John Atterbury is a South African musician and teacher based in Forest Hill who has been offering one-to-one tuition in South London since 2008. He graduated from Goldsmiths College in 2010 with a Bachelors Degree in Popular Music (1st Class Honours) and recently completed his masters studies in music at SOAS, University of London in 2020 with a MA Music in Development (Distinction). He has a particular interest in South and West African musical traditions, and has studied under South African guitar virtuoso, Derek Gripper, and collaborated with renowned Gambian kora player, Jali Bakary Konteh over the past few years.

As a performer he has over 25 years of experience, and has played at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds festivals, as well as the Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican and has been featured on BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music and Radio X. TV and film credits include the series PREMature, for which he composed over ninety pieces of original music, and the multi award-nominated documentary ‘Hooking in Joburg.’

John taught music at the JayNii Streetwise Foundation in Accra, Ghana in 2017 and volunteers for Heart n Soul, an award-winning creative arts company and charity based at the Albany Theatre in Deptford.

John shapes all lessons to suit each individual student's musical interests and educational needs. The focus of lessons is on practical playing skills with the choice of learning by ear and memory, TAB or standard notation.

Students are able to cover a wide range of styles (including rock, blues, funk, jazz and folk) as well as a variety of techniques and skills, such as improvisation, music technology, recording and mixing techniques, songwriting and music theory.

John has guided many guitarists through their Rockschool, Trinity Rock and Pop and ABRSM graded exams and his student's have all passed with excellent results.

Lessons are planned to follow the below structure with the aim to develop all aspects of guitar skills and musicianship.

Recording and Home studio setup

John teaches recording techniques and music technology, with the option to include these skills with instrumental lessons. Students have the opportunity to write and record their own songs, arrangements or backing tracks. He is able to assist students in setting up their own studios to get the best results when recording and mixing from home.

Bass Lessons

Bass lessons cover the following aspects:






Adult Ukulele Lessons

Although ukulele is easier than guitar to progress on, it has its own set of unique challenges. A short course of ukulele lessons can make sure your technique is correct and that you don't pick up any bad habits (e.g. correct hand and thumb position).

Ukulele lessons are structured around the songs or styles of music you are interested in. Techniques and skills that are covered include: open chords, strumming patterns, fingerpicking, muting, barre chords, scales, listening, reading chord charts, notation reading (only if you are interested in this), TAB reading, and improvisation.

Children's Ukulele Lessons

Ukulele is also a wonderful first instrument for younger students. It is easier on the hands and fingers so your child will be playing chords and having fun in no time. The techniques learnt on the ukulele can also be used later if they decide to learn the guitar.

Ukulele lessons for children focus on transferable music skills such as reading notation, listening and learning different rhythms, which can be used on different instruments and in other musical environments.