Chord Melody Made Easy
Tuesdays, 6:00 PM ET 3:00 PM PT)
May 7 – June 11
All sessions will be video recorded
Cost: $270 for 6 live online classes (via Zoom)

“Chord Melody” is the art and science of simultaneously playing chords and melody on the guitar – a practice that can be utilized in almost any genre. This class was the inspiration from which Acoustic Guitar Magazine’s “Chords Melody Made Easy-ish” book (by Greg Ruby) was published.  Using a new repertoire of chord-melody songs, Greg will walk you  through a process that will solidify your understanding of chords, their inversions and their application of supporting a melody. Using a simple, concise method, the class will …(continue reading)

 

The Art of Swing Guitar  
Tuesdays, 7:30 PM ET (4:30 PM PT)
May 7 – June 11
All sessions will be video recorded
Cost: $270 for 6 live online classes (via Zoom)

The approach to this six-week class is to deeply learn a song while refining your skills on rhythm guitar accompaniment and lead playing. The class will spend two weeks on each song to provide time to relax into the structure of the piece in order to make the chord changes and melodic ideas more intuitive – all while improving your skills as both a rhythm and lead guitarist. This session with will feature classic French standards that are often played in a swing repertoire including “La Vie en rose,” “Je suis seul se soir” and  …(continue reading)

Prefer private lessons?

“New to swing and trad jazz? Old to swing and trad jazz? Greg Ruby offers online workshops to take you to your next level! Greg is a superb musician and performer, an excellent teacher/coach, and a great person filled with enthusiasm, patience, and humor.

I’ve played music for decades and turned my attention to jazz/swing guitar about 10 years ago. It just didn’t stick so I let it go. I love the music but couldn’t get it out of my head, into my fingers, and onto my guitar. Greg has changed that over the past year.

Last fall, I started with the Foundations of Swing online course. It was a challenge. I loved it. I was learning, and bits and pieces of each lesson were sticking. The lessons are song/tune-based with a focus on one or more skills (rhythm, chord progressions, passing chords, etc.). I took full advantage of revisiting the videos and handouts between lessons and continue to use them months later. There was a wide range of experience among participants in our class and Greg had something to offer every person at every lesson. He genuinely welcomes all questions and does a fabulous job addressing them. “

– Terri M.

I’ve seen Greg perform at DjangofestNW and taken in person workshops with him there as well.  I can safely say his personality and charm carry over to his online workshops quite well.  That said, his ability to teach has possibly been raised up a notch by this new world of on-line workshops.  I have a feeling that Greg prepares for his workshops now as much as his gigs.

I’ve struggled for years to make sense of how to string together chord melodies and solos.  His approach to this concept is well thought out and finally made a number of pieces fall into place for me.  I’m not quite ready for solo gigs at the local wine bar yet, but based on the improvements I’ve seen using Greg’s approach, it could happen.

-Jon P.

    I have made more progress in my playing in 6 months of studying with Greg Ruby than I have in the last 10 years of self-directed study. Coming from the world of Lindy Hop, his Foundations course taught me the fundamentals I needed to play the music I’ve danced to for years. I find myself revisiting the course material several times a week, and each time I come away with new insights and an appreciation for just how much knowledge Greg packed into that course.

Greg offers his students unbridled enthusiasm, kindness, and a willingness to meet you wherever you are in your musical journey. His teaching is rooted in a deep love for and understanding of jazz and swing-era music, and his passion is infectious — thanks to Greg’s mentorship, I’ve never been more excited to pick up the guitar every day.

-Nathan P.

Greg Ruby is an absolute pleasure to study with! I often refer to him to others as my “guitar guru” because he’s soaking with guitar wisdom. I’ve been playing guitar for 25 years and come from a self-taught, rock’n’roll background, which has caused me to miss out on some fundamental skills, mainly reading and theory.

