about gtr.education

Most guitarists need help from an experienced teacher. You may get ahead on your own, but a good teacher can speed up your progress dramatically. 

I am proud of decades of experience in 1:1 tuition. I can also look back on a decade of experience in online teaching.

This is my commitment:

  • Weekly coaching sessions for enrolled students.
  • Text-based or video support in between sessions.
  • Feedback on student-submitted recordings.
  • 14-day money back guarantee.
  • Optional 1:1 support (paid extra).

I will walk the road with you!

Mission Statement:

  • I provide a semester program with extensive support to get you playing and making fast progress (you must practice at least 2-3 hours weekly).
  • I will meet you at your skill level and take you up and beyond.
  • I will guide you to a high level of improvisational skills (soloing).
  • I will signpost your way through the maze of scales, chords and songs.
  • I will teach you jazz, blues, funk, latin and similar styles through iconic tunes.

Below you can read about the founder of gtr.education, Markus Plattner.
Markus is a passionate and methodical teacher with decades of teaching experience. His mission is to facilitate access to the art of improvising and playing the blues-jazz-latin-funk repertoire on guitar for anybody who has the desire to do so.
The more one knows about music in terms of melody, harmony, rhythm and form (number of bars, repeats etc), the more one is able to sound good. So Markus’ mission is to pass on that type of knowledge to students.
Videos of his playing can be found on YouTube by searching for ‘Markus Plattner Guitarist‘

Markus Plattner, Founder gtr.education
  • Markus grows up in Switzerland in the 1950s and 60s. He plays guitar in his first band when he is 16 years old. The Blues is his first musical love and awakens his passion for improvisation. 
  • At 20 he enrolls in the newly established Swiss Jazz School in his hometown of Bern, Switzerland and graduates as the first jazz guitarist with a degree in Switzerland a few years later. Many live performances ground him in the art of playing jazz.
  • In the late 70s and all throughout the 80s Markus keeps playing in the local state theatre as the guitarist in major shows, often together with the Bern Symphony Orchestra.  
  • In 1980 he continues studies at the prestigious Berklee College in Boston, a foremost jazz institution in the USA. A masters degree in composition from Sydney Conservatorium in 2002 rounds off his academic achievements.
  • As a composer his interest is in the crossover genre. Over the years he has composed five concertos for classical orchestra and jazz trio, with the latest still awaiting its world premiere.
  • Markus teaches and plays extensively in Sydney, Australia from 1996 until 2003, when he is called back to Bern to take on a managerial role at Bern Conservatorium, where he stays until 2015. He has been working as a freelance teacher and guitarist since 2015.

Learning Online - Challenges and Opportunities

Learning online presents challenges but, to a good degree opportunities as well. 
If student and teacher are too far apart by location, playing together is not possible because of latency (the time it takes audio and video signals to travel from either place to reach the other).
This can be overcome by using recording software. 
The student will record his/her/their homework and submit the finished recording for assessment by the teacher.

  1. Thus the teacher gets an accurate idea of where the student is at.
  2. Recordings are discussed and important corrections pointed out.
  3. The task is then re-recorded by the student. Progress occurs!
Learn with digital media

Well conceived and easily understood media speed up your progress. Enrol in our semester program!

Get serious

Enrol in our program to get ahead with your playing and understanding. See progress happen fast (depending on how much you practice, it's up to you as well!).

Feedback and weekly coaching sessions

Weekly coaching sessions and access to the gtr.education student community. Feedback on submitted recordings.