"My name is Casey Smith. I'm a guitarist and graduate of the Berklee School of Music in Boston, and a former student of Doug Mann. I currently live in Los Angeles, where I work as a session guitarist, both in the recording studio and on stage. I also teach. I've been fortunate to have had some terrific music teachers, for instance while at Berklee, where I studied guitar with greats such as Bob Harrigan, Larry Senibaldi (one of Mike Stern's old teachers), Garrison Fewell, and Joe Rogers, just to name a few. However, to this day, my studies with Doug Mann remain as the most influential upon my overall musical attitude. It's rare to find musicians who are both excellent performers and exceptional teachers, and Doug Mann is one of those rare finds. Aside from Doug's notable technical expertise in guitar and in music in general, he has an unrivaled knack for imparting information to the student. He's focused and insightful, while being easy going and empathetic. He's challenging, yet patient. He developed a plan that effectively taught me to think for myself, and this self-reliance in itself has turned out to be priceless. Doug Mann's teaching continues to be a standard by which I measure other teachers, including myself. I feel privileged to have spent over 2 years studying with Doug Mann, over which time my musical horizons were truly broadened. I wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone aspiring to reach their musical potential."
"Seeking the best of everything has been my attitude for getting the most out of all resources. Doug Mann is the best guitar instructor I have ever studied with. He has given me, in a very short time, a new vision and appreciation for music and greatly expanded what I thought I was capable of accomplishing. He is extremely patient, focused, flexible, talented, and versatile. He is also very passionately interested and involved in all that he teaches. His passion is very contagious! With his encouragement and tutoring I have learned to read music and have strengthened all my weaknesses. It has been a wonderful experience and a continuing honor to be one of his students."
"I had taught myself how to play a few songs from tabs over the past ten years but I didn't really have any true guitar skills or knowledge. In only a matter of months I was amazed at what Doug had taught me. Doug is so talented and unbelievably patient that I feel lucky that he has taken me on as a student. He tailors my lessons to exactly what I want to learn, being careful to keep it fun yet challenging. I only wish I had met Doug sooner so I would not have wasted the last ten years trying to learn on my own."
The Guitar Mann Guitar Studio
3225 N Hayden Rd
Scottsdale, AZ
(480) 688-5193