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All popular American styles of guitar

Who is Tim Quinn?

As a player, I have played over 3,000 gigs, in all styles. I am a veteran bandleader, a trusted sideman, and a local nightclub performer for decades in San Diego, and also a collaborator with local budding talent, in all genres of guitar playing.

As a teacher, I am one of the top guitar instructors in the world. After 34 years of teaching guitar, and 40+ years of playing gigs, I will say that believe I am the very best guitar instructor in the entire U.S.A. I know how to teach the guitar.

I attended four universites studying music, (University of Denver, Berklee College of Music in Boston, University of North Texas, and San Diego State University). I have four instructional guitar books published with Mel Bay Publications, Inc. I have a B.M. Degree in Jazz Guitar Performance from UNT. I minored in music theory. 

As of November 2022, I am completing a series of instructional video courses for pentatonic rock and blues lead soloing. In these courses, I have identified, catalogued, and codified the entire pentatonic lead soloing language. 

My main gig these days is teaching. As a teacher, I am an uparalled master at taking each student by the hand, and guiding her/him to the path of discovery. I am a master teacher of guitar.

Experience

I have been a full-time professional guitarist and private teacher for over 34 years, assisting literally thousands of students to become the best guitarists they can be. I have played over 3,000 professional gigs in all styles of music...thousands (yes, thousands) of gigs, in nightclubs, casinos, touring bands, studio recording gigs, restaurants, concerts, festivals, resort hotels, weddings, corporate functions and more. 

The majority of my gigs have been played in bars, throwing down rock 'n' roll shows, night after night, year after year. I once had a gig at a bar in Escondido six nights a week, for six months straight, as the house band. Every Friday was whipped cream wrestling night (ask me sometime and I'll tell you about it). My favorite gig was when I opened for Albert King, on the second to last gig he played before he died. The show was written up in the San Diego Reader, by writer John Brizzolara. I was playing with the Rick Gazlay Group at the time. Just another night in a career of being a rock 'n' roll warrior. But, I have also performed a lot of gigs in jazz, blues, country, pop, and other styles, as well. And, I have toured with national acts as a sideman guitarist for hire. You name it, I have played it on a stage many times.

And, I have trained a LOT of guitarists who have studied with me. Many of my students have gone on to become professional guitarists, performers, guitar teachers, and even music professors at universities!

Read More: Why Should I Choose Guitar...

What Tim's Students Say

Mike Marabeas

"Tim Quinn is the best guitar teacher that I have studied with. I have taken lessons from a few others, but Tim is by far the most knowledgeable, the most organized, and the best teacher. He can teach any style of music with expertise. I th...

Read more ...

Todd R. Hastings

"Hello Future guitarists. I first picked up the guitar a year ago with the hopes of an attempt to teach myself the basics through CD's and how-to guides and at times felt a little progress, but with time knew I needed a mentor, so I wrote o...

Read more ...

Sergio Villaroel

"I had been playing guitar for 9 years before I met Tim and I was in a blues rut. Being mostly self-taught, I only excelled at blues. The idea of learning how to play fluid jazz like my heroes Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino and Kenny Burrell w...

Read more ...

Louis Scafuri

"The world of music is filled with hype HOWEVER Tim is the real deal. He markets his guitar instruction as the best in San Diego. I believe he is the very best teacher in Southern California...and probably one of the best musicians as well....

Read more ...

Frank Pratte

"Tim is a great guitar player but more importantly to me he's a great teacher. I've been playing for a long time and had hit a long-term plateau. Tim organized my goals and established a lesson plans specifically designed to meet those goal...

Read more ...

Sam Peca

"Before writing this testimonial about Tim Quinn, I decided to read others already posted on Tim’s website. If you are not already a student of Tim’s, the superlatives might sound like exaggerated comments from enthusiastic students. They a...

Read more ...

Nelson Hubbell

"I have played guitar for over 20 years, and I have been a student of Tim's (on and off) for the last 10 years. Tim was recommended to me by a friend and fellow guitar enthusiast, about 10 years ago when my previous instructor left San Dieg...

Read more ...

Brad Scurlock

"My son, Max, and I have had the privilege of studying guitar under Tim Quinn for the past 14 months, having previously taken lessons together for five years. Following a rigorous and thorough approach to identifying the ideal guitar teache...

Read more ...

Chris Huber

"This testimonial might only be insightful to guitar novices. As of this writing, I’ve played guitar for just under 10 months. I had a teacher when I first started, but switched to Tim after one month of total confusion. I am very glad I sw...

Read more ...

Jimmy Davino

"Tim Quinn is San Diego’s own ‘Guitar Guru’! I am a serious guitar player, and even play professionally sometimes. I studied guitar with four other teachers before I met Tim. Now, after studying with Tim for two years, those previous teache...

