Tony Watterson Music Tuition

My son has had guitar lessons for about two years and has learned so much, I’m really impressed at how well he can play now. He recently switched to an electric guitar (sorry, neighbours) and Tony has been extremely helpful in advising which one would be best for him. Tony is highly flexible in his teaching, always happy to answer questions which can range from basic technical skills to some advanced strumming technique my son happened to ‘invent’ on his own, he even makes music theory interesting and encourages input for new tunes to learn.The main reason for the progress, however, is because Tony has made him experience that practice doesn’t have to be a chore. The lessons are still way more fun than practicing alone (the chats, the giggles, they’re just as valuable as the serious stuff) but my son has transformed from someone who rushed his homework to be done with it to someone we have to tell to keep it down a bit because, well…the neighbours. Moving his focus from the goal to the journey is quite an important lesson for a 10-year-old.My son’s comment says it all when, at the end of a Skype-session, he puts away his guitar: ‘That was fun!’

Having seen Tony perform at the North Staffs Accordion Club he was my first choice of teacher. I had been playing the accordion for about 2 years and was keen to learn how to accompany a singer, improve my bass playing and develop performance confidence.Tony has excellent technical ability with a range of instruments and a lifetime of performance and entertainment expertise. His teaching is modelled according to my needs which I regard as an important skill for the teaching of adults. He delights in helping to progress my personal choice of music and aspirations. He has patience, is generous with his time, instils confidence and puts me at ease. He gives clear instruction and provides interesting pieces for improving skills. I very much enjoy his lessons which are good fun as well as effective instruction.I feel I have made progress and have started to perform on a regular basis. I have no hesitation in recommending Tony as a teacher of a range of instruments to all ages. His Skype lessons have been invaluable during lockdown and are an enjoyable highlight of the week. Thank you Tony!

My son has been attending piano accordion lessons with Tony for 4 years. From the start Tony struck up a great relationship with him, taking him on a journey from absolute beginner. He is knowledgeable, professional and patient. He is able to challenge Eoin, and also take into account our own request to learn Irish music alongside a wide variety of other styles. He is flexible and has adapted to using Skype/zoom during the pandemic.

My son started lessons with Tony when he was seven, and we've been delighted. Tony is great with kids, patient, encouraging, and just challenging enough. He listens, and he adapts his lessons to what my son has done and what he wants to play. He gives great positive encouragement, and supportive criticism. I don't think my kid is going to become a superstar musician, so Tony's teaching is even more important: he's learning to play music and to love it.

So I started playing in February and thought I would teach myself, but after a couple of months I would find someone to help with the theory aspect of it.Along came Tony and in the 4 or 5 lessons (weekly) I have had since he's made the process a lot smoother and gave me a lot of handy hints and ways to improve as well as a more structured idea of where to go next along the process of learning guitar.As well as a good experienced teacher and someone to smoothen out the process, he's also a gent and couldn't be a nicer person, couldn't recommend him anymore.

Tony's guitar lessons for my 11 year son are inspiring, fun and professional. My son has improved massively and is looking forward to his weekly lessons. There is a good mix of challenging technical exercises and ,often chosen by my son, relevant musical pieces. Tony's communication is also excellent. He's also super patient when he knows my son hasn't practised enough!

Tony has been teaching me the accordion since well before lockdown.As a poor music reader, he has (with great patience) taught me to be a better music reader. My accordion playing has much improved and I look forward to our weekly lessons. He has a structured approach but is always happy add a tune or two" that you may introduce.Since lockdown we have been doing lessons via Skype or Zoom with few issues.We have also recently added blues harmonica to the lesson which I find great fun.Not only a good teacher

I started taking Accordion lessons with Tony just under a year ago and the progress I have made is amazing. He isn't scary like alot of teachers can be and keeps you motivated to keep working hard. He also tailors your lessons to what you want to achieve. I'm a studying actor and am wanting to play my instrument on stage. Therefore my lessons have been focused on passing my exams for my CV and learning to play traditional music from different nations! He has tailored my lessons to my goals and he will do the same for yours. I can't recommend him enough.

I found Tony in November via social media recommendations for my 9 year old son to start guitar lessons. Tony was really helpful in accommodating a slot for my busy schedule. Very fair price compared to others I had researched. My son had never played a guitar and has come on leaps and bounds thanks to Tony. He has enjoyed going to his weekly lessons and he describes Tony as patient, fun and kind he’s always excited to see what he’s going to learn next!

I have been having accordion lessons with Tony for around 7 years. When I first bought the instrument I tried to teach myself using a tutorial book, it didn't go very well. I started lessons with Tony and with the one to one tuition and detailed knowledge he has I made real progress. I have found that as you start to become able to play at one level there are always more intricate techniques that Tony introduces to help you progress to another level. Thank you Tony.