I choose him as my teacher because I wanted someone who could not only tell my HOW to do something but WHY it was done that way. Personally, I wanted an explanation of the musical theory as well as the practice. Matt has been exceptionally good at catering to my needs. Along the way I have had the privilege of receiving clear, concise and detailed lessons delivered – invariably – with good humour and an understanding of my personal interests. As well as providing me with a great education in music theory and its application to arranging music for the Uke, he has progressively stretched my abilities to playing an increasingly eclectic range of pieces including the classics, Jazz standards and even modern rock. Everyone’s interests and abilities in music and ukulele playing are different. Matt provides lessons tailored for the complete beginner through to the advanced player. Whether you want to learn to play a particular piece, or want to explore the entire capabilities of the instrument and the associated theory along the way, I have no hesitation in recommending him as a thoroughly professional, experienced and dedicated instructor.

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  On my own I was trying to watch videos of Jake, or people playing Jake’s music on YouTube, and work with existing tabs or try to write out my own tabs from reviewing the videos. I tried slowing down videos to learn Jake’s techniques, and pick up on strum patterns and nuances of his style. My progress was glacial and I felt like I was spending more time trying to analyze and understand his music, rather than play his music. I finally made the decision I should have made when I picked up the ukulele.

Matt and I have been working together for over two years and my progress has been exponential. I am now playing Jake’s Ave Maria, Blue Roses Falling, Heartbeat/Dragon, In My Life, Let’s Dance, Me & Shirley T., Missing Three, Piano Forte and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. In addition Matt has worked with me to arrange from voice/piano sheet music songs from Green Day and Muse. Never, ever dreamed I would be able to do that. I can’t even count up the number of different techniques that he has helped me incorporate into my playing.

 

I think what makes Matt a great teacher is that he listens to the student. On our first lesson I showed him how I was stumbling through Me & Shirley T. He didn’t say I was crazy to think I could learn that song. He didn’t say that before I could learn that song we needed to back up and I had to learn a, b, and c first. He has the unique ability to listen and understand what will motivate each student, and design the lesson plans around the student’s interests. His ability to break down each measure, complex strum patterns, and new techniques in such a way so that someone like me, with absolutely no musical background, can grasp them still amazes me. He is an incredibly talented player but he very well may be an even better teacher. 

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 We’ve been all over the map in my lessons . . . learn a song (from Manilow to Dahlberg and every song in between), learn a technique, arrange a song, write an original, but no matter what we’re working on, he teaches it in a way that is tailored for me. He draws from his vast knowledge of the uke, of music theory, and of technique, and makes it all understandable, but more importantly he makes it usable.

That being said, I don’t want to short-change the people part of this. This doesn’t work, especially for five years, if Matt wasn’t as good of a person as he is. He invests in us. He cares about our progress as uke players and cares about our lives as people. Each of our lessons begins with a “how was your week?” and we run through our “checklist” of things to discuss before we jump into the lesson. Some people may not like that, for me it’s essential (although those little chats were more fun when a certain football team didn’t stink so bad).

 

As we wrap up each lesson, Matt says, “Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll see you next week. Thanks Alan” No, you’ve got it backwards. Thank YOU, Matt. Thank you for supporting me as a uke player and as a person. Thank you for your investment in me. Thank you for your friendship. Thanks for the last five years, and as lives change (a baby? wow, who would’ve thunk? but I think you need to rethink naming him Beast Mode Dahlberg), here’s to many more. 

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