Play lead guitar that finally sounds like the records.
12 weeks of 1:1 coaching for intermediate rock, blues and metal players stuck running patterns instead of playing solos.
You probably know what this feels like.
You know more about the fretboard than you can actually play. The pentatonic shapes are in there. You can run them. But when you put a backing track on, what comes out sounds like exercises, not music.
You've bought a couple of big courses. Finished maybe 20% of each one. The information is sitting in your brain but it's not coming out of the amp.
You freeze when a backing track plays. Or you noodle around the same three boxes for 30 seconds and bail.
You've watched hundreds of YouTube lessons. The videos either assume you can already do things you can't quite do yet, or they're aimed at total beginners.
You've been at roughly the same level for 1 to 3 years. You can hear the gap between what you want to sound like and what's actually coming out, and it feels like it's getting wider.
If any of that sounds like you, keep reading.
Why other approaches haven't worked
Here's the thing nobody selling guitar education wants you to hear.
The information is not the problem. You already know more than you can play. Watching another video isn't going to fix that. Buying another course won't fix it either.
YouTube tutorials are made for everyone, which means they're made for nobody specifically. Every lesson assumes you've already mastered the thing the lesson before it was teaching. If you've got a gap in there somewhere, the video doesn't know about it. It just keeps going.
Courses have the same problem with a worse delivery model. You sit on your own, play along to the screen, and nobody is watching you. Nobody is telling you that the reason your bend sounds out of tune is your finger placement on the string, or that your phrasing is mechanical because you're not leaving any space between notes.
Transcribing on your own works for some people but most players get stuck after the first few licks.
The thing you actually need is someone watching you play and telling you what's getting in the way. That's the missing piece. Not more information. Feedback.
What makes this different
Three things that change how fast you actually improve. The short version: the diagnosis is the product. Everything below is how it's delivered.
Someone watching you play, every week.
You send me video clips of your practice. I send back voice notes and short videos telling you exactly what to fix. Not generic feedback. The specific thing in your playing that's getting in the way this week. You're never practising in the dark.
A weekly plan built around your gaps, not a curriculum.
Every Monday a personalised Google Doc lands in your inbox with day-by-day practice instructions. Built around what I saw in your playing last week. If your phrasing is mechanical, that's what we work on. If your timing falls apart over a backing track, that's what we work on. Nothing in the plan is filler.
Contact between lessons, not just on them.
Most coaching programmes leave you on your own for six days a week and check in once. The 90-Day Intensive is built around the time you spend practising, not the time we spend on Zoom. WhatsApp is open Monday to Friday. Stuck on something Tuesday morning? Send me a clip. You'll have feedback that day.
What you get
Twelve weeks. Here's everything that's included.
Weekly 30-minute Zoom lessons.
A focused diagnostic look at your playing every week. We watch what you're working on, fix what's getting in the way, lock in the next thing.
WhatsApp video feedback, Monday to Friday.
Send me clips between lessons and get specific feedback back the same day. You're never stuck on something for a week waiting for the next lesson.
A personalised weekly Google Doc plan.
Delivered every Monday morning. Day-by-day practice instructions, built around your specific gaps. Updated every week based on what I see in your playing.
Your private client portal.
All your weekly plans, videos, and resources in one place so you're not digging through emails to find last week's exercises.
Who this is for
This works if you:
It's not for you if you:
Twelve weeks of my full attention only works if you bring yours.
What this is not
It's twelve weeks of someone watching you play and building the plan around what they see.
What happens when you sign up?
Fill out the onboarding form. Five minutes. Tells me where you're at, what you've tried, what you want to sound like.
We jump on your first lesson. I watch you play. We talk goals. We lock in the focus for the next 90 days.
Your first weekly plan lands Monday morning. From there, the rhythm kicks in. Lesson, plan, practice, feedback. Every week, for 12 weeks.
If something doesn't feel right after that first lesson, email me within 7 days and you get every cent back. More on that below.
About me
I'm Joe. I've been teaching guitar full-time for over 10 years. Rock, blues, hard rock, metal lead playing. That's the world I work in.
Here's how I ended up doing this.
I started playing at 12 and bumbled around on chords for two years. No teacher, no real direction. Then when I was 14, a year 13 kid at my high school played a gig at school. His band ripped through Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath songs, and he was up there improvising solos like it was nothing.
I'd never seen anyone play like that in person. YouTube barely existed yet. I had no idea that was even possible.
A week later he put a poster up offering guitar lessons. I tracked him down immediately.
He showed me the pentatonic scale and how the five shapes linked together. That cracked everything open. I finally understood that improvising wasn't random — there was actual structure underneath it.
