbish. Was your lecture relevant? god yes.

When I got in late last night back in Nottingham the first thing I asked my wife to do was to to describe our living room :)

Kind Regards,

Mark

Ray Burley

At had little idea of what to expect from my experience with NLP. During the relatively short session I learned a great deal about NLP but even more about myself! Very enlightening.

All the best

Ray

Tony Harlow

Dear Vic

Many Thanks for the excellent business advice you have given me.

In the last 6 months my private teaching increased by about 100%. This was due largely to your suggestions concerning my business structure and approach.

I will whole heartedly recommend your services to colleagues

Yours

Tony Harlow