
Intermediate and Advanced Guitar Lessons in Richmond VA
Student Testimonial
"The lessons I've taken from Dru are the best lessons I've taken...Dru has done a great job of helping me to figure out how I should spend my practice time to get more out of it...he always comes with some sort of agenda or lesson plan...I have my own agenda, I'm in a band, there's specific things I want to work on, and he's been very flexible and adaptable. We will spend time working on whatever it is that has been bothering me...He tailors the lessons to my needs."
"...his technique is amazing, as a guitar player, he came in, blew me away, I knew for a fact that there was a lot I could learn from him...I've known many players over the years who have phenomenal technique, but they didn't have the ability to communicate with somebody else and to teach. Teaching is a completely separate skill from playing the guitar...I've (also) found him to be punctual, reliable, patient, kind, prepared...I got to know him, and found him to be very trustworthy, I got to be very comfortable, and just found him to be really a great resource and someone that I've eventually come to call a friend. I'm proud to know him over the time I've gotten to know him, and I've seen him grow as a teacher as I've grown as a student. He seems to be committed to his own journey with this instrument too, not just stopping his own learning process...It's neat for me as a student to realize that, he's a student too, we're all students of this instrument, it's a lifelong process to learn to play the guitar. Its cool to feel like its something we're all in together, and his enthusiasm for it, and for any style of music...I plan on him being my one and only guitar teacher for as long as I play guitar." -Mike Leibrand
Student Testimonial
"Dru is a great guitar teacher! When I started lessons with Dru I was an intermediate level guitar player with very little musical knowledge...my skills as a musician improved greatly, and I progressed quickly...Due in large part to Dru's lessons, I have since been able to start a band and write music that I truly enjoy and am proud of. I have gone from feeling like a person who plays the guitar as a hobby to now believing in myself as a well-rounded musician."
-Nathan Voss
Michael F.
Dru is incredibly interested in figuring out what your goals are and helping you to work towards them. He helps to break your overall goals down into smaller increments that build on themselves and both solidify your knowledge while also showing you tangible results in your playing. What's incredibly great about Dru is that he really puts a lot of emphasis on implementing each of the skills that you are working on. The goal isn't just to learn something, but to actively use it and be that much more effective in your playing and understanding. Dru has an excellent approach to teaching, listens to your goals and helps you reach them in a productive and tangible way. I definitely recommend him as an incredible guitar teacher
Chris S.
The time I spent working with Dru Silver facilitated a great leap in my playing abilities. I decided to take lessons when I was in a rut, played for 8 years at that point. His lessons were structured to what I wanted to accomplish as a guitarist and I felt that everything he set up was effective, my time and money was not wasted. Dru really showed me how to practice and work smarter. He is very patient and encouraging. In the three months I took lessons from Dru I learned more from him than any other guitar teacher and that's because he has so many helpful materials and the curriculum is effective. I know because I am a teacher!
Donnie S.
I took lessons from Dru for about 6 months and he was an excellent teacher. He creates custom lessons based on your own guitar playing goals that he works with you to develop. Working towards well crafted goals keeps you accountable and driven to practice. Dru has an easy going personality and cares about his students getting the most out of their playing.
Steve F.
I was lucky enough to have Dru as a guitar teacher for a while. He has the innate ability to relate to adults as well as kids and teach on their level....regardless of ability. He is extremely patient and understanding and takes the time to get to know his clients to find the best approach to learning. He is able to break down what seems difficult to a beginner into relatively simple steps to enhance the process. He's a great teacher and an excellent person,
Drew G.
Complete transformation! Great instructor!
When I first began 5 months ago with Dru, I could barely play a single riff from a favorite Blink 182 song and I could barely play guitar for an hour before getting fatigued. After working with Dru this semester, today I can play and sing around 4 to 5 songs all the way through and I have learned how to practice and master techniques like palm muting, playing in time, singing and playing, and some music theory. Dru has been a life changer for me and I am so glad that I met him.
Jordan K.
Dru Silver is an amazing guitar instructor. I had tried a variety of books and apps to help me learn but nothing clicked for me until I met Dru. He started by spending nearly an hour on the phone with me to learn about me and what I wanted from the lessons. I presented an additional challenge to Dru because I wanted to take lessons alongside my 9 year old son. Dru made each lesson interesting and challenging for both of us. He was very well prepared for each lesson and made sure we each knew how to take what we learned from him each week home with us for practicing. The only reason I stopped lessons with him is because I'm moving a thousand miles away. My son and I both learned so much from Dru and will continue to apply his instruction as we continue to learn without him. Dru is very flexible and generous with his time and was just a fun person to learn from and get to know. I can't recommend him enough, hands down the best guitar instructor in the Columbus area.
