Nathaniel School of Music · Bangalore · Online
Acoustic, electric, fingerstyle. From first chord to first solo to first stage. Six months of structured work that sounds like music, not exercises.
A note on the instrument
Most guitar students hit a wall around month three. A handful of open chords. A couple of barre shapes. The rhythm to four songs they like. And then progress slows, another chord, another song, and the work starts to feel like collecting, not growing.
The Nathaniel guitar programme is built around that wall, and how to get past it. We treat the guitar the way we treat every instrument at the school: as a vehicle for musicianship. Rhythm before melody. Ear before eye. Twelve keys before one. Theory you can hear, not just remember.
Beginners enter through the Foundation Course and finish the semester able to strum, fingerpick, read chord charts, accompany a singer, and play a 12-bar blues in three keys. Players past the basics join the Method programme and add modal soloing, voice leading, transcription, hybrid picking, and the rhythmic vocabulary of bossa, swing, and son.
You bring the guitar. We bring the structure. Six months from now, you walk into any room and find the music, ears first, hands second.
Nathaniel School of Music
The syllabus, in six modules
M / 01
Major, minor, 7th. Down-up patterns. Capo work. Two-chord, three-chord, four-chord songs. Develop a clean, unhurried strumming hand.
M / 02
The five CAGED shapes. Movable barre chords across the neck. Power chords. Slash chords. Same song in twelve keys without rethinking your hand.
M / 03
Travis picking. Classical right-hand technique. Arpeggio patterns over progressions. Accompany yourself singing with fingerpicking, not strums.
M / 04
Pentatonic boxes. The five major-scale positions. Modal soloing, Mixolydian, Dorian, Lydian. A melodic line, not a finger exercise.
M / 05
Strumming patterns by feel. Bossa, swing, son montuno, reggae upstrokes. Sixteenth-note funk. Tresillo & clave on the guitar body.
M / 06
Read chord charts and lead sheets at sight. Find the key of a song by listening, in under a minute. Diatonic harmony. Transcription you do.
One Method, four packages
Music Method runs in four hour-packages per semester. After your call with our team, we tailor a package across seven classrooms, weighted to your goals. Private one-on-one or small-group batches. Same syllabus, different depth.
32h
Foundation · default
The standard entry. Where most beginners begin.
40h
Standard
8 extra hours of one-on-one. Two Music Factory projects.
50h
Intensive
Adds rhythm theory deep-dive & composition. Three projects.
65h
Music Method Pro
16 weeks, 3×/week. Full-band rehearsal. For aspiring pros.
The seven classrooms, applied to guitar
Posture, fretting hand, picking hand, reading. The habits everything else stands on.
Finger independence, speed, stamina. JZ Etudes & motifs, the vocabulary you'll improvise with.
CAGED, fingerstyle, hybrid picking, voicings, sing-and-play. Pick the modules that match the goal.
Read any chart. Hear any chord. Walk into a session and play in the language other musicians use.
Transcribe songs by ear. Build a personal lick library. Arrange and produce your own tracks.
Bossa, blues, Bollywood, Coke Studio, Latin, gospel, the authentic feel, not a generic cover.
Educative jam sessions. Performance workshops. Real working-musician skills you can't learn alone.
Your hours, weighted across these seven by your goals, set after a discovery call with our team.
Two paths through the school
Most students enter through the Foundation Course. Many keep going. The two paths share a method but differ in pace, depth, and ambition. Pick the door that fits where you are now.
Path 01 · Beginning to Confident
For absolute beginners and self-taught players who want the gaps fixed. Six months from your first chord to playing a complete song, from memory, on stage at the semester concert.
By month six, you will:
Path 02 · Confident to Complete
For Foundation graduates and players past the basics. Modal soloing, voice leading, transcription, hybrid picking, and the rhythmic vocabulary of bossa, swing, and son. The guitar becomes the byproduct of musical understanding.
By the end of the programme, you will:
Who this is for
Most students fit one of these. Each has a different starting line, and a different shape of package after the discovery call.
A / 01
You learnt online. You play four or five songs. The next song feels harder than the last. You don't know what you don't know. Start with Foundation + Music Gym to fix the gaps, then expand into Music Factory.
A / 02
Your guitar has been in the closet since college, or the pandemic, or the kids. You're surprised how much comes back, and how much never does without help. Start with a 32-hour rebuild, weighted toward repertoire and the ear.
A / 03
You play on the worship team. You want chord-substitution sense, real rhythm, and the ability to lead a service without a chart. Start with Music Factory (Church Hymns & Real-time Playing) + Theory & Ear.
