Registration Now Open For Fall 2026 Group Classes
Semester runs September through November
Blues Guitar For Adults – Jazz Guitar For Adults – Youth Jazz Ensemble
Want to suggest a class you think we should offer?
Fill out our Group Class Interest Form
Jazz Band Guitar Lab 2026 - Open House August 31st!
The traditional guitar lesson pipeline rarely prepares students for the specific demands of a school jazz ensemble. Guitarists are suddenly expected to read sheet music, play complex harmony, and lock in with a rhythm section—skills they usually don't learn unless they specifically and deliberately seek them out.. It can be frustrating for them to feel left behind, and tough for you to find the time to get them up to speed.
That is exactly why we are launching a specialized, two-semester Jazz Band Guitar Prep Lab for middle and high school students. The class will be led by Max Reynolds, one of our resident instructors who some of you already know from supporting your programs in the past. We’re designing this program to do the heavy lifting for you across the school year:
Fall Semester (Sept – Dec): Ensembles Support. Max will focus entirely on supporting students currently in your jazz programs, helping them catch up on reading charts, master big band comping styles, and excel in your rhythm section.
Spring Semester: Audition Prep. The focus pivots to intensive preparation for upcoming middle and high school jazz band auditions.
To kick things off for the students, we are hosting a Free Open-House Event:
When: Monday, August 31st, 6-8 PM
What: Students can meet Max, receive a free skill assessment, and get complimentary sample materials.
The actual course will take place Monday evenings, tentatively two sessions at 4:30 and 6:00 PM, depending on the number of signups and school dismissal times.
Teacher Intro: Max Reynolds
My name is Max, and I’ve been playing guitar since I fell in love with the instrument at age 6. Since graduating from PSU with a jazz guitar performance degree, I’ve been sharing that spark through the Portland Jazz scene, assisting high school band directors at Milwaukie and Lake Ridge high schools, and private guitar instruction.
I’ve recorded and/or performed with PSU's Darrell Grant and George Colligan, and world renowned musicians such as Dayna Stephens, John Stowell, and Chuck Israels. My bandstand playing experience allows me to develop curriculum from professionally informed values that I bring to every lesson.
As a teacher, I believe that fun and joy fan the flame of curiosity - we will collaborate on tuning the lessons to your musical interests and create a simple plan of bite sized steps that will get you moving quickly towards success. So no matter your genre of interest, goals, level, or age, I have tools to help and a positive environment for our adventure!
Blues Guitar For Adults - Fall 2026 Semester
11 Week Group Class - Saturdays 2:30 PM
September 12 through November 21st
This course by our instructor Enzo gives intermediate adult guitar students an opportunity to focus on this staple genre in a small group setting. This is not a "from scratch" type course for absolute beginners.
This course takes place over 11 consecutive weeks, 75 minutes per class. Students will work with the same peer group for the entire course, learning and improving as one unit!
Tuition is a flat rate for the course, not per session.
Self-enroll below, or give us a call at (503) 850-8086!
Active Student Tuition $250
General Public Tuition $350
Payment Options:
Payment in Full or
Billed Monthly ($50 Deposit + 3 Monthly Payments);
Enrolled students, please make sure to use the same email address we currently have attached to your account.
Using a different email or spelling of your name will generate a duplicate profile for you in the scheduling system. Thank You.
Jazz Guitar Programs
Intro to Jazz Guitar (Adult Ensemble)
Saturdays, April 4th through June 27
Intro to Jazz Guitar is a place for intermediate adult guitarists who want to put their skills to use in a live band setting. Students will learn the basics of playing in an ensemble and improvising while exploring a challenging, but highly rewarding style of music.
This class takes place with the same peer group who will learn and progress together over the course of 3 months. Classes are 75 Minutes each (4:00-5:15 PM). Tuition is flat rate per semester, not per class.
Class size will be limited to 5 Guitarist, or 4 Guitarists + 1 Bassist. See below for more information.
Tuition:
$275 For Enrolled Students
$375 For General Public
Youth Jazz Ensemble, Ages 14-18
Wednesdays April 1st through June 17
The youth jazz ensemble is a place for guitar and bass students who have learned some of the fundamentals to put their skills to use in a live band setting. Students will learn the basics of playing in an ensemble and improvising.
This class takes place with the same peer group who will learn and progress together over the course of 3 months. Classes are 75 Minutes each (5:30-6:45 PM). Tuition is flat rate per semester, not per class.
Class size will be limited to 5 Guitarist, or 4 Guitarists + 1 Bassist. See below for more information.
Tuition:
$275 For Enrolled Students
$375 For General Public
General Skill Level Guidelines For Beginner Jazz Ensembles
➔Ability to play the 5 basic “jazz” chords: Major 7th, Minor 7th, Dominant 7th, Diminished, and Minor 7th♭5
➔General familiarity with pentatonic and/or major scale
➔For bass players: memorization of the names of the notes on the E and A strings
➔Note that an ability to read music in standard notation is NOT required, nor is any prior knowledge of music theory
Students will learn to:
➔Interpret a “lead sheet”
➔Understand the guitarist and bassist’s roles in the “rhythm section,” and provide the accompaniment that helps create the atmosphere of jazz music
➔Perform the melodies of essential pieces of jazz repertoire
➔“Keep The Form”
➔Improvise a solo
➔Analyze basic harmonic structures (determine the “key” of a song using music theory and context clues)
➔Listen to the band and work together to craft a new story every time
The typical class structure will include:
➔Chord, scale, and arpeggio studies to develop the fundamental materials of great music
➔Rhythmic studies to learn the language of jazz
➔Sight reading - learning songs on paper
➔Listening, transcribing - learning songs by ear and going beyond the paper
➔Group rehearsal to hone these concepts into improvisational collective performances
Monthly Guided Jam - Beginner Friendly Jam for Students Ages 16+
With curated song choices and expert guidance throughout, our beginner-friendly Guided Jam Sessions take place once a month on Sunday evenings.
Registration is $20 for the general public, and $15 for Enrolled Students.
General Public Signup Form
Enrolled Students Signup Form
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR GUIDED JAM SESSIONS
A Guided Jam is a beginner-friendly jam session facilitated by our guitar instructors, who will give tips before each song, answer questions, provide additional instrumentation when necessary, and in general keep things running smoothly. The event is guitar-focused, but players of other acoustic instruments such as fiddle, banjo, ukulele, mandolin are welcome to participate as well!
Students are expected to bring their own guitar (acoustic is recommended, but electric guitars are welcome if you provide your own amp and be considerate of volume). Students should be able to tune their own instrument and be comfortable playing most of following open chords from memory - A, Am, B7, C, D, E, Em, F, G.
More advanced players will be encouraged to push their boundaries by trying new chord voicings, picking and strumming patterns, and improvising solos.
Most of our songs will be selected from the RISE AGAIN Songbook. Extra copies will be available to borrow or purchase at the event. For readability, we recommend the Rise Again Large Print Edition, which is 9"x12" instead of 7"x10".
This songbook uses a condensed format in order to fit over 1000 songs in one book. The system is mostly intuitive, but instructions on the notation system are detailed at the beginning of the book. You can also find an explanation of their notation system in this youtube video, which is recommended if you have not participated previously: HOW TO USE THE RISE AGAIN SONGBOOK
Additional Resources:
Guitar Chord Chart with Recommended Fingerings - Link
Rise Again Songbook Shortlist (Recommended selections from the book) - Link
We have created Backing Tracks for many songs for the songs from our shortlist on a YouTube playlist: Link