Before I met Greg I was stuck in a rut, not advancing my understanding or playing, and not feeling confident with reading or transcription. And in just over a year, Greg has deeply transformed my understanding of the guitar. He’s helped to advance my rhythmic sense through transcription, exercises, and reading.  He’s helped me to expand my reading abilities (not only in treble clef but also in bass clef!). I now feel confident taking any piece of music and starting to interpret it on my instrument.

Greg’s effortless understanding of the fretboard and harmony is intoxicating to witness. Plus he also knows how to explain it in a way that you can understand and grow through your own playing. He’s helped me map the fretboard so I’m actually aware of what notes I am playing – what a revelation!

Greg has a limitless understanding of music (not limited to jazz and swing) and is eager to help you learn whatever you are interested in. Our lessons have spanned from transcribing pygmy music of equatorial Africa to studying counterpoint with Bach’s interventions to notating my own compositions. I leave the lessons feeling inspired and energized. Greg goes above and beyond for his students, and checks in often to make sure you are meeting your goals. Thank you so much, Greg. You’ve elevated my experience not only of guitar, but all music. I become a better music teacher through you.

– Chris L., music teacher and psychedelic therapist

“The first time Greg Ruby taught at Django in June his classes were, by our standards, way overcrowded. I tried to tell the participants that others were much smaller and that they were welcome to switch. Nobody did.”

-Andrew Lawrence, director of Django in June

Hi Greg,

I wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying your classes! You are a fantastic teacher. I love your enthusiasm, humor, and knowledge!  You’ve thoughtfully outlined what you want us to learn, and you then translate the roadmaps on the pages by explaining it so clearly. This is where I can get lost on my own!

 Although you move apace – I get the ideas and ultimately get close to manifesting the moves. It’s wonderful to have all these things to work on. “The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise” has been on my mind since the beginning of the pandemic. I’m so glad you included it in the course.

Good material, methodology, technique, theory, history, musicality, geometry and even algebra – you cover all of it without being overwhelming or tangental.

Thank you so much for doing this. I was really getting bogged down on my own – dying from overexposure to myself!

It’s just been so fun.

Peace,

Taffy

 

As a teacher by trade (college chemistry), I understand what is required for a teacher to be successful. I have taken Greg’s classes both at a week-long summer music camp and online. Based on this experience I can state that Greg is a very successful teacher. That is, I learned from his classes. And the learning has stuck. How does he do it? Greg is highly organized. He creates lessons that fit the class time. He is articulate – both in presentation and in answering questions. In a series of lessons, the information and techniques build on earlier lessons. Learning is not forgotten. His lessons have a good balance of us (students) listening to Greg describe what we need to know and us (students) doing it (or trying to). He is sensitive to students’ appreciation/disdain for “theory”. It is not an emphasis in his lessons, but if you ask, he’ll explain clearly and concisely. Finally, whatever Greg is teaching is taught in the context of songs/melodies. While you learn to play more articulately and interestingly, you are also learning songs!

-Steve W.

 

I have admired Greg Ruby’s musicality ever since I first saw him perform with Pearl Django more than two decades ago, and I have benefited tremendously from taking a series of week long swing guitar courses with him on two occasions. The first was a course on jazz guitar fundamentals, and I still work with the excellent resources he circulated as part of that course. In fact, the packet for that course remains the most useful jazz guitar primer that I own. The second course I took with Greg included a focus on the virtuosic playing of the Argentine maestro Oscar Aleman (1909-1980), and I’ll never forget the joy I felt as Greg walked the entire class of people through the mind-bending runs that kick off Aleman’s classic recording of “I Got Rhythm.” Newsflash alert: Those runs involve using your thumb to fret some bass notes, but fear not, Greg will show you what you’re capable of playing! A world class musician and an enthusiastic teacher, Greg Ruby is an ideal guitar instructor for jazz beginners and accomplished players alike.

Jeffrey A. Keith, Ph.D., Professor of Global Studies, Warren Wilson College