Alex R.
Dru has been an awesome teacher. He is well versed in music theory, different playing styles and an exceptional guitarist himself. it's hard to argue with 20 years of experience and it shows. He keeps me motivated and on top of what I need to get better. Without his help and encouragement I wouldn't have learned so much in such a short time. If you're looking for a knowledgeable, laid back teacher that will help and guide you to where you want to be, Dru is the teacher you're looking for.
Johnny S.
I always had a stigma when it came to taking lessons. For about four years, I'd watch YouTube videos and mess around, and thought I had made decent progress. Eventually, I decided to take one lesson to see how things would go. I found Dru through a friend, and didn't know really anything about him prior to reaching out. From the first phone call, Dru made a significant impact on my playing by lending me perspective and a way to look at the guitar that I had not heard before - and that was just during the initial phone call. Dru offered me a discounted lesson to see if it was a good fit, and I've had lessons with Dru nearly every week since - a bit over a year. The leap I've made during the past year plus almost seems unbelievable. I went from knowing parts of songs, no theory knowledge, and a limited repertoire of technique to knowing multiple songs all the way through, delving deep into the theory (which has allowed me to navigate the fret board rather than playing in boxes), and having way more tools in my technique toolbox. I've also been able to begin songwriting with Dru's help and playing with others regularly. Of course, you might be thinking that this sort of progression is possible with any instructor, but I'm not sure if I would have made such significant gains in this time if it weren't for Dru. He is excellent at understanding where you are exactly with your playing, and offering the right advice for what to do to get where you want to be. Just take a lesson with him, and you'll understand what I mean. Dru is a top-notch dude and makes for an excellent teacher.
Nathan V.
Dru is a great guitar teacher! When I started lessons with Dru I was an intermediate level guitar player with very little musical knowledge beyond reading tab and playing simple chords and scales. I had had several years of lessons before, but my previous teachers were more interested in collecting a paycheck and pushing music they liked on me. Dru was the complete opposite of my previous teachers. He took a real interest in what I wanted to learn, and adjusted my lessons to make sure that I was progressing in areas that were important to me. With Dru's help my skills as a musician improved greatly, and I progressed quickly not only in technical ability, but also in knowledge of music theory and my ability to express myself through the guitar. His lessons and assignments pushed my musical boundaries and made me expand my abilities, and were also fun and eye-opening. Due in large part to Dru's lessons, I have since been able to start a band and write music that I truly enjoy and am proud of. I have gone from feeling like a person who plays the guitar as a hobby to now believing in myself as a well-rounded musician.
Student Testimonial
"If you have a problem, Dru can usually pick it out pretty fast, get you straightened out, and show you what you need to practice...we can all practice the wrong thing, but practicing the right thing is well worth the money, because its going to get you to where you want to be much quicker than going the long way around by trying to do it yourself.
Before coming here, not being able to play or free-style with another person or along to a backing track was a real problem...Dru has jams he allows students to play in, plus other activities that he sets up where you get a chance to perform with Dru and you get feedback on how you did, how it felt, how it sounded...that has really helped...If I am doing something incorrectly, he'll give me some really positive feedback in a way where, I know what to do next time, and how to correct that situation, without it being negative at all.
He's taught me a lot to try and listen, to pick up changes with my ears and stop being such a slave to reading music or TABs, so he's taught me to grow by listening, and I've seen that carry over into the rest of my playing. When I play now with other groups or other players, I feel much more confident, much more of an ability to go with the flow, follow the tune, follow the chord progression, to know what its all about. Dru seems extremely capable of a lot of music theory, but doesn't bog you down with theory,(he teaches you) only to the point where you know how to use it to get from point A to point B.
I find Dru extremely flexible, I can be pretty hard headed sometimes and say that I want to accomplish this, and really, that might be down the road for me, it might be something I need another 6 months or another 8 months experience in, but he will get me started on something where I'll be able to attain that goal quicker...he's got the ability to look at your playing and kind of take it apart and say 'ok this is the road you need to take to get from A to B the quickest', instead of using a lot of energy and not getting anywhere...we can do that so often with guitar playing."
-Dan Clark