James knows his music and is a patient and helpful teacher. As a senior, self taught player, he provided me with much needed direction across a variety of pieces including classical, blues, jazz, and popular. I appreciate his flexibility for scheduling lessons and willingness to go at my pace. --Dave read more

Working with James has been great and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking to learn the guitar. He is knowledgable, patient, kind and was able to help me through the frustration that comes with learning a new instrument with admirable positivity/perseverance. It is clear he caters lessons to the individual, helping you learn what you want, based on where you are. Our lessons were fun and frequent and really helped accelerate my learning the guitar. read more

I have been taking lessons with James for about a year, and he deserves more than 5 stars. Each week he arrives fully prepared with a lesson catered to my goals and interests. He remembers every detail in our weekly lessons, and constantly keeps me focused and on track each time we meet. He is flexible, and will go the extra mile to make sure that you learn. I have had other instructors in the past, and none compare. James --- Your the best! Thank you! read more

I've sung and played instruments (keyboard and guitar) for many years, but never learned much theory. I decided about a year ago to take some guitar lessons, to broaden my musical horizons and give me new ideas for chord structures and melodic movements. James Khougaz has given me so many new arrows in my musical quiver! I now know how to do a bunch of interesting chord substitutions and mode mixtures, which has made making my own music way more fun. James has definitely helped me see how to connect musical ideas in new ways and his enthusiasm is infectious. I've never had a boring time in a lesson with him! read more

James Khougaz is an A+ guitar teacher. He does his research based on what you want to learn and is probably one of the kindest people you could ever meet. James has learned the intricacies of his instrument and never stops practicing to hone his skills as not only someone who plays, but also someone who teaches. His ability to simplify theory and technique is outstanding. If you are new to the guitar or someone just trying to learn some new ways of playing, James is definitely your best bet. He also has a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance: James knows a thing or two about the guitar :) read more

I adore James! He is always ready for each lesson, and he doesn't waste paid lesson time on reacquainting himself with what we did last time. It's refreshing to find a guitar teacher who really prepares for each lesson. James is also great at maximizing my playing time. He doesn't constantly pick up the guitar and show off, the way other instructors often do. Finally, James has a degree in music and he's able to connect playing techniques with music theory in useful, but not boring ways. read more

After beginning to teach myself the guitar using books and free online lessons, I had about given up. My attempt at trying to hold most chords turned out to only frustrate me more. I remember the first song I really wanted to learn was "More Than A Feeling" by Boston but my rhythm was dreadful and I couldn't figure out how to read the online resource. This is when I decided to seek out an instructor. And after my first lesson with James (which was free) I knew I had found the guitar teacher for me. He showed me how to approach, practice, and successfully play this song and several more. Now I'm having a blast with my guitar! I always look forward to my weekly lessons with James because he explains everything in a clear and fun way that really inspires me to hunger for more knowledge. James places a lot of emphasis on the fundamentals which has significantly improved my playing and comfort. Last Christmas I had a chance to play for some of my family and they were so impressed. I even had my mom singing along to a few songs, which was fun for all of us. I'm blessed to have found such a passionate and dedicated teacher to help me finally make my guitar dreams become real. read more

Would highly recommend as an instructor. My daughter has been taking lessons from James for about 1.5-2 years and I have been going for about a year. He is a friendly, respectful teacher who stretches your abilities and knowledge just a little further each lesson. I feel this is an excellent approach to teaching, as it as a challenging but not frustrating. He has good vision as it relates to customizing lessons to fit each student, as my daughter and I are always working on different things. I always leave each lesson with something good to work on until the next one. Great teacher with good rates, and as a bonus he comes to your house!! read more

We love James and looks forward to every guitar lesson! He is wonderfully patient and does a great of job of keeping us interested and focused. James is always encouraging and finds ways of explaining things so that a kid can grasp them. I also love that he writes down what was done in each lesson, so that when he starts the next lesson, he is ready to go and not fumbling around to try to remember where we were. Our first teacher always wasted the first 10 minutes, reacquainting himself with what they did in the last lesson and asking for reminders on what they did. James hits the ground running in each session and immediately gets into the actual lesson, which we love! read more

Didn't realize there was a Yelp page until now... I travel regularly to San Francisco and have a lot of random downtime when I'm there, so I started bringing along my travel guitar and taking classical guitar lessons from James Khougaz. He's super chill about meeting wherever I am staying. I just email or text him when I know I am going to be in SF, along with some info on whatever I'm currently working on, and he shows up prepared to do the lesson -- couldn't be easier. It's so convenient to be able to actually communicate digitally with a classical guitar teacher. Most of the others I've worked with are *not* happy to communicate with students via email/SMS the way James is. Oh, and he's also happy to chat about practice questions over email, which can be a godsend when you're stuck on something in a piece and you can't figure out the notation or fingering! It frankly sucks when your instructor doesn't take questions outside of lessons and you have to wait unit the next lesson to get an answer. Thanks James! read more

James is a great teacher who is always prepared and on time. Very knowledgable and excited to teach. He wasted no time during the lessons and was always adding helpful tips for learning songs. I would recommend him to anyone looking to Learn to play guitar. read more

I recently took a hospitality job in San Diego but had been taking lessons with James for 3 years. I'm bummed that I haven't been able to find a quality guitar teacher like him down here, his style is truly unique! read more

I found James because of his Yelp reviews when I was looking for a guitar teacher for my 12 year old son, Elliot. James has more than lived up to expectations. Previously I had gotten Elliot lessons through one of the local music shops, but he never seemed enthusiastic about them, and hardly practiced between lessons. Unfortunately he gave up on guitar for a while, but when he told me he wanted to try again I found James. I knew I had found the right teacher for Elliot because he is now is practicing consistently, always wanting to be ready for the next lesson. It makes me so elated when my son comes up to me wanting to show what he has been working on. James hasn't just helped him learn guitar, he's given him something that no other teacher has been able to, a passion for it. read more