Rick Barda's approach to teaching is an all inclusive mentoring program that not only informs the student on how to play their instruments like traditional corner store lessons, but more importantly, shows the student how music works. With this complete knowledge the student is then able to perform, compose, orchestrate, and arrange in any style from simple pop to be bop. By constantly clearing up common misconceptions and underdeveloped methods to teaching, Rick is able to take the mystery out of seemingly complicated music previously thought to be played only by the greats. This is extremely attractive to players who have interest in Jazz improvisation and chord melody performance. As a graduate from the Berklee College of Music I can easily say that this course is just as serious as my studies at Berklee, much more through, and far more efficient. Although there is a lot of hard work to be done, Rick's one on one sessions make it impossible to slip through the cracks and not fully understand a topic, which is something that you will not get at any music school. If you have the necessary drive and dedication that it takes to become a professional musician this course of study is the one to get you there. Rick has many unique "out of the box" methods that address some of the biggest problems that guitar players and other musicians face. Some of these ideas include a "symmetric guitar" approach to scales that allows the student to learn all of the scales and modes in all areas of the neck within a matter of weeks rather than years. In a very short time the student will be able to see any scale anywhere on the neck and play both vertically and horizontally without memorizing endless amounts of rigid patterns. Once this is down, another related idea is introduced that gives the student the ability to play any arpeggio for any chord regardless of how many tensions there are. The ability to play any arpeggio from anywhere on the neck can be accomplished in weeks. Another major problem for guitar players is gaining the ability to sight-read. Rick's method to reading breaks the conventional approach to reading and incorporates more uniform ideas that not only allow for much easier reading, but also gives the student the ability to immediately transpose the reading to any other key at any time. There are other concepts like ear training that can be very difficult for any musician. Rather than endlessly drill on interval training, Rick's approach teaches you how the notes in every chord function and how they relate to the scales and to the ears. Each note in the chord is defined by resting tones, active tones, definition, color, or transparency. This gives the student complete understanding of every note in every chord in every scale. Once the student knows the character of the notes individually and collectively, the student has a much better ear for what they are doing. As a Berklee student I struggled with ear training every semester that it was required. I feel that this approach is much more relevant to your ability to hear and understand music, and much less painful. There are a lot of aspiring Jazz musicians out there who are confused about what tensions to put on what chords at what time. On top of that there is the question of chord scales, and how to approach improvising. The question "how can anyone think that fast with all of this seemingly endless information" often arises. These were questions that I still had AFTER graduating from Berklee that tormented me for years. The answer to all of this has never been provided to me in an efficient, clear, and simple way until I started studying with Rick. These answers are unbelievably simple, and with a little practice you will have complete control of any chord and all of the tensions weather improvising or voiceleading. All of the school training, all of the books, the studies with famous Jazz guitar players, and all of the magazine articles and interviews still left me hazy. There was little new information and I have spent years trying to get everything figured out. "Maybe I just don't have the talent...time to give up?" Since starting Rick's program everything has cleared up tremendously, and I now have no doubt that I will soon be the player that I have wanted to be for years. On top of that I will have the ability to compose, orchestrate, and arrange at a professional level. Ricks program allows any student who is willing to do the work to gain complete technical proficiency, and musical understanding. All that is left what you want to do with your creativity. "Once you achieve technical facility, you're either a musician or you're not. You're either a creative person or a stenographer." - Charles Mingus read more

"If you leap, come back by a step." "The music you will write revolves around the first two measures." These are just a few of the Confucius-like statements you'll hear from Rick. Rick has a strong understanding of how a piece of music affects the ears of the listeners. Whether you are a rocker, a jazzer, a progressive metal artist, a classical pianist or something else, you will gain from Rick's teaching. I have known Rick for about five years and the lessons he gives are still invaluable. Give Rick a try. read more

Rick changed my life. Plain and simple. I've always put music first in my life and when I met Rick it was as if I found the perfect teacher to match my attitude towards music. If music is your life and you want to be as close to the music as humanly possible then you should study with Rick, especially if you're a guitar player. Before studying with him I was lost in the digital world of information that has little practical use and felt misguided. I had the desire and discipline but had a deep feeling like I was lost and not completely on the right track with getting to where I want to be. I was looking into music schools like Berklee and Columbia, but wasn't completely sold that they would be my answer. I realized quickly that there's no other teacher in the world that is quite like Rick. He is far ahead of his time with music education. You don't have to take his word for anything he teaches you because you can see for yourself every time by how it sounds. Every lesson will be an epiphany. He is a very nurturing teacher that has a profound understanding of the entire picture, which other teachers just can't quite get right. It's the most extensive music education you can get. If music is your passion and you've been looking to master your craft with the most thorough understanding you can get then look no further. read more