Read more ...

Carlos Arturo Alvarez

"My name is Carlos A. Alvarez. I'm a 29 year old, Mexican guy, with an accent. This is my experience with Tim Quinn. Tim: Your patience and profound diligence toward the guitar student is second to none. I always felt as if you took us by t...

Read more ...

Joe Rodgerson

"Tim Quinn is simply the best guitar/music teacher in San Diego, maybe in California! When I began to take lessons from him I had already been playing at the guitar for 10 years. I was working as a carpenter, and only playing music on the w...

Read more ...

Steve Bowden

"I have been taking guitar lessons from Tim for over a year now. My previous teacher was also an excellent teacher, but his first priority was performing. With Tim, I feel that he loves to teach, is dedicated to teaching guitar, and that I’...

Read more ...

Dave Weiss

"Tim, you are hands-down the best guitar teacher in San Diego. After studying with you for over a year, I can honestly tell you that last month I tried a few other teachers. I did this strictly because of money, as my disposable income is t...

Read more ...

Rannie Lee

"I was referred to Tim by a reliable source, and Tim has more than met my expectations for guitar instruction. It's one thing to be capable of playing most any style of guitar, and it's another to be a good teacher and mentor; the two are j...

Read more ...

What Tim's Students Say

Louis Scafuri

"The world of music is filled with hype HOWEVER Tim is the real deal. He markets his guitar instruction as the best in San Diego. I believe he is the very best teacher in Southern California...and probably one of the best musicians as well....

Read more ...

Dave Weiss

"Tim, you are hands-down the best guitar teacher in San Diego. After studying with you for over a year, I can honestly tell you that last month I tried a few other teachers. I did this strictly because of money, as my disposable income is t...

Read more ...

Todd R. Hastings

"Hello Future guitarists. I first picked up the guitar a year ago with the hopes of an attempt to teach myself the basics through CD's and how-to guides and at times felt a little progress, but with time knew I needed a mentor, so I wrote o...

Read more ...

Jimmy Davino

"Tim Quinn is San Diego’s own ‘Guitar Guru’! I am a serious guitar player, and even play professionally sometimes. I studied guitar with four other teachers before I met Tim. Now, after studying with Tim for two years, those previous teache...

Read more ...

Frank Pratte

"Tim is a great guitar player but more importantly to me he's a great teacher. I've been playing for a long time and had hit a long-term plateau. Tim organized my goals and established a lesson plans specifically designed to meet those goal...

Read more ...

Carlos Arturo Alvarez

"My name is Carlos A. Alvarez. I'm a 29 year old, Mexican guy, with an accent. This is my experience with Tim Quinn. Tim: Your patience and profound diligence toward the guitar student is second to none. I always felt as if you took us by t...

Read more ...

Joe Rodgerson

"Tim Quinn is simply the best guitar/music teacher in San Diego, maybe in California! When I began to take lessons from him I had already been playing at the guitar for 10 years. I was working as a carpenter, and only playing music on the w...

Read more ...

Brad Scurlock

"My son, Max, and I have had the privilege of studying guitar under Tim Quinn for the past 14 months, having previously taken lessons together for five years. Following a rigorous and thorough approach to identifying the ideal guitar teache...

Read more ...

Sam Peca

"Before writing this testimonial about Tim Quinn, I decided to read others already posted on Tim’s website. If you are not already a student of Tim’s, the superlatives might sound like exaggerated comments from enthusiastic students. They a...

Read more ...

Mike Marabeas

"Tim Quinn is the best guitar teacher that I have studied with. I have taken lessons from a few others, but Tim is by far the most knowledgeable, the most organized, and the best teacher. He can teach any style of music with expertise. I th...

Read more ...

Joe Price

"Tim, your lessons did more for me than studying out of the Julliard book in college for two years straight and taking tons of private lessons from other teachers before that. I got so much out of our time together; thanks for being so dedi...

Read more ...

Chris Huber

"This testimonial might only be insightful to guitar novices. As of this writing, I’ve played guitar for just under 10 months. I had a teacher when I first started, but switched to Tim after one month of total confusion. I am very glad I sw...

Read more ...

Nelson Hubbell

"I have played guitar for over 20 years, and I have been a student of Tim's (on and off) for the last 10 years. Tim was recommended to me by a friend and fellow guitar enthusiast, about 10 years ago when my previous instructor left San Dieg...

Read more ...

Steve Bowden

"I have been taking guitar lessons from Tim for over a year now. My previous teacher was also an excellent teacher, but his first priority was performing. With Tim, I feel that he loves to teach, is dedicated to teaching guitar, and that I’...

