I have been to 3 different guitar teachers and i must say that I have been very impressed with John. He is a combination of knowledge with patience and modesty, something I always look for in a teacher. Very hardworking and dedicated to his work, you will definitely be impressed with his organizing skills from day one. For people who are looking for guitar teachers and are still making decisions, here is how he teaches. 1. Based on your current skills , he will start with some teachings for the week. (You will be provided with his notes). He goes through each and everything on that notes in details that day. 2. Next week he will spend first few minutes to review last weeks lessons and based on that will proceed forward. (There is never any pressure since be believes every student has a different pace of learning) 3. It for any reason you are not able to practice for the week, he gives you an option to pick up theory / non-reviewable things for the next lesson giving you a breather and time to practice. He will not overload you with notes and will match the speed with which you want to learn. So if you are an advanced student, he will go full gear with you and vice-versa for a new student. Anyways enough said. I would advice taking at least 1 lesson with him before trying anything else. I already had good confidence playing amongst friends after learning guitar with him for a month. read more

So I've never done a review before so this is my first shot and I wanted to do one for John. I started playing guitar when I was 15 or so. I just picked it up and learned a few chords from books and from listening to music. However I have always felt limited in what I could do and my knowledge of the fret board was pretty much non-existent. So I found this guy though Craigslist and gave him a call... I've take a few lessons before and the teacher just wasnt a right fit for me personality wise. But John was super friendly and right away got me started on some work. Yeah I said work... as someone else pointed out in another review... he gave me homework which focused me on increasing my knowledge of the instrument. John friggin rips! Check out his You Tube. And not only has my knowledge of guitar improved so has my playing and my speed. If your one of those types that (like me) think you can teach yourself from a book... do yourself a favor and shoot John an email. His Gold Package includes MP3 of the lesson and vid files of what you went over.. so if your like me and super busy with work and kids and stuff and you cant remember what key your supposed to practice that kool lick you learned at the last class in. no problem. Hey this may sound funny but my wife doesnt make me only play in the garage anymore! thanks John! read more

John is an excellent instructor. He is extremely knowledgeable about guitar and music theory. I would recommend his lessons for anyone trying to learn guitar or master guitar. I am a beginner and I wanted to see if I was up for the challenge of learning. I took his introductory lesson and after watching him make it look so easy, I decided to sign up. Definitely a good decision. Had I not started learning with John I would probably be wasting hours getting nowhere learning the intro bars to my favorite songs from guitar tabs, without really learning anything. I think what sets him apart from other instructors is his ability to adapt his lessons to your level of skill, so that a) you never get bored b) you wont give-up. He's got so much experience do this and it shows. He is very patient and flexible with scheduling. He also offers a bunch of peripherals for you to work on at home...sound files, video files, practice sheets...etc. He answers any and all questions and can help you learn how to master techniques you would never have thought you could have mastered. read more

John has a very organized, focused teaching structure unlike other teachers I've had before. It allows you to go as fast or as slow as you need to. John teaches by giving you several exercises a week. Each exercise has a purpose and chips away at the mystery of guitar. The exercises are versatile and cover a wide range of guitar techniques. Eventually, they progress to a mastery of the guitar fretboard, from nut to bridge. More advanced students might find the first month or two slow, depending on how fast they move. This is because John puts you through all the basic exercises, to make sure he knows you have the necessary foundation. However, he will try his best to get you up to speed by giving you as many exercises as possible, he is NOT trying to game you for more lessons and more money. As far as personality he is brisk but friendly and very knowledgeable. It's all about efficiency, which I appreciate. Lessons are very punctual, ending up to the minute. This is because he has a lot of students. Rates are also much better than I expected. read more

I started taking lessons from John about 2 months ago. I always wanted to learn how to play the electric guitar to the likes of Metallica and System of a Down. I picked up some guitar technique and songs by myself when I was younger, but I always wanted to get some sort of formal training so I could learn to play the guitar to its full potential and not just know how to play a couple songs here and there. John is a great teacher, he has a very structured class that allows me to see constant progress and a clear line as to what I need to improve on. He's very helpful if you have any questions and always allows you to e-mail/text/call him in between lessons if you have any questions. He takes a fun approach to his lessons in which he teaches you a song in little chunks, so by the end of a couple months not only have you mastered some pretty good technique you would also have learned a song or two. I recommend john as a guitar teacher to anyone in the South Bay, his prices are great and you will improve on your guitar ability by magnitudes. read more

