Description
Teacher’s Biography:
A very passionate guitarist/vocalist/musician with over 12 years of teaching experience. I have 30 years experience of playing very many styles of popular music including work with artists such as Amy Winehouse and George Michael. I have extensive experience as a performer, music educator, songwriter and composer.
I have taught students of all levels and ages privately since Spring 2004. I have taught as a guitar tutor at schools such as the Hall School in Wimbledon and the St Thomas More RC Language College as well as colleges such as London Centre for Contemporary Music Southwark, London. Full DBS disclosure has been obtained for all school teaching work.
My experience working as a professional musician is extensive. Here is a sample of what I have done:
- Joined Sony Records artists Roachford 1987-1994. Performed, recorded, co-produced and took part in promotion of records (including interviews) as band member.
- Performed and recorded with George Michael and All Saints (1999) including album ‘Songs Of The Last Century’ (Virgin Records) and ‘Saints And Sinners’ (London Records).
- Performed and recorded with Amy Winehouse (2007-11) including album ‘Back To Black’ deluxe version (Island Records). Below is a video of Amy Winehouse and I performing at the Mercury Music Awards in 2007:
Skills And Qualities:
- Highly skilled in performing many different styles of popular music including Jazz and Improvisation.
- Extensive knowledge of theory, harmony and arranging for small or large ensembles.
- Good motivator and group leader able to inspire students to progress rapidly at their craft.
- Good working knowledge of Logic Studio and aspects of music technology.
- Plays acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, vocals, keyboards.
Music Qualifications / Achievements:
- CSE grade 1 -Maths
- GCE (O Level) – English Language,English Literature, History, Physics ,Chemistry,Biology
- A Levels – English Literature (grade E), Poiltics ( grade O ), Business Studies (grade O)
- Piano – grade 1
- Joined Sony Records artists Roachford 1987-1994. Performed, recorded, co-produced and took part in promotion of records (including interviews) as band member
- Performed and recorded with George Michael and All Saints (1999) including album ‘Songs Of The Last Century’ (Virgin Records) and ‘Saints And Sinners’ (London Records)
- Performed and recorded with Amy Winehouse (2007-11) including album ‘Back To Black’ deluxe version (Island Records)
Testimonials:
“I was a fairly new guitarist when I went to Hawi, I could strum a few chords and play some basic riffs. I wanted a more in-depth knowledge and wanted to know what I was actually playing. Hawi gave me the technical background of the chord structure and got me playing the music I liked. It gave me the confidence in my playing that I was lacking, coupled with the fact that you will be learning from one of the premier guitarists in the country. You won’t regret giving him a go!” – Dean, Essex
“I started taking lessons from Hawi after I learned the basics from another guitar tutor. Hawi is a wonderful guitar tutor who tries to teach not only the techniques but also the soul of guitar playing. Rather than making the student play monotonous examples in textbooks, he teaches by drawing examples from actual songs and playing along so I can ‘feel’ how to play. In addition to learning how to play the guitar, I can also gain good knowledge on various songs in the UK/International music scene, which I think is also an important learning experience. Hawi also tries to listen to what I want to work on and incorporate it in the lesson as much as possible so I never get bored.” – Chiaki, Islington
“Hawi is a great guitar teacher who is very experienced. He also helps me a great deal on my songwriting. He gives me excellent advice on how to structure my tracks and improve harmonies. His knowledge is impressive and his musical ear is just … accurate! It’s a privilege to learn with Mr Gondwe.” – Richard, Baker Street
Contact:
To book your first lesson with me, or to find out more about my lessons, don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing me on hawi.gondwe@mgrmusic.com.
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Nichola –
Hawi is a well experience musician and teacher. It is always good to get a lesson from a working musician. I have learnt a lot and he way of teaching has helped me advance in a short space of time. What I enjoy most about my lessons with Hawi, is that I am able to come to the lesson and focus on songs that I want to learn. Know matter how obscure, Hawi will work it out and teach it to you. I would recommend him to anyone who is serious about advancing their guitar playing.