Derek Gonzales

2021, 2022 and 2023 Acoustic Guitar Teacher of the Year - 1. About the Lessons: Learning music is a deeply enriching personal journey. My role as a teacher is to guide you through your own journey. I seek to encourage and inspire you, showing you possibilities and pointing you towards paths to develop your musicality in ways that are fun, effective and rewarding.

Lessons are custom tailored for each student - I consider your specific goals, tastes and needs in order to create a lesson plan that is logical and appropriate for you. The atmosphere is very relaxed in order for you to feel at ease to embrace the process.

In a broader sense, I see Music as a great tool for personal development. It involves exercising logical thinking, physical-motor and cognitive abilities, discipline, aesthetic appreciation, the connection with your feelings and emotions, self-expression and the honing of creative and artistic sensibilities.

In specific musical terms, topics we’ll cover usually include (depending on your goals, musical taste and your level at the instrument at each particular moment):

• Technique,
• Repertoire,
• Ear training,
• Harmony,
• Music theory (each topic is associated with its application in practical and musical examples),
• Improvisation,
• Composition and Songwriting.

For most students who are looking for faster perceivable progress, I recommend 45 or 60-minute lessons, once or twice a week, depending on our schedules. 30-minute lessons are recommended for people with tighter schedules. Having lessons every two weeks or less is also possible, but can usually lead to slower results. Of course there are exceptions - the process is different for each person and the biggest determining factors for a student’s evolution are “how” and “how much” a student practices (more than anything else, really).

2. About me: I’ve been a guitarist for two decades. I attended Souza Lima Conservatory (a Berklee Global Partner) for a year and completed my degree in Popular (non-classical) Music - Electric Guitar in 2015, from Santa Marcelina College in São Paulo, Brazil. I’ve had a large experience as both an English teacher and a Guitar teacher since 2012.

My musical experience includes extensive study of several genres, mainly Rock and its subgenres (from classic rock to metal, from progressive to alternative), in addition to Brazilian music (MPB, Samba, Bossa Nova, Brazilian Jazz), Funk/Soul/RnB, Blues, Pop and also Jazz. 

I’m currently a member of a Funk/Soul band called Discopia and the leader/singer-songwriter of an upcoming Indie Pop/Progressive Rock project. Over the years, I have played in many bands, including covers with Flip the Coin and original music with Brunna Buzollo, in venues in São Paulo (Manifesto Rock Bar, Café Aurora, Gillan's Pub, Praça Victor Civita, and others), and tours in the state of Minas Gerais.

I’ve taught private music students since 2012, I’ve been an English teacher at Lótus Idiomas since 2014, and a music teacher at Estúdio Musical Higienópolis since 2019.