Founded in 1984, Mr. Natural's Music School brings high quality, low cost music lessons to the Bay Area. In the beginning, we knew we wanted to bridge the musical gap between the musicians who can only read music and the ones who can only play by ear. We discovered that the best way to develop well-rounded musicians who can play, improvise, read and write music is to get them to think like composers. After years of experience, we have developed an entirely new approach to the subject of music theory and teaching.
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After years of experience, we have developed an entirely new approach to the subject of music theory and teaching. This lovely short film by our dear friend and former student, Asha Ghosh explains how Mr. Natural and Angel (Lynne Vanne) met as well as the revelation Mr. Natural had that led him to develop this music method.
Reviews (2)
Keegan R.
Apr 15, 2021
Jake Robinson
Dec 01, 2020
I have been fortunate enough to take music/guitar lessons with Mr Natural for some months now, which technically began after I stared at his front window from my apartment for about 4 years and just decided to waltz in and give it a go. I had put down the guitar for about 10 years and decided it was worth taking a casual first lesson with Mr Natural himself.
He is a gifted musician and educator (one of the early software programmers too, for that matter), and a very kind person all around. He is a fixture of Haight Street culture and has a lot of great stories to share from his many decades of living and socializing in the neighborhood. Mr Natural teaches by starting with interval training, something that is usually reserved until later on in music teaching.
I greatly appreciate this approach and it has worked wonders for me on a personal level. I would compare this to learning to bake by weighing things instead of measuring by volume right from the start. If you have already learned even the basics of mathematics, this is the language upon which his music theory is centered; and it helps that you likely already know it instead of learning an entirely new (music) language first.
I can't recommend the classes that he and Angel lead here at the school enough, I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon his school and can sense a real improvement in my understanding of both music theory and guitar skills. He's also been great (and patient) with transitioning in-person classes to video conference classes given the current pandemic.
Anyone looking to make music education a part of their life would be well served by just taking a lesson with him to see how it goes, I imagine you'll find as much enjoyment and development from the process as I have. Thank you, Mr Natural for your teaching, good sense of humor and friendship.
He is a gifted musician and educator (one of the early software programmers too, for that matter), and a very kind person all around. He is a fixture of Haight Street culture and has a lot of great stories to share from his many decades of living and socializing in the neighborhood. Mr Natural teaches by starting with interval training, something that is usually reserved until later on in music teaching.
I greatly appreciate this approach and it has worked wonders for me on a personal level. I would compare this to learning to bake by weighing things instead of measuring by volume right from the start. If you have already learned even the basics of mathematics, this is the language upon which his music theory is centered; and it helps that you likely already know it instead of learning an entirely new (music) language first.
I can't recommend the classes that he and Angel lead here at the school enough, I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon his school and can sense a real improvement in my understanding of both music theory and guitar skills. He's also been great (and patient) with transitioning in-person classes to video conference classes given the current pandemic.
Anyone looking to make music education a part of their life would be well served by just taking a lesson with him to see how it goes, I imagine you'll find as much enjoyment and development from the process as I have. Thank you, Mr Natural for your teaching, good sense of humor and friendship.
