Meet the team…
School's Founder and Head Teacher, Richard Deyn
Regarded as one of the UK’s finest guitar coaches, and with a rich history of working along side such names as Eric Nicoli, CBE (former CEO of EMI group), Raymond Weil, BBC, Amy Winehouse Foundation, Crystal Palace FC, Ipswich Town FC, as well as creating the world renowned, 28 ROCKSTAR guitar course.
Richard has held long term, respected positions in the field of music education including ‘Principle Guitar Tutor’ at the Essex Musicians Centre, England for 9 years and ‘Resident Guitar Teacher’ at Orwell Park School - the UKs number 1 prep school for 5 years and education consultant to Gibson Guitars UK for 5 years.
Since 1993, as a guitar tutor, Richard has developed his unique way of teaching the in to more of a coaching based system rather than traditional lessons to integrate his vast experience with some of his most valuable strategies for maximising others on their guitar journey. His students include everyone from beginners and those playing for fun through to house old names from such shows as: Game Of Thrones, Star Wars, The Walking Dead, etc…
Teaching Mitch Winehouse to play Amy's song, Back to Black in Camden, London
Since 1992, Richard's dynamic and varied musical career, has spanned every genre from Indian classical music through to Rock and Pop. He has played in a mixed variety of venues around the world including Earl’s Court Arena in London and the World Festival Hall in Austria alongside world-renowned musicians to great acclaim.
Richard in rehearsals with Gaurav Mazumdar, Austria
Richard has written and recorded in many situations from Rock bands and ambient albums through to scoring music for movies, theatre and television. Richard has recorded 5 successful (including US top 10) solo studio albums to date, and has always given time to contribute by means of teaching the guitar.
Filming a lesson series at Gibson, London
Guitar Coach - Oscar Charlton
Oscar is from Felixstowe, Suffolk and has been playing since he was 6 years old. Oscar started off on Piano, and moved to guitar soon after realising he was mainly interested in rock music. After playing in bands throughout his teens, Oscar got his degree in popular music performance from BIMM London, and has been working as a self employed musician and tutor ever since.
“Teaching is great because you can pass down your knowledge to the next generation whilst hoping to inspire others to enjoy playing music in the same way as you. It’s a language of its own and once learned, it gives others the opportunity to communicate with many other likeminded people. “
Oscar specialises in ear training and adapting to the preferred genre of the student
Guitar Coach - Billy Tourney-Godfrey
Billy has been playing guitar for 15 years and has been playing live with original bands in the Ipswich area for the last 10 years. Since 2019 he has been playing at weddings and parties around the country with The Three Buskateers and also recording, editing and producing music for local artists.
Most of his love for music was directed at rock, metal and punk bands, but after diving head first into the world of blues and alternative music in 2014 he hasn’t looked back and has found an individual style that means his playing mixed with his attitude means he is an asset to any band he plays with. His love for teaching is built from the joy he gets when watching students achieve personal goals, whether it is learning their first chord or playing in a band for the first time.
Guitar Coach - Joe Burrows
Joe began his journey to learn the guitar at the age of 11. Although music had always been in his life, it wasn’t until picking up the instrument that he finally had the opportunity to develop a taste. In his teens, he found it to be an amazing tool for self-expression and, more importantly, finding community. He played in bands, performed in jam events, and finally discovered something he enjoyed studying.
Before going on to study at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute in London, Joe was predominantly into Blues, Hard Rock, and Metal music. But university rounded him out. He developed his sight-reading skills, his theory. He learned the intricacies of Funk, Jazz and, most importantly, his place in a band.
Since receiving his bachelor’s in music, Joe has performed in bands and composed music for both documentaries and musicals. Additionally, Joe began to find himself enjoy being a teacher. His patient, calm approach to lessons and adaptability have proven useful when confronted with students of varying levels. As well as this, finding an idea or concept that a student will run away with and get excited enough about to practice outside of the classroom, is what Joe strives to do every lesson