But as good as he was for getting me started, he was still just an older kid at school. He couldn't teach me how to actually make those shapes sound musical, or how to build proper technique, or any of the things I actually needed next. So I had to figure it all out myself.
That meant learning songs I loved, reverse-engineering what made them work, and building my own systems to fill in the gaps in what I'd been taught. It also meant getting really good at one specific thing — cutting through the fluff and figuring out the actual problem that was holding me back, then building the most direct path to fixing it.
That's the skill I now use teaching other people.
When I got to music university later on, the formal theory I'd never been taught suddenly came at me hard. But because I'd already built my own practical systems for understanding scales and modes, the theory just clicked into place. My instructors used to compliment my theory knowledge, which I always found a bit funny — because I didn't feel like I knew theory in the way they meant. I knew it because I'd already had to apply it.
I started teaching at 22. That's when I realised the biggest thing about working with other players — everyone absorbs information differently. One way of explaining a scale clicks for one person and bounces straight off the next. So I spent the next 10 years getting good at explaining the same idea from a dozen different angles until it lands for whoever I'm working with.
That's what you get when you work with me. Not someone reading from a textbook. Someone who had to figure out everything I teach from scratch, and has spent 10+ years learning how to translate it into whatever language helps you hear it.
A few details about my background:
What students say
It all seems to be what I need exactly. The way you put it all together is logical and tailored to me. The way you prepare is professional and shows your dedication. I am grateful for your knowledge, time and effort put into it — you walked the extra mile for me.
I'd reached an intermediate level and was stuck playing the same things over and over again. I tried to teach myself theory to improvise. Books and the internet were not my friend — I didn't get far and became discouraged.
In the few months I've studied with Joe, I've learnt more than I had in the previous 35 years. I've transitioned from stumbling through basic pentatonic scales to knowing modes. When something's unclear to me, Joe frames things in a different, more relatable way which ties into things I'm more confident with.
I've been playing music on and off for over 20 years and Joe is one of the best teachers I've ever had.
I have had lessons in the past from others, but have learnt so much more in the short time I have been with Joseph. He is fantastic at pointing out better techniques to play pieces easier. He is patient, but determined for one to get it right. Joseph is highly qualified and really knows his music theory and how it relates to the guitar.
If you're on the fence, the guarantee is there for a reason. You meet me on the first lesson, see how I work, and if it's not the right fit you walk away with a full refund.
Pricing
12 weeks of 1:1 lead guitar coaching. Includes:
Full refund available within 7 days of your first lesson if it's not the right fit.
Full refund after the first lesson. No questions.
If we get on the first call and you decide it's not the right fit, email me within 7 days and I'll refund the full $1,800 USD. After that the programme is non-refundable.
The point is simple. You shouldn't have to commit blind to 12 weeks with a coach you've never worked with. You get to meet me, see how I work, and walk away if it's not right. Risk sits with me, not you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be in New Zealand?+
No. The whole programme runs over Zoom and WhatsApp. I work with players all over the world. As long as we can find a weekly time that works across our timezones, we're good.
What if I miss a week?+
Life happens. If you need to push a lesson, we reschedule. The weekly plan and WhatsApp feedback keep going regardless. You won't fall behind for missing one Zoom call.
Can I add extra lessons?+
Yes. If you want to add additional Zoom lessons on top of the programme, message me and we'll sort it out.
What happens after 90 days?+
A few options. You renew for another 90 days at the returning client rate of $1,500 USD. Or you move to regular weekly lessons. Or you take what you've built and run with it on your own. No pressure either way. By day 90 my goal is for you to walk away with a clearer picture of what you're actually working on than you've ever had.
What gear do I need?+
A guitar, an amp or amp sim, and a way to record short video clips on your phone. That's it. You don't need fancy recording gear. Phone video is fine.
Will I have enough time?+
The programme is built around 2 to 5 hours of practice a week. If you can find 20 to 30 minutes a day most days, you've got enough. The weekly plan is structured so every session has a clear focus, no wasted reps.
How do I know it'll work for me? What if I'm too far gone, too advanced, or too behind?+
You'll know after the first lesson. That's what the guarantee is for. I watch you play, we talk through where you're stuck, you decide if I'm the right person to help you fix it. If I'm not, you get every cent back. As for level, the players I work best with are the ones who've been at it a while and feel stuck. 10 years of playing doesn't mean you're too far gone. It means you've got a foundation. We're not starting from scratch, we're fixing what's getting in the way, and that's a much shorter job than people expect. If you can play the pentatonic shapes and you've been playing for at least 2 years, you're in range.
This is for the player who knows there's a better guitarist in there somewhere, and is ready to actually do the work to let them out.
If that's you, click the button.
Start the 90-Day IntensiveNot ready for 12 weeks? Start with the 4-Week Custom Practice Plan.