Read more ...

Sergio Villaroel

"I had been playing guitar for 9 years before I met Tim and I was in a blues rut. Being mostly self-taught, I only excelled at blues. The idea of learning how to play fluid jazz like my heroes Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino and Kenny Burrell w...

Read more ...

The "Fluid Soloing" Book Series

By Tim Quinn, Mel Bay Publications

Book 4, Fluid String-Skipping and Wide Interval Soloing: Fluid Soloing Series

An Instructional Guitar Book on String Skipping & Wide Interval Soloing 212 Melodic Studies and Patterns for Guitar Book 4 is a much-needed guitarist's guide to mastering wide interval soloing. This collection of repeating, conti...

Book 3, Fluid Chord-Lead Soloing for Guitar: Fluid Soloing Series

Fluid Chord-Lead Soloing for Guitar The 3rd Instructional Guitar Book in the Fluid Soloing Series Book 3 in the series is a complete method for developing fluid double-stop chord melody. This style of playing can be heard m...

Book 2, Fluid Pentatonics for Guitar: Fluid Soloing Series

Fluid Pentatonics for Guitar An Instructional Guitar Book Including 84 Melodic Studies for Rock Guitar Book 2 in this series is a comprehensive manual for developing blistering pentatonic motion that moves freely over the entire fretboard...

Book 1, Fluid Arpeggios for Lead Rock Guitar: Fluid Soloing Series

Fluid Arpeggios for Lead Rock Guitar An Instructional Guitar Book for Aspiring Shredders A modern arpeggio handbook and comprehensive training manual for developing fast, flowing arpeggio runs that connect the entire fretboard. Emphasis i...

Get Remote Guitar Lessons with Tim via Zoom

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The "Fluid Soloing" Book Series

By Tim Quinn, Mel Bay Publications

Book 4, Fluid String-Skipping and Wide Interval Soloing: Fluid Soloing Series

An Instructional Guitar Book on String Skipping & Wide Interval Soloing 212 Melodic Studies and Patterns for Guitar Book 4 is a much-needed guitarist's guide to mastering wide interval soloing. This collection of repeating, conti...

Book 3, Fluid Chord-Lead Soloing for Guitar: Fluid Soloing Series

Fluid Chord-Lead Soloing for Guitar The 3rd Instructional Guitar Book in the Fluid Soloing Series Book 3 in the series is a complete method for developing fluid double-stop chord melody. This style of playing can be heard m...

Book 2, Fluid Pentatonics for Guitar: Fluid Soloing Series

Fluid Pentatonics for Guitar An Instructional Guitar Book Including 84 Melodic Studies for Rock Guitar Book 2 in this series is a comprehensive manual for developing blistering pentatonic motion that moves freely over the entire fretboard...

Book 1, Fluid Arpeggios for Lead Rock Guitar: Fluid Soloing Series

Fluid Arpeggios for Lead Rock Guitar An Instructional Guitar Book for Aspiring Shredders A modern arpeggio handbook and comprehensive training manual for developing fast, flowing arpeggio runs that connect the entire fretboard. Emphasis i...

Learn to Play Almost Any Style

Specializing in most American guitar styles of guitar playing, including:

  • jazz…improvisation, chord-melody, standards, comping
  • blues…electric lead, rhythm, slide, open tunings, blues fingerpicking, and acoustic blues
  • rock…classic rock lead soloing styles, rock chording and funk rhythm guitar styles
  • shred…legato, sweep picking, tapping, speed-picking, fast arpeggios, progressive fusion, and more
  • acoustic fingerstyle…Travis style, classical technique, general fingerpicking, acoustic blues, open tunings
  • country soloing…Nashville-style twang, chickin'-pickin', pedal steel effects, hybrid picking techniques
  • classical guitar…traditional classical repertoire
  • folk guitar…songs, strumming, fingerpicking, instrumentals
  • bluegrass… improvisation, flatpicking fiddle tunes
  • general skills and playing songs…learn to play and sing any songs

Emphasizing all important aspects of musicianship for guitarists, including:

  • guitar calisthenics and exercises
  • lead soloing in any style
  • developing songs for performance
  • composition
  • ear training
  • applied music theory
  • establishing goals
  • mastering scales and arpeggios
  • rhythm
  • reading music
  • accompaniment skills
  • transcribing music
  • improving your singing
  • how to practice

Have Questions?

Whether you're a beginner just learning to play or a veteran shredder looking to take your talent to the next level, Tim will help you improve your skills - and have fun doing it!



Get Hip

Have a question about Tim's services? Tim's FAQ page is full of informative answers!

Let's Go!

Thinking about booking a lesson? Get in touch with Tim to start mapping out a plan!