Denmark Street, London · weekly & fortnightly slots
Lesson Formats Explained Without the Sales Talk
Three shapes of tuition at this studio: private lessons face to face, online tuition over video, and small group sessions. Pick the wrong one and most people quit inside a month.
Where to start
Match the format to your actual week
Guitar tuition comes in three practical shapes here, and each one suits a different situation. Private lessons give you the tutor for the whole hour. Online tuition keeps the same structure but removes the journey. Group sessions put two to four players at a similar level in one room. Below, each format gets an honest description of what happens, who it fits, and where it stops working, followed by the arc of a normal session, the length and frequency options, and the three instruments taught. Nothing on this site carries a price; you tell us about your week through the enquiry form and the studio replies with availability and a suggested plan.
The three formats at a glance
Read the row that sounds like your situation, then open the full description underneath.
Private lessons
One-to-one lessons, face to face
Private lessons give you the tutor's full attention for the whole session, which matters most in the first few months when small errors in posture or fretting quietly become habits. A typical session starts with a warm-up on something you already know, moves into the new material for the week, then finishes with a short block on technique or theory tied to what you just played.
Chord changes, strumming patterns, and fingerpicking all get corrected in real time, because the tutor can reach across, move your thumb, or angle the neck. That hands-on correction is the part video cannot copy. This format suits beginners, exam candidates, and anyone whose goals are specific enough that a general class would waste their evening.
No price list on this site. Tell the studio your week and they reply with availability.
Fretting hand correction
The tutor can physically move your hand here. Online tuition replaces this with angles and words.
Online tuition
Online tuition over video
Online lessons follow the same structure as in-person sessions, delivered over a video call with your guitar in your own space. For most students past the absolute first lesson, it is a workable substitution.
Ask about online tuitionWhat you need set up
- A camera position that shows both hands at once
- Reasonable sound, even from a phone speaker
- A stable connection and a quiet corner of a room
Who it suits
- Adults with tight schedules and no travel window
- Students with no local tutor within reach
- Anyone who would rather not carry an instrument
The trade-off is honest: the tutor cannot physically adjust your hand position, so you get verbal cues and camera angles instead. Expect to be asked to tilt the guitar toward the lens more than once in the first session.
Group sessions
Group lessons and who they suit
Best for two to four players at a similar level: friends, couples, siblings, or parents and teenagers learning together.
The material covers chords, scales, technical drills, and chord progressions, with the tutor moving between players to correct individual issues. There is a social element that keeps some students practising when solo motivation fades, and the format costs less per person than private tuition.
It is a poor fit for exam preparation, for players with very specific goals, and for mixed-ability groups where one person ends up waiting through material they already know. Groups work when everyone arrives at roughly the same level and wants the same kind of progress.
Group sessions in one line, each
- Fits: friends, couples, siblings, or a parent and teenager who both want to play.
- Room size: two to four players, all at a similar level.
- Covers: chords, scales, drills, and progressions, with individual corrections along the way.
- Poor fit for: graded exam prep and mixed-ability groups.
What a session typically covers
Session content depends on where you are, but the arc is consistent. Warm-up and review come first: what improved since last time, and what did not. Then the new work, whether that is a song section, a chord progression, a scale shape, or a fingerpicking pattern.
Then a short piece of music theory that explains what you just played, kept to what is useful that week rather than a syllabus dump. The last five minutes go to practice notes so you leave knowing exactly what to do before the next lesson. Students preparing for graded exams get exam repertoire and sight-reading folded into the same structure.
The arc of a normal lesson
- 1Warm-up and review. Play something you already know, then name what improved and what slipped.
- 2New material. A song section, a chord progression, a scale shape, or a fingerpicking pattern for the week.
- 3Theory bite. Just enough explanation to see why the thing you played works.
- 4Practice notes. Five minutes to write down what to work on before the next lesson.
Scheduling
Lesson length and frequency
Frequency is discussed honestly. If fortnightly lessons will not get you to your target in time, the studio will say so before you book a block.
Thirty minutes
Suits young beginners and students working on a single skill at a time, where a longer slot would drift.
Forty-five to sixty minutes
Leaves room to split between technique, repertoire, and theory. The usual choice for adults and exam candidates.
Weekly
The rhythm that works for most people, and the one that keeps corrections from fading between sessions.
Fortnightly or short blocks
Available if you cannot commit every week, or if you want a run of lessons around one specific goal.