John is an awesome instructor. He knows his guitar and has 35+ years of experience playing it. His class is a well organized 60 min of the following segments - you are taught how to tune the guitar ( which is great for a guitar noob like me); - you do a review / exam of what was taught in the previous class - new techniques for the week. ( which is reviewed the following week) What I like best about John is you will get video recordings of John playing the exercises and audio mp3 file of the class by itself which goes a great length in helping you practice and hone your skills on the guitar. With his structured coursework; you quickly progress from basic techniques to advanced strumming within 5-6 weeks. Also if there is a special song / style of guitar that you want to learn; John does his utmost to make sure that is taken care of. I highly recommend John as your guitar teacher if you are looking for some-one who has years of experience but at the same time is your bud and has patience with meticulous organization skills. read more

I am a self-taught guitar player and played in a band for 3 years when I was in high school. I'm originally from Arizona and when I moved to San Jose I was looking to get back into playing guitar a bit more now that I was done with college. Except this time, I wanted more formal training. I found John on craigslist and was blown away at the structure of his course. I had homework to do every week, which was awesome because it gave me an excuse to jam out on my guitar more often. Even though I had been playing guitar for years, the lessons were very challenging and I still felt as though I had much more to learn. Also, you immediately feel inspired to practice more once you hear John shred on his guitar. This guy plays the crap out of that thing! Plus, he has a wide variety of musical background so you get to learn genres you never thought you'd enjoy playing (i.e. Blues). Overall it was an awesome experience and I would definitely recommend John's lessons to all of my friends looking to play guitar. read more

I've been taking guitar lessons with John for almost two months and I must say I'm very happy with how everything is going. I've been playing guitar for years (15+) and truly I had plateaued on my guitar skills and practice routines. My whole idea of taking classes was to mainly be able to improve my overall technique and pull out of the plateau. In just a couple of months I have been able to start building upon the library of technique tutorials John provides and keep a constant practicing routine. John is smart enough as a teacher to keep me entertained and being able to still deliver good technical advise so that I can build up my skills, without growing bored or unaware of the classes. His schedule is surprisingly open which is a big plus for me -- I usually work 'til 7-8pm. I see a lot of people taking classes with John at the beginner level but if you already have some experience I'd still recommend John. Hope this helps \m/! read more

I have been taking lessons from John for a few months now and I thoroughly enjoy it. I had never picked up a guitar before going to John's introductory lesson and was hooked right away. John is a great teacher and has a good knack for breaking down complex and confusing concepts to simple fundamentals. He is very organized with his lesson plans and sends an mp3 recording (and an instructional video with certain sign up packages) for every lesson to help practice. Even though his lesson plans are well structured, he is flexible if the student has a special interest or wants to learn a specific song. He will learn the song and then teach it to you in the following lessons! He is always available by email or text if I need help with a lesson or just general guitar questions. He offers all this at very attractive prices. I hope to continue lessons with John for a long time! read more

I have nothing but great things to say about John and his teaching style. I've taken lessons from numerous guitar teachers over the years and John is by far the best. He is very well organized and a great communicator. He has great knowledge and command of the instrument, and oh by the way ...this dude can shred!!! John offers a variety of lesson packages. I chose the Gold Package with the MP3 summary of the lessons and the video tutorials of specific lessons and techniques that he e-mails to me promptly within 24 hours of my lesson. He's alway prepared and has a plan to make each student a better guitarist, no matter what level you are currently. If you are a beginning, intermediate or advanced player and want to improve your chops, increase your speed and accuracy, learn to read music or better understand theory...John's the guy. I wish I had found him years ago. read more

've been taking guitar lessons on and off my entire life and when I moved to the bay area and wanted to start taking guitar lessons again I had the toughest time finding a good instructor (believe it or not), but after a lot of searching I stumbled across John at Bay Area Guitar Lessons and what a discovery it was finding him. I've never heard anyone (yeah I said anyone!) play as good as him let convey what they're playing and teach it to a student. When I started with John, I quickly found that despite all of my experience playing guitar, that I knew nothing. I've learned so much from John about the guitar and music in general (and life in some respects) that I had to write a review here... I know John is extremely loaded up with students currently, but if you're lucky enough to land a spot in his teaching schedule grab it... The guy is the best! Ben read more

John Lawlor the guitar teacher's knowledge and technique are structured. John is amazing, friendly, highly organised and has carved out progressive Guitar courses every session. He reviews the progress every session and ensures that the review subjects are cleared before pursuing on next day classes. John offers different packages of course types. My kid has been taking one on one guitar lessons with him for a little over three months. His technique and knowledge on Guitar has drastically improved and his knowledge of music theory and other related things have grown to levels that he would never have been able to reach without his teacher's help. He is making great strides in reaching his goals, both as a musician and in his music career goals. I would recommend John for both beginners and learned Musicians who wants to move on to next level. "" read more

