Q Morrow

I have had a couple of teacher before I started taking a lesson by Q. Those 2 teachers were great but I would say Q was the best! I improved a lot in short amount of time before he moved to NY.
The way he approached me was using arpeggios instead of scales to improvise and I finally felt sounding jazzy. I wasn’t good at to do homework before but I had to, to catch up with him.
He taught me by listening the song at first then breaking the puzzle to explain using music theory how each player played. I normally don’t understand theory much but he made easy for me to understand!
You can’t go wrong with him and so sad that he moved away…

For my 61^st birthday I received as a gift 10 lessons with Q Morrow. I had picked up a guitar in college and self-​taught myself how to play some basic chords so I had many years of bad form and sloppy playing to unlearn. Q is so much more than a guitar teacher. He is a true musician and musical scholar and I was in awe of his mastery not only of the instrument, but also the depth and breadth of his knowledge of musical styles and music theory. And though I sometimes walked into my lesson feeling down that I hadn’t made good enough progress, by the end of the lesson Q had me feeling as excited and enthusiastic as when I walked in for my first lesson. If I had trouble playing a particular phrase or chord progression, Q would patiently work with me until I got it right. And if I wanted to learn a particular song, Q would send me home with an arrangement to match my skill level, and he could do this even if he never heard the song before! One of the most valuable lessons, if not the most valuable lesson I learned was simply HOW to practice, and what a difference that has made. My lessons ended after 1 ½ years when Q moved to New York from SF this summer, but I’m still honing the skills Q taught me. And even though I sometimes fall back into my old bad habits, Q has given me such a sold foundation from which to work that I know their days are numbered. Thanks Q!

I’ve been playing guitar for more than 20 years and only recently decided that I didn’t want to fake it with Jazz anymore (after 20 years, I learned to fake it pretty well). So I asked my buddy who I might find to teach a seasoned player such as myself. Not an easy person to find. He said without a flinch that I needed to get in touch with Q. And he couldn’t have been more right.
Q is arguably the best jazz player in town, hand down. On top of that, he knows how to express his ideas and concepts in as fine grained detail as necessary, which he does, with clarity and depth, and with everything we discuss. I haven’t reached beyond jazz with him yet, but I know that his fluency with other styles is equally on the same expert par. After 20 years of playing, he leaves me with enough to practice for another 20 years. And of course, you couldn’t find nicer and more patient guy to study with. This guy is a gem of a find.

Q is an excellent teacher. He is an extremely skilled and versatile player/​composer, and has an amazing ear. His ability to match and then teach the specific feels of any genre, and then the theory and proper techniques behind each of these genres makes him an invaluable teacher. Anyone who wants to go beyond just strumming a few chords and begin to delve into really playing and understanding music via the guitar, Q is the teacher for you. He’s also just a really cool person, making you feel welcome and relaxed during each lesson. Can’t suggest him enough.

Q Morrow is an awesome teacher as well as an awesome musician. I came to him with very little experience playing the guitar and told him I wanted to learn about music theory. He was able to craft interesting and valuable lessons which covered the foundations of music theory all the while teaching me how to play. Awesome, right? Plus he plays all kinds of styles from Jazz to Bossa Nova, Rock to East Indian Raga. Definitely couldn’t have asked for anything more in a guitar teacher.

Q Morrow is by far the best guitar teacher I have ever had. He is not only a master musician but a master teacher as well. He will guide you along the process of evolving as a musician both in all aspects of development. His in depth knowledge of so many musical styles includes Classical, Jazz, Brazilian, African, and even Indian is stunning and beyond impressive. I am so grateful I was lucky enough to have my friend refer him to me as a teacher.
Highly highly highly recommended.

Q Morrow did a fabulous job playing for our wedding. He played acoustic guitar for the ceremony (primarily Beatles, since we’re not entirely traditional) as well as Brazilian/​Beatles music for the reception. For the reception, he was joined by Mark Fishman on drums/​percussion (together, Q and Mark make up Jobooom, and we heard them play at Bossa Nova in SF).
The music was upbeat and fun, and danceable … as well as being perfect at our venue, the Brazil Room in Berkeley.