A / 04
You want to gig, teach, record, or audition. You've outgrown the YouTube grind. Start with the 65-hour Music Method Pro, 16 weeks, three sessions a week, mentor-led, with full-band rehearsal.
A / 05
You've meant to learn the guitar for ten years. You don't want a one-size-fits-all syllabus, you want to play the songs you like, the right way. Start with Foundation + Modular Guitar (Artist/Song Based).
A / 06
Age 7 to teen. The point isn't to keep them busy, it's to build proper technique before the bad habits set in. Start with Foundation in a small-group batch with classmates the same age.
What students say
A small selection from public reviews and student notes, lightly trimmed.
“
Have been to many guitar classes but Nathaniel has to be one of the best. They teach you a lot more than just songs, you learn different styles and different genres. Plus they make you play in three gigs with a band, so that's really helpful.
A great experience. Both theory and instrument classes were genuinely interesting. My basics are far stronger now, and the jamming sessions were inspiring.
A lot of thought goes into the curriculum. The theory class is refreshingly knowledgeable, theory, history, and a contemporary take on it. Live performance is a must.
If you put in the right effort, you'll gain so much, especially as a beginner. You learn not just how to play tracks but how they're made.
Opportunities, music, fun, discipline. Everything from technique to theory, one of the best places in India for a budding artist to improve.
The teachers and peers helped me break learning barriers and take my skills to the next level, a thorough grasp of theory and how it applies to the instrument.
The faculty is brilliant, the course is well structured, the jam rooms are well equipped. A great place to learn music at any skill level.
The honest questions
What guitar do I need?
Whatever you own, steel-string acoustic, nylon classical, or any electric (with an amp or a headphone amp). Foundation works on either. Method students often play both: technique transfers, and Music Factory teaches you to think arrangement, not instrument. We can recommend models on a budget if you're shopping.
What's the age range?
From age 7 upwards, no upper limit. Our oldest current guitar student is in his sixties, he started two semesters ago.
I'm older. Is it too late?
No. Adult learners actually have advantages, better discipline, clearer goals, and more music to draw on. Some of our most committed students started in their 40s, 50s, and beyond. The body adapts; what matters is steady weekly contact, which the programme is built around.
I tried before and gave up. Why now?
Most students who say this had a method problem, not a talent problem. Traditional lessons can be rigid, theory-heavy, or aimed at children. Here, you learn what you actually want to play, at your pace, with a team supporting you, not a single teacher hoping you stick.
Private or group classes?
Both. Private one-on-one for full personalisation, or small-group batches for the energy of learning with others. Most Foundation students start in groups; many add private hours later.
What if I miss a class?
Every live session is recorded in HD and shared privately. You'll also receive notes, chord charts, tabs, and practice tracks.
How much should I practise?
Thirty minutes a day, or three to four hours a week, is enough for steady progress. Classes are practical, you'll spend most of class time playing.
I play a little. Where do I start?
After your discovery call, our team builds a custom 32/40/50/65-hour package across the seven classrooms, weighted to your goals. Self-taught players often start with 32 hours and add Music Factory.
How does pricing work?
Quoted on enquiry, tailored to your package. The fee depends on hours, format (private vs. group), and mode (online vs. in-person). Smaller packages let you start without committing to a year, many students upgrade once they see results.
Can I learn from outside India?
Yes. We have students in 30+ countries. Time zones are accommodated through weekday-morning, evening, and weekend slots.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes, a graded, performance-based certificate from Nathaniel School of Music, reflecting your progress in technique, theory, rhythm, and performance.
Will I perform somewhere?
Every semester ends with jam sessions and a live concert. Performances are featured on our Instagram and recorded for your portfolio.
Online, offline, or hybrid?
All three. Live online classes, in-person at Langford Town or Sahakar Nagar (Bangalore), or a hybrid of the two with HD recordings.
Can I try a class first?
We don't run individual trial classes. To preview the teaching style, browse the 2,395+ free tutorials or the YouTube channel.
How to enrol
Whether the guitar is leaning in your closet from a pandemic experiment or you're picking one up for the first time at fifty, you are exactly the person we built this course for.
Talk to us
Apply: Application form
WhatsApp: +91 77604 56847
Auditions: +91 98454 65411
Email: music@nathanielschool.com
Listen & visit
YouTube: @nathanielmusicschool (115k+)
Instagram: @nathanielschool
Web: nathanielschool.com
Visit us · Langford Town & Sahakar Nagar, Bangalore 560025 · or anywhere online