Instruments taught
Acoustic, electric, and bass
Each instrument pulls the lesson in a different direction. Tell us which one you are bringing in your enquiry and the plan matches it from the first session.
Wound strings under a warm key light
Acoustic guitar
Focused on strumming patterns, open chords, and fingerpicking. Suits singer-songwriters and players who want to accompany themselves.
Electric guitar
Leans into lead technique, riffs, and tone, with more time on scales and picking accuracy than an acoustic plan would need.
Bass guitar
Groove, timing, and fingerstyle fundamentals. A different job from playing chords, and taught that way from lesson one.
Graded routes
Preparing for graded exams
If you want a formal route, the studio prepares students for Trinity College London, ABRSM, and Rockschool exams. Each board asks for something slightly different, so the balance of the lesson changes with the board you pick.
Exam preparation is unnecessary for players who just want to enjoy the instrument, and the studio will say so rather than upsell a grade you do not need.
Board comparison
ABRSM and Trinity
Widely recognised in schools and private teaching, so the grade travels with you if you change tutor.
Rockschool
Performance-based grades leaning contemporary, which suits players who would rather play than read.
What changes in the lesson
More time on repertoire, sight-reading, and aural work. The exam deadline becomes the practice structure.
How to choose a format
Ask what your week actually looks like. If you have a regular evening free and want fast correction, book one-to-one. If travel or childcare makes that unrealistic, online tuition removes the obstacle. If you would rather learn alongside someone and cost is a factor, group lessons make sense at a similar level. If you are preparing for an exam or a performance, private lessons at weekly frequency give the best odds.
You can start with one format and change later. The studio will accommodate a switch, and the honest answer to "which is best" is that it depends on how often you can realistically sit down with the instrument between lessons.
Rule of thumb
- Regular evening free: one-to-one, weekly.
- Travel is the blocker: online tuition.
- Cost is the blocker: group, at one shared level.
- Exam or performance: private, weekly, with the deadline in the plan.
Arranging your first lesson
Send an enquiry with your experience level, the format you are leaning toward, your instrument, and roughly when you are free. The studio replies directly with availability and a suggested plan for the first few sessions.
Payment and scheduling are agreed between you and the studio. No prices are listed on this site because cost depends on the format and frequency you choose. There is no obligation to book once you have heard back.
Tell the studio
Your experience level, chosen format, and which guitar you are bringing.
Say when you are free
Evenings after work, a Saturday morning, or a fortnightly slot that fits the month.
Hear back
Availability and a suggested first plan, with no pressure to book a block.
Prefilled details travel straight to the studio inbox.
Enquire about lessonsEnquiries
Tell the studio what your week looks like
Answers go straight to the studio and a tutor will contact you directly with availability and a suggested plan. No prices are listed on this site: cost depends on the format and frequency you pick, so it is discussed in the reply rather than posted here.
Studio
12 Denmark Street, London, WC2H 8LS, United Kingdom +44 20 7937 3425 [email protected]- Monday to Friday:
- 10:00–20:00
- Saturday:
- 10:00–17:00
- Sunday:
- closed
Questions people ask before booking
How do I know which format to start with?
Start from your week rather than the label. A regular free evening points to private lessons; unreliable travel points to online tuition; wanting company and a lower per-person cost points to a small group. You can switch later, and the studio will arrange it.
Why are there no prices on this site?
Cost depends on the format, the length of the session, and how often you come. Rather than post a number that fits nobody, the studio replies to your enquiry with the details for the plan you actually want.
Do I need to read music to start?
No. Songs, chords, and progressions are the usual starting point, and notation gets introduced when it helps you rather than as a gate. Students heading for graded exams will meet sight-reading along the way, folded into the lesson rather than treated as a separate subject.
Can I change format or instrument later?
Yes, and people do. A group that loses a member, an online student who moves closer, or a learner switching from acoustic to electric are all normal. Say so in the reply to your enquiry and the plan gets rebuilt around the change.
How soon will I hear back after enquiring?
Enquiries are answered during studio hours: Monday to Friday, 10:00–20:00, and Saturday until 17:00. Sunday is closed. If you write at the weekend, expect the reply at the start of the next working day.
Start with the format that fits your week
Send an enquiry with your level, instrument, and the hours you can actually commit. The studio comes back with availability, a suggested plan for the first few sessions, and the details that depend on the format and frequency you choose.