Ian has spent the last 40 years writing, recording and performing in bands and working on projects with: Jimmy Page, Brian May, Chad Smith, Stiff Little Fingers, Reef, Steve Vai, Wilko Johnson, Zodiac Mindwarp & the Love Reaction and many more.

Former Director of Marketing and Product Development at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford and Head of Operations (incorporating marketing, admissions and senior strategic management) at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in London.

Ian co-authored the book ‘Running a Band as a Business’ with Bruce Dickinson (Little Angels, Waterbear Music College) and has also written extensively for Guitarist & Total Guitar magazines.

Ian now consults for music schools and artist development programmes around the world and is the founder at Guitar Breaks.

Tim runs Guitar Breaks workshops in the Midlands.

Mike is one of the UK’s most experienced exponents of the guitar. He has toured live, written music for soundtracks, is an MD for artists, recorded numerous sessions, is an experienced tutor and has endorsed and demonstrated for over 25 years. Mike continues to be heavily in demand as a live guitarist and educator.

Mike has worked and performed with countless high profile artists and producers including:  Jake Gosling  (Ed Sheeran), Living In A Box, Kenny Thomas, Denny Laine Page Official (Paul McCartney & Wings), Liv Dawson, Kitayah (Quincy Jones,  George Michael), Wiley, Robert Burch (Original Rudeboys), Nate James, Thomas Jules (Rudimental) and Cass Fox (solo artist and Faithless).

Mike is also in demand for his soundtrack work, having written, played and produced all of the music for Wildlife Photographer (Channel 5  & Discovery), Lifeboat Rescue (BBC) and Lifeboat (ITV Meridian) and co-written the theme tune and incidental music for Wildlife SOS (Animal Planet, Channel 5, ITV).

​Alongside performing, writing and recording, Mike has taught guitar for over 20 years and is a qualified and experienced tutor. He was also an extremely popular contributor to Guitarist (magazine)  for 10 years.

Mike is absolutely central to many of our guitar workshops at Guitar Breaks, and is here to help you become a better player.

Rob has a CV that most pro players can only dream of! The early 90’s was when Rob really began to flourish, recording and touring with The Pasadenas, Gary Numan, Mark Owen, Alphaville eventually joining the band Jamiroquai as a member in 1999 which continues to this day. Rob has played and co- written on the albums Funk Odyssey, Dynamite, Rock Dust Light Star and has most recently played on the band’s 2017 release Automaton and embarking on a global tour with the band in the April of the same year.
 
His credits also include: Beverly Knight, Kylie Minogue, Anastasia, Lighthouse Family, Don Airey (Deep Purple), Katy Perry, JP Cooper, Era, Gabriella Aplin, Will Young, Julian Perretta, Duke Dumont, Paloma Faith, Robbie Williams, Lego Batman (Soundtrack), Louisa Johnson and The Ministry of Sound’s Stripped Album, Kanye West, to name but a few.

Jeff is one of the rare musicians who can teach as well as he plays. This is borne out by Jeff being one of the most in demand guitar instructors as well as performing and recording with guitar legends Robben Ford and Matt Schofield.

https://www.youtube.com/@JeffMcErlain/

Paul joined the jazz-funk band Jamiroquai in 2005 and has co-written, recorded and performed live with the band ever since. As well as Jamiroquai, he is known for playing with Annie Lennox over a number of years. He formed the soulful jazz/ funk band Trioniq with Jamiroquai bandmate Rob Harris and Iwan Van Hetten.

Other recording and/or live credits include Tina Turner, Bryan Ferry, Tom Jones, Seal and George Michael. He has played with a number of soul & R&B singers such as  Omar, Lamont Dozier and Mica Paris, plus a long list of UK Pop bands as a recording musician and live performer.

From the age of seven Remi has dedicated himself to a life of guitar playing which has taken him from busking on the streets of his local towns to performing at many prestigious venues and events around the world, including Buckingham Palace, Montreal Jazz Festival, BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with Jamie Cullum, as well as appearing on national radio and television. Remi listens to a diverse range of musical genres including jazz, blues, rock, classical, folk, pop, heavy metal, hop hop and electronic music.

​Some of Remi’s notable performances include: Buckingham Palace, BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with Jamie Cullum (Televised on BBC 4), Montreal Jazz Festival, Canada, Django Reinhardt Festival, Samois Sur Seine, France.

​“Remi Harris is an astounding player in many styles” ★★★★★  Guitar Techniques Magazine

Mike Dawes is an English guitarist known for composing, arranging and performing multiple parts simultaneously on a single guitar. He is regarded as one of the world’s most creative modern fingerstyle guitarists with a repertoire spanning original viral videos and popular arrangements, alongside mainstream chart success performing with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.

Dawes was named ‘Best Acoustic Guitarist In The World’ two years in a row (2017 & 2018) by Total Guitar Magazine & MusicRadar reader polls. YouTube personality Rick Beato named Mike ‘One Of The Finest Acoustic Guitar Players In The World’. Mike’s workshop with Guitar Breaks was an awesome experience that culminated with the guests receiving an impromptu private performance from Mike and Tommy Emmanuel!

Pat is an accomplished bassist and educator with a career spanning decades of live performances, studio collaborations, and teaching. A graduate of Basstech in London, where he earned the title of “Best Overall Student,” Pat has since built an impressive portfolio of musical accomplishments.

As a performer, Pat has toured extensively around the world, playing with well known artists including Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers), punk-poet John Cooper Clarke and 80s icon Toyah Willcox, alongside critically acclaimed bands such as Headnoise, The Disorientee, and Wanton & Blithe. 

