As a teacher, I have guided many students to successfully advance their skills on the guitar. I love the way teaching was described by master trumpeter and longtime teacher William Vacchiano (teacher to Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis, among many others). He said... "To me, teaching is like what a painter does. As a teacher, I see each student as a great piece of art. Each student comes in, more or less raw or green. In each student I can reproduce myself, you might say, and create great artists." That is what a master teacher does. Here are what some of my students have to say to you...

Tim is the real deal.
He can play and teach any genre.
I have not found a question he could not answer about playing guitar.
I've been taking lessons now for a year with Tim.

Read More: Richard F.

I originally started taking lessons with Tim in the late 90's when I lived in San Diego and was pretty new to the guitar and was amazed at how quickly my playing started to advance. Back then, what I really appreciated was that Tim didn't only teach me what I was wanting to learn, he would see and delineate other areas in my playing that were weaknesses and helped me turn them into strengths which really bettered me personally as a player. It is obvious that Tim loves what he does and has a special gift on adapting and coming up with lesson plans unique to each student.

Read More: Ryan N.

"Just a few words about Tim Quinn and his professionalism and generosity of spirit. Although I am a remedial student, Tim has never let that get in the way and is a devoted teacher with the patience of Jobe. 

Tim has the expertise to take any student to whatever level they aspire too in any type of music, because he is a devoted student of the art itself who has no reluctance in sharing his lifetime knowledge of music and his love of such a beautiful instrument.

As long as I continue to play the guitar and have a quest for advancement, Tim will always be my first choice."

John Piscatella

"Tim, What a fantastic lesson this week. I'm always amazed at how you are so prepared to react when I come to a lesson and change directions on you. I don't know if its because you are so experienced or because you're thinking a few steps ahead of me. Either way, that's what makes your instruction so great. You can gently ( or firmly, if required) correct my errors, lead me where I need to go and adapt so quickly when I make a no-notice turn on you, like this past lesson. What a feast of techniques and possibilities you laid out before me, and with absolutely no advance warning. I am still extracting all the gems from the recorded lesson and probably will be doing so for months. These recorded lessons are a reference I will be referring back to for years. I leave every lesson with a new set of tools and a new dose of enthusiasm. You're simply terrific. Thanks again."

Ron Harris

"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 was just a distant dream. That is, until I found Tim.

Read More: Sergio Villaroel

"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 tight right now. After trying 4-5 other teachers there is just no comparison. It wasn’t even close!

Read More: Dave Weiss

"I feel privileged to have studied with a teacher that has the breadth and depth of musicianship to fully embrace a wide variety of styles, including Rock, Blues, Slide, Jazz, Country, Finger-style, and Classical genres. Tim uses published and original materials, personal transcriptions, and customized studies to convey ideas; his lessons aren't just something "off the shelf" from a music store. He continually worked to find what motivated me, helped shape musical goals, re-awakened an interest in Jazz, and inspired me to dig deeper into all aspects of music. Those studies directly helped with advanced placement at LA Music Academy."

Kevin Sven Berg

"My son has taken a mere 6 lessons with Tim and undoubtedly learned more during those lessons than in his previous three years of guitar lessons. As an award-winning, veteran teacher (myself), I recognize good teaching. Tim is a professional and encouraging teacher. He is extremely organized, and the lessons are structured to fit the needs and desires of the student.

Read More: Melinda Wollitz

"Tim, your knowledge of all types of guitar is amazing. You have taken me from having an interest in playing the guitar, and instilled the desire to become a true musician. For this, I owe you everything. As an instructor, you always gave me musical pieces of progressing difficulty, without any unreal expectations. In one summer, I accomplished more than I thought I would in a few years, which can definitely be attributed to your talent as a teacher and a musician."

Andrew Krause

"Tim is by far the best teacher I've ever had. He is extremely knowledgeable and diverse in every aspect of music. He has the ability to structure a program specific to each student's individual goals. In addition to his amazing playing ability he's also super cool guy. I highly recommend him for anyone interested in becoming a better musician."

Colin Farnell

"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 switched otherwise I probably would have thrown in the towel early on.

Read More: Chris Huber

"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 are not. I have played guitar on-and-off for a number of years. Focus on family and work had kept me from seriously pursuing this passion of mine. I now have the best of all worlds, free time and the finest guitar teacher in San Diego or perhaps southern California.

Read More: Sam Peca