How did you learn to play your instrument?
I was always coming with my brother to his drum lessons that were held next to a music store, I would be crying at the guitar section every time in order to get a guitar (I was 6 years old) until for my birthday my father decided to get me one.
How do you go about writing a song or composing a piece yourself?
I have composed and written music for a long time. There’s many ways to approach it and it would really depend on the style of music. In my opinion, almost always the most organic solutions are the best for the music. I’ve got many exercises from my composition teachers that I have used extensively. Sometimes I write music from jamming on the guitar, when I write more voices I try on the piano or I write it on the software, if it’s electronic I might use a sequencer like the Digitakt and play some synths over it, I think there’s no formula and probably that keeps the outcome hopefully fresh too.
What equipment do you play on today?
I have 3 guitars, mostly playing a very cheap Japanese guitar from the 60s called Teisco del Rey EP 7t, I love the sound of the pickups and it’s very small and light, so, great for travelling with. For more “Jazz” gigs I have a Gibson ES-120t also from the 60s which is very “jazzy” sounding, smooth and short sustain. And the last I have a Gibson ES-345 from the 70s that is my electric guitar, great for more modern things, lots of sustain compared to the other two (humbuckers, etc). Pedals I have a few, some freeze, overdrive, reverb, delay, etc.. You can hear it in the video.
What personal characteristic has helped you the most when practicing?
Probably the passion for learning and feeling how the music goes through me when I learn new stuff, specially transcribing I would say.
What does your instrument have that others don't?
The possibility of being strongly melodic and harmonic. Also that it belongs to so many different genres.
What do you pay particular attention to when teaching?
To start, the students should learn to play music they like, the learning process becomes much quicker when they have the melody and rhythm already in their minds. I like to complement this with pieces I think are a good fit for them after some time of learning their music. The other important thing for me is that the students are able to play whole songs so they get a feeling for playing music and not only small fragments of a piece.
How do you structure your music lessons?
Depending on the case and age. I like to keep it dynamic so the students feel stimulated. I do normally separate the lesson in 3 parts; one of the parts is always playing while the other two are modular and can be interchangeable for example; playing (spot a technical difficulty —> rhythm or technique on the instrument) work on rhythm or technique, and a third module like ear training (presented as fun games) or writing rhythms, or reading, or singing the melody, or etc etc. All depending on the situation and what the student enjoys.
How do you approach teaching children?
I like playing a lot of games, specially depending on the age. Some repeating after me games, listening to music together, singing together, or for instance: "Ich packe meinen Koffer" game. I have also a book to learn how to read with pictures and blanks on it so we can color them together, etc.
What has been your greatest experience as a musician so far?
It’s hard to narrow it down to one, one of the greatest experiences was touring in Georgia and Armenia this year with my band. That was a great feel of achievement, as well as learning so much about organisation, booking etc. The audience was incredibly warm and one could feel how much enjoyment they were having.
What was the biggest stage you have ever played on?
I don’t usually play big stages, probably the biggest was in Bscene 2024, the big stage in the Kaserne Basel, with Mantocliff.
Which musician would you like to play?
I think with the ones I’m currently playing with, I greatly admire my band mates and I feel very lucky to be able to play with them and that they enjoy playing with me too. In a hypothetical situation with someone “famous”, maybe with Ambrose, Bill Frisell just to say someone that I admire a lot and I would love to hear them playing along my side.
Which record would you take with you to a desert island?
This is a very hard question, just because it was the first to come to my mind I would take “Ballads” from the John Coltrane Quartet. I love this record, I don’t know why it came to me first, probably a question to think twice but there I’ve got one.
Which stage would you most like to play on or do you most enjoy playing on?
I like stages that the barrier between the musician and the public is not so separate. I like the intimate setting of playing music for someone that is next to you. I like one concert I went when the artist was playing looking at the same window as the audience, later he explained that we were all traveling together and he was in the motorbike and the audience was in the attached wagon next to him.
Apart from music, what else is important in your life?
I love cooking, gardening (I don’t think I could have more plants in my apartment) and enjoy coffee a lot. I love discussing and I’m very happy to have great friends, a beautiful supportive family and a great partner.