In addition to his performance career, Pat has been a dedicated educator since 2001, teaching at leading modern music colleges. Known for his versatility, Pat is skilled in teaching students of all levels. His expertise encompasses bass performance, stylistic versatility, advanced techniques, transcribing, music theory, and ear training. 

With his unique ability to adapt to diverse musical styles and his extensive experience in both live and studio settings, Pat remains a sought-after performer, collaborator, and educator in the global music community. He is also a great friend to Guitar Breaks!

With 11 studio albums under his belt and over a decade of international acclaim, Dan has become a definitive voice in modern Blues, celebrated for his exceptional storytelling and legendary artistry.

Voted the#4 Best Guitarist in the world, Dan – alongside Joe Bonamassa – remains the only artist in the world with two worldwide #1, as well as two worldwide #2, Best Blues Rock Albums to his name, as voted by Blues Rock Review USA In 2024.

Amongst the UK’s leading acoustic guitarists, Tristan Seume has toured all over Europe both as a soloist and sought-after accompanist, with session credits on stage and in the studio including Andrea Corr, Eddi Reader, Port Isaac’s Fishermen’s Friends, Irish trad music legends, Altan, and award-winning folk singer, Jackie Oates.
He’s released three solo albums, ‘You Just Know’, ‘Middle Child’ (“essential for fans of acoustic guitar”, Guitarist Magazine) and ‘Handpicked from the Eighties’, a collection of nostalgic favourites reimagined for solo guitar, its included rendition of Heart’s, ‘These Dreams’, gaining praise from Nancy Wilson, herself.

An enthusiastic educator, Tristan’s experience includes countless contributions to Guitarist, Guitar Techniques, Total Guitar, and Acoustic magazines. He’s led workshops at many events around the UK and France. He has also worked as a tutor at ACM, BIMM and currently at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) in London.

Tristan is a good friend of Guitar Breaks, he is one of THE great acoustic guitar players, a brilliant teacher and an all-round lovely chap!

Charlotte has beaten an enviably eclectic musical path since becoming a professional musician at the age of 15. From early success with chart-topping, globetrotting Irish band Ash, she quickly spread her wings to embark on a more personal musical journey.

Her three acclaimed solo LPs, much-loved by critics, brought her into contact with some intriguing and diverse names; in the last decade she’s worked with Bryan Ferry, Bat For Lashes, KT Tunstall, Squarepusher and XTC’s Andy Partridge to name but a few.

Charlotte joined Guitar Breaks in Italy, alongside Nashville session legend Jach Ruch, for a week of musical exploration and pasta!

Not all stars are plastered across social media. Some manage to create a buzz without resorting to self-aggrandizing promotion techniques. 

Jack Ruch is one of those people.

Jack Ruch is a jazz, blues, and soul guitarist from Nashville, Tennessee. He’s racked up an impressive following on his YouTube and Instagram accounts over the past decade or so, and we’ve been wowed by his versatility and groovy guitar chops. 

Ruch is not “out there” on social media in the contemporary sense. In fact, he’s a very private individual who just so happens to be an influencer among the guitarists of Instagram. Thus, his bio simply reads “Husband, Dad, and guitar player in Nashville, TN. Available for Skype lessons.”

We were delighted that Jack could join us in Italy, inspiring our guests with his approach to learning and playing the guitar. 

Ross is a professional guitar instructor who has dedicated his life to helping struggling intermediate guitarists break through their plateaus. He was raised in Scotland and now lives in Music City (Nashville, TN), where he performs in the band for BBR Music recording artist – Jordan Harvey. Ross was invited by GRAMMY award-winning producer Mark Ronson, to record on a session at the legendary Abbey Road studios.

His instructional guitar book “Beyond Pentatonic Blues Guitar” held the #1 best-seller spot on multiple Amazon book charts internationally. 

Blues rock guitar virtuoso, singer-songwriter and producer, Josh Smith, is hailed the world over as a master guitarist with raw talent and power to spare. Blending his signature mix of blues, rock and jazz into dynamic original songs, Smith is known for his incendiary live performances, whether at the Grammy Awards or the Kennedy Center Honors with Mick Jagger, Raphael Saadiq and others. ​

Along with touring the world, recording and performing with renowned artists such as Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson, Andy Timmons, Kirk Fletcher and others, Josh is also a producer and owns Flat V Studios in Los Angeles. 

Josh is a Grammy Nominated Producer for “Crown” by Eric Gales and is a Blues Music Award Winning Producer for “Blood Brothers” Mike Zito/Albert Castiglia 

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Pete has been teaching guitar for many years and is a long time friend of the team at Guitar Breaks. We love him and we know you will too!

Mike has been playing the guitar since he was 12 years old, and from that first moment his love affair with music and the instrument began. Fresh out of school at the age of 16 he attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford and completed a year-long Diploma course.

After finishing ACM his life as a full time musician began, playing in numerous bands and touring up and down the country playing iconic venues such as The Shepherds Bush Empire, The Astoria, The Underworld and London’s Jazz Café. Mike has also been fortunate enough to support industry legends including Paul Weller, Blondie and Katie Melua.

Mike’s session work has led to his working on a variety of projects – from performing with stars such as Ricky Wilson and Diana Vickers, to appearing in many TV shows and adverts. Mike loves being on stage performing, but is equally at home recording in a studio – where he has worked with Alex Von Soos (All Saints, Seal, Atomic Kitten), Mike Horner (The Prodigy, Shakira, Bloc Party), and Mike Chapman (Blondie, Suzi Quatro).

Mike is a long time friend of Guitar Breaks. He’s a great player and a lot of fun to have around!