Information for Prospective Students


I have nearly fifteen years of teaching experience. My students have won prizes in such competitions as the Selezione Siracusa (Siracusa, Sicily), the East Carolina University Guitar Competition (Greenville, North Carolina), the Columbus State Guitar Competition (Columbus, Georgia), the Texas Guitar Competition (UTD, Dallas) and the Eastfield Guitar Competition. They have been regular performers on the Dallas Classic Guitar Society's Dallas Museum of Art Series and the Fort Worth Guitar Guild's Library Recital Series. I have also successfully prepared high school students who are now guitar performance majors at schools such as the Berkeley School of Music, Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University, the University of North Texas and Booker T. Washington Highschool for the Performing Arts. For a while I was adjunct faculty at Tarrant County College, Northwest and South campuses. Currently, I maintain a private studio on the near Southside of Fort Worth.


My philosophy of teaching is heavily influenced by my own guitar teachers (see my bio) and study I have done with Sherrie Reynolds, PhD. at the school of education at Texas Christian University. Persistence, patience and rigor are qualities I try to help students develop. While fun and rewarding, the art of classical guitar playing is complex and difficult; its mastery does not happen overnight.


I put a lot of emphasis on music fundamentals. This includes music reading and musicianship (theory). If a student develops a thorough understanding of basic rules and concepts they will have a base from which they can explore many different styles of music, not just classical. I find that studying solfeggio can be of enormous value to student so I have integrated it throughout my teaching. As a rule I do not use tablature. The exception is when high level students examine lute repertoire.


Once a student can read simple melodies fluently in first position they move on to to the music and methods of 19th century guitarist/composers Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, Matteo Carcassi, and Dionisio Aguado and 20th guitarist/composers Julio Sagreras and Leo Brouwer. Once my students have sufficient experience with these masters they are given much more latitude to choose their own material. They begin to explore the extant concert repertoire and I encourage them to experiment and explore different styles of guitar playing.


I organize recitals at the end of the Fall and Spring terms so that students have the opportunity to perform. This is in addition to opportunities that arise from my involvement with the Fort Worth Guitar Guild. There are also ensemble opportunities for students who are willing to commit to extra rehearsal time and preparation.


Obviously, it is unrealistic for all students to go on to become professional musicians. However, my overall goal is to provide students with a solid musical and instrumental foundation that prepares them for the rigorous demands of conservatories, universities and the professional music world.



I offer three terms each year, Fall, Winter and , Spring/Summer. Each term consists of twelve (12) hours of individual instruction over a four month period. I follow the FWISD calendar, observing all the same holidays with the exception of "make-up:" snow days.


Tuition
Tuition for each term is $600, paid in four installments of $150.
Students who wish to pay for the term in a single payment receive a %10 discount, making tuition $540.
I also offer four-lesson packages for $240(full hour) or $120(half-hour).
Single lessons are $65 per hour or $35 per half-hour.

Supplies (required)
-Guitar
Students are expected to have their own guitar. I do not teach electric guitar lessons. However, students can use a steel-string acoustic guitar for one term, after which the are expected to purchase a classical/nylon-string guitar. I own a few guitars that I rent for $10/month for beginning students who wish to take some lessons before they commit to purchasing an instrument.
-Foot stool
-Electronic metronome and tuner
-Spiral Notebook of "single-stave" music paper
-Small pocket-sized notebook to keep track of assignments
-Published materials such as instructional books and music will be determined according to the needs of each student


Click HERE to download a .pdf file of Mitch Weverka's studio policies.
All tuition is due at the first lesson of each term or the first lesson of each calendar month. There is a $10 per week fee for late payments.
I accept students of all ages (youth thru adult). However, students in sixth grade or younger must sign up for two thirty-minute lessons per week.

Registration for term packages is in August, December and April. Scheduling is done via email. Students with the greatest seniority in the studio receive first choice of lesson times. However, students who elect not to register for Spring/Summer term loose their seniority.

During the school year regular lessons can be scheduled Monday – Thursday. Saturday lessons can also be scheduled intermitently on a week to week basis. No lessons will be scheduled for Fridays or Sundays. Fall Term (Sept-December)

Spring Term (January-April)

Summer Term (May- August)

Make-up Lessons

Once a time slot is agreed to it is the students responsibility to make it to the lesson. In some cases I can accommodate temporary schedule adjustments. However, this is at my discretion and depends on my schedule.

A maximum of two hours per term will be "made up".

In cases of extended illness or injury I will make up more lessons.
I offer no make-up lessons to students on four-lesson packages.

Summer Term

Summer term begins on May 1st. By the end of the school year student will have completed four to six hours of the term. For June through August I will publish 15 to 25 dates on which I will be teaching. Students are then responsible for scheduling the rest of their lessons on those dates.


I teach in a store-front scuplture gallery below the loft apartment where I live. The sculptures are all by Fort Worth artist Jack Kendrick. It is a fun and artistic environment with very live acoustics making it an ideal location in which to teach and play. The gallery can seat 40-50 people for recitals so it also makes the ideal location for end-of-term performances for students. I also host the Fort Worth Guitar Guild's Gallery Recital Series there.

For directions visit this Google Map to my studio.