Matt Augustine
LESSONS
Matt offers one-on-one instruction for electric bass and songwriting coaching sessions, taught from his home studio located in Chicago, or remotely over Skype. If you are interested in taking private lessons, please contact him by email at matt.augustine.music@gmail.com for availability and rates.
Photo by Kinga Michalska
Electric Bass
Matt has nearly 20 years experience playing the electric bass. He cut his teeth on classic rock and blues with his high school band, and gigged in the greater Pittsburgh area in the years that followed, playing everything from Reggae to Country. From 2009-2012, Matt studied music formally at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he expanded on his foundation of improvisational ability and playing experience with a deeper exploration of Jazz, R&B, Hip Hop, Latin and other contemporary styles.
Matt hopes to impart upon his students an understanding of the function of the instrument, and the role of the bassist in a variety of playing situations and styles. He aims for his students to become competent instrumentalists, capable of improvising and composing their own tasteful bass parts. To accomplish this, Matt teaches a combination of song examples, stylistic consideration, grooves, reading and notation, chord charts, dexterity exercises, and the application of music theory to the instrument. Matt works with each student to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and to create a personalized learning plan to help them achieve their unique musical goals.
Songwriting
Though Matt was composing his own songs from the time he began playing music at an early age, he rounded into form as a writer through his studies at Berklee College of Music, with the guidance and critique of its distinguished Songwriting Department faculty. In 2014, he released The River Runs Deeper, a self-produced EP of original music.
In one-to-one songwriting coaching sessions, Matt listens carefully and critically to clients' music, and provides comments and suggestions aimed at making their songs as strong as they can possibly be. Employing a variety of proven techniques, he guides them as they build their own repertoire of original compositions. Whether he's working with a complete beginner or someone who has been writing for years, Matt uses his insight to provide valuable suggestions.
Matt also is familiar with basic recording techniques and has a small recording studio in his home. If the client chooses to do so, he will work with them to create a professional demo of their work.