Dates: Three Sessions: January 8, January 22 & February 5, 2025
Time: 8:00–9:15 p.m. (Eastern)
Format: Online via Zoom
Fee: $150 + HST

Course Overview

From Shapes to Sound is a new online course designed for intermediate acoustic and electric guitarists who want to deepen their understanding of the instrument and explore how melody, harmony, and rhythm work together to create expressive, dynamic music.

This course bridges practical guitar skills with musical understanding — offering players fresh tools, concepts, and inspiration to move beyond the familiar and rediscover creativity on the fretboard.

Whether you’ve hit a plateau or simply want to understand the “why” behind what you play, From Shapes to Sound provides the structure and insight to help you break through barriers and reconnect with your musical curiosity.

PDF handouts will be provided before each class, and every session will include open Q&A time for discussion, troubleshooting, and sharing ideas.

Course Focus

The program is structured around three pillars of music: Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm — each explored through practical guitar applications, repertoire, and guided exercises.

Melody

• Understanding the fretboard

• Mapping note names across the guitar

• Exploring major scale patterns and relationships

• Understanding triads – mapping the guitar in the key of G major

• Why modes? — when and why they’re useful

• The “hip” notes – expanding your scales with tasteful non-scale tones

• Repertoire:People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield)

• Repertoire:Ashokan Farewell (Jay Ungar)

Harmony

• Understanding chords and how they function within a key

• Moving beyond triads – exploring 7th chords

• Playing arpeggios and chord tones melodically

• “Hipping up” your chord voicings.

• Learning why you don’t always need to play the root of the chord

• Folk-style Travis picking, moving bass and beyond - patterns for chordal movement

• Repertoire:Georgia on My Mind

Rhythm

• Why Rhythm is the most important part of the musical equation

• Chordal guitar playing: from folk styles through to blues and swing feel

• Exploring new rhythmic feels: Bossa Nova, Charleston, and piano-inspired patterns

• Studies:Blue Bossa

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will:

• Understand how melody, harmony, and rhythm interact to shape musical expression

• Navigate the fretboard with greater fluency and confidence

• Recognize chord-scale relationships across keys

• Develop a more creative and dynamic rhythmic sense

• Expand their repertoire with fresh, stylistically varied pieces

• Gain practical tools for arranging, improvising, and personalizing music on guitar

Instructor Biography

Nicholas Russell is an artist and music educator based in Haliburton, Ontario. He holds an Honours Degree with a focus on music and is a graduate of the De Jonge School of Lutherie, where he designed and constructed a concert classical guitar under the expert guidance of Master Luthier Sergei De Jonge.

Nicholas’s musical interests span jazz, blues, world, classical, folk, and traditional styles. As an active performer, session musician, supporting artist, and band leader, he brings versatility and creative depth to every musical setting.

With over twenty years of teaching experience, Nicholas previously directed the lesson program at Folkway Music in Waterloo, Ontario. He currently teaches at Fleming College School of Art + Design and operates the Haliburton Guitar Studio, offering private instruction locally and internationally via Zoom.

Nick’s teaching is engaging, empathetic, and student-centered, emphasizing clear communication, playfulness, and a supportive learning atmosphere. His approach blends structure with curiosity — encouraging each student to find their own voice on the instrument while developing a solid technical and theoretical foundation.

His latest instrumental album, Archtop, is available on Bandcamp. Nicholas is proudly endorsed by Godin Guitars (Canada) and Keeley Electronics (USA).

Learn more at www.nicholasrussell.ca or connect on Instagram @nicholas.on.guitar.