I started playing guitar a long time back. But wasn't active from the past few years. So I wanted to learn some more skills so that I get better at it. And John didn't disappoint me here. In every class I learn so many new things and its so fun. He is a great teacher and is very well organized. I really like the way he records each session so that you can get back at it any time and the materials he provides after the class contains all the information you may need about that class. This makes it much easier to go through it again and again. There is a review of each class which motivates me to play each day so that I perform good at the review session and can clear my doubts. He is very flexible too. Never have I had any issue rescheduling any of my classes. I am sure you would enjoy too if you join his class. read more

I initially started out taking in person lessons w John, but when I moved to Berekely for school, switched to lessons via Skype. At first I was a bit skeptical about doing the lessons online, but as it turns out (as he assured me), they are just as effective as the in-person lessons. John's a great teacher. He's patient and really intuitive with regard to my goals on the guitar. I have an acoustic electric that needed to have the neck adjusted. John recommended Keith Hollands Guitar Hospital in Los Gatos and he got me a 10% discount on the cost. They did great work and as a result my guitar is so much easier to play now. I work and go to school in Berkeley and the Skype lessons have worked out perfectly with my schedule. Both my playing, and knowledge in general have gotten so much better. Thanks John! :) read more

I found out about Bay Area Guitar Lessons via Yelp, and even though it's only been 3 months, I've already learned so much from John's weekly guitar lessons. John is very knowledgeable and organized, and his classes work something like this: -One hour of face-to-face lessons a week (or via Skype) -a weekly assignment of six or seven guitar riffs or effects to practice at home, with both written instructions and video tutorials -During each lesson, you play what you practiced over the week, and John gives critique or recommends further practice. Then you go over the new material for the following week, and John answers any questions you may have about what you are learning or about music, the guitar, songwriting, etc etc. It's a really effective way to learn guitar, and John is a great, patient teacher. read more

I found John through yelp. Having had no prior experience with playing guitar before taking the intro lesson with John, I would say I have come a long way. The complementary intro lesson is a very good idea - because I didn't want to jump to it without knowing his teaching style. I love the way he is organised and focused on lesson plans. He's incredibly patient, understanding, and wonderfully skilled at what he does. He encourages me to keep practicing and, after just a couple of months, I have learnt a variety of basic techniques and gained a lot of confidence in handling the instrument. He also supplements his lessons by sending audios-videos and text notes - I find them handy to practice at home. I would highly recommend John to anybody who wants to explore & learn how to play a guitar! :) read more

I've been taking lessons for a couple months. I had been playing self-taught for about 8 years, but wanted to learn about why certain things worked and to learn proper techniques. The lessons are great because they are very organized and he knows how to help you in the areas you need. Not only does he have tons of songs showcasing the techniques, but he adds his own twists to them that build on each other in difficulty to really emphasize the technique being showcased. He is also fairly flexible and is understanding based on your situation/needs. He also offers skype lessons (which I have yet to try). For those who have played guitar before, it may start out slow, but it is to make sure you have the proper foundation before he gets into the advanced stuff, then it will really pick up. read more

John is great guitar teacher and very professional. I started my lessons 3 months back and I really like the way he teaches. One of the plus point is his customized the lessons, different packages. With the Gold package I get the audio record of the lesson, which is very helpful when I practice. His techniques and the way he plays and teaches definitely creates an interest to learn more and more. He is very friendly and co-operative when it comes to lesson schedule. I remember, I had busy weeks and I had to re-schedule the classes. He understands the "busy life" and works things out to fit in my lessons, and I am really grateful to him. If you are a beginner or an advanced guitar players, I recommend John as a guitar teacher. He is really a guitar "GURU". read more

I was looking for someone that could help me learn to play the blues, primarily Stevie Ray Vaughan and wow can John play Stevie. His lesson plans included techniques that increased my skill level and knowledge rapidly. All lessons are recorded onto an MP3 device and emailed to you for review and the gold package includes video lessons of the course material you are learning which is great if your a visual learner such as myself. I believe that John is one of the best teachers in the Bay Area second only to Joe Satriani and good luck getting him to teach you. If you think you've got what it takes to be the next Hammet, Vai or Skolnick then John is the teacher for you and you might want to act quick before he goes on to become the next Satriani. read more