Gibran de Souza is a Doctor of Musical Arts with over twenty years’ experience as a classical guitar teacher and a professional performer. In his career as an educator, he has worked with students of all ages, from complete beginners to advanced players. He also taught at the college level for 5 years in the School of Music of Arizona State University. Gibran's work as a soloist entails not only recitals in various countries but unique collaborations with orchestras in Brazil and the United States such as in the 2012 production of "Ainadamar" by Oswaldo Golijov at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts in Tempe, AZ. From 2012 to 2019, he formed the Parabola Guitar Duo with Dr. Jonathan Crissman. During this time, they carried out artistic and pedagogical projects featuring concerts, masterclasses, and workshops mainly funded by grants and subsidies in partnership with diplomatic offices, cultural venues, and non-profit organizations in countries like Mexico, the United States, the Philippines, Taiwan, and China.

Teaching Methodology:

In my lessons, I aim to provide students with a rewarding learning experience that accommodates their musical interests and engage them in expanding their musical horizons and achieving their artistic goals. My teaching approach takes as a point of departure the work of established guitar pedagogues (Emilio Pujol, Abel Carlevaro, Aaron Shearer, Ricardo Iznaola, and others) and is centered around three foundational principles:

(1) the enjoyment of learning and playing music regardless of one’s skill level;

(2) the gradual development of technique, musical knowledge, and a versatile repertoire;

(3) the practical applications of learning strategies and interpretive possibilities; 

More specifically, you will learn unique ways to express your musicianship on the guitar through a gradual development of four pedagogical areas:

1. Foundational technique: how to hold the guitar properly, posture and position of the hands, building control, accuracy and speed, the basis of sound production, etc.;

2. Progressive repertoire: a flexible selection of works (mainly graded in order of difficulty) in various musical styles, from arrangements of popular/folk songs to classical guitar pieces covering more than 5 centuries of music history;

3. Applied music theory: music notation, structural forms, harmony, rhythm, meter, compositional styles, etc.;

4. Learning strategies: fingerboard mastery, memorization techniques, performance preparation, musical expression and artistic personality.