Adam Levine

Guitar Teacher Adam Levine Helps Pacificans Find The Rhythm
By Jane Northrop
Published in The Pacifica Tribune, July 2, 2003

Adam Levine is an accomplished musician who teaches guitar to add a sense of harmony in his life. “If I don’t balance the time I devote to playing and teaching, something feels off. I’m a player and a teacher and I take both just as seriously,” Levine said.

Levine teaches an Intensive Guitar Workshop, eight “power packed” classes for adults at Manor Music, 460 Manor Plaza in Pacifica. As one beginner course ended two weeks ago, another one began last Wednesday. The classes are limited to 12 students, pretty much the maximum who can fit in the back classroom at Manor Music.

While Levine patiently goes over the basics step by step, he occasionally breaks into a hot number, just to show the class what the piece is supposed to sound like. On the last day of the course, Levine invited a professional drummer and bass player to join him to serenade the students with all kinds of jazz and blues numbers. Part of the lesson was for the students to notice the cues the musicians gave each other to communicate what key the song was in and at what tempo.

The first level of Intensive Guitar Workshops is geared toward someone who has very little knowledge of the guitar to someone who has been playing for some time, but doesn’t really know what they are doing, Levine said.

Levine attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston and the Aspen Music School. During the 1980s and 1990s, Levine gained a reputation in Los Angeles as a studio session player. He played guitar on background tracks for many popular television shows, and he recorded with artists on Capitol, Warner Brothers and Motown Records. His commercial credits include McDonalds, Taco Bell and his television shows include “Cheers,” “Simon and Simon” and “Wings.” He even filled in for a musician on “The Merv Griffin show” for a week.

At the same time, he was hired as the head guitar instructor and director of the guitar program at the Grove School of Music. While at Grove, Levine created one of the top training grounds for guitarists who came from all over the world to attend. “Not only did they receive guitar instruction from a core staff of top notch student musicians, they also studied harmony and composition with the school’s founder, Dick Grove. Dick Grove was truly a gifted teacher and, in my opinion, a genius in the way he organized a system that gave musicians a clear understanding of jazz harmony. He (Grove) was voted Jazz Educator of the year by the National Jazz Educators Association. Being around Dick for 15 years was inspirational for me,” Levine said.

What makes the Intensive Guitar Workshop course unique is that Levine took his life experiences and created a guitar class based on the real world of working musicians who love to play. “I’ve wanted to combine my expertise in music education with my experience of being a pro player into a concise, organized guitar course for some time now. When someone takes the Intensive Guitar Workshop, they’ll not only be a better player, but also learn about harmony, how to communicate to other musicians and who the greatest guitar players are,” Levine said.

Perhaps that’s why Levine interrupted an intense jazz harmony discussion with a few riffs from Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher.”

The class is about developing an understanding about how to play, not just learning a few songs, Levine said. “A lot of guitar instruction consists of learning how to read simple notes or chords and learning a few songs to jam on at parties. That’s fine, but if someone wants to really understand not only how to get music out of the guitar, but also understand the logic behind the guitar’s tuning, then this is the course for them. For example, when I do clinics, one of the first things I ask everyone is to show me where the note C is on each of the six strings. Typically, there are only one or two students who can do it. To me, that’s a real eye opener. Many guitarists, even pro players, function by using certain finger patterns on the guitar, but not really knowing and not really hearing what they’re playing,” Levine said.

Sara Glew, the owner of Manor Music, and an advocate for music and for musicians in Pacifica is thrilled to have the Intensive Guitar Workshops in the classroom in her store. “Sara is a treasure for Pacifica’s music scene. The store has been here since the 1960s. When I approached Sara about doing the workshops at her store, she was very accepting of the idea and she’s even helped me with some great business ideas, too,” Levine said.

The last course was filled to capacity with people who worked a full day during the day, but wanted to relax and learn some guitar in the evenings.

Jennifer Forrester, an officer with the San Francisco Police Dept. took the class for fun. “I wanted to incorporate it into my volunteer work when I visit people in the hospitals. It’s been a major challenge. I never played anything before. He has a lot to offer. I feel a lot more comfortable. He’s a great teacher, “ Forrester said.

Diana Raymond, a former Laguna Salada school board member who manages the office of a surgeon by day, took the Intensive Guitar Workshop to try to keep up with her husband. “My husband has played since he was a teenager 25 years ago. He tried to get me to play, but I didn’t get it. This is a great course. A lot of things are starting to gel,” Raymond said.

Another student, John Carruthers, said he liked the class because Levine uses real music and well-known songs to teach them the basics. The students learn to recognize what music looks like, he said.

So many different people have approached the guitar and used it to express themselves in a multitude of ways.

“The guitar has a colorful history and a fascinating cast of characters. What other instrument can claim a lineage of players like gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, Jimi Hendrix and Andres Segovia”” Levine asked.

Chic Parnell, who Levine invited to play for the last class session, had something to say about Levine. “He’s got all the electricity,” Parnell said