“I had been searching for a Brazