# Blues Teacher & Mentor in Central Toronto



## mgarofolo (Jul 20, 2010)

Howdy!

I need a referral from the community please.

I'm a self-taught nimrod who has never taken a lesson in his 23 years of playing. That's left me with a ton of holes in my playing and some pretty sloppy chops. I can get around pretty good but it could be SO much better. I'm ready to commit to some lessons....months/years of lessons. The goal is to be a respectable player within 5 years.

I'm basically a Hendrix fanatic who would be in bliss to just play Hendrix tunes my whole life. I don't just want to play his tunes but rather to understand WHAT and WHY he was doing it! I don't want to be the guy that can play 20 Hendrix tunes and not be able to jam with anyone if you know what I mean.

I also love country blues like Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Rev. Gary Davis, Skip James, Junior Kimbrough. I love the Black Keys too.

I need to find a real blues guy that I can build a relationship with and work with for a long period of time. 

Am I wrong to think that I should stay away from the "I'm from Berkely school of music and can play any style of music" guy and go with the real bluesman?? 

Thanks a lot. I know these types of questions get asked a bunch.

RIP Jimi.

Matt


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## snacker (Jun 26, 2008)

contact mike daley - great blues player (with major cred) who is a very well rounded and knowledgeable musician - super cool guy too - i think he's in little italy
[email protected]


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## mgarofolo (Jul 20, 2010)

Thanks snacker. I checked him out and he seems to be about right. I'll email him and see where it goes. Thanks for the referral!
Matt


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## metallica86 (Aug 17, 2009)

interesting thread cause I'm finding a teacher as well, I'm 25 and almost same music taste like mgarofolo, please give me some feedback when you found one


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

mike mckenna does lessons, can't get anymore authentic than that


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## mgarofolo (Jul 20, 2010)

metallica86 said:


> interesting thread cause I'm finding a teacher as well, I'm 25 and almost same music taste like mgarofolo, please give me some feedback when you found one


I have contacted him and will let you know how it goes.


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## metallica86 (Aug 17, 2009)

do you found one yet ?
let me know how it goes


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## mgarofolo (Jul 20, 2010)

Hey. I contacted Mike Daley and he's very approachable and I will give him a go sometime soon. He says he can teach finger bending style (electric blues) or finger-picking country style equally well as he's been playing both forever. 

I just had a baby and we are moving to a new house so I'm too busy for lessons (or for practicing) these days. Email him and give him a try. Let us know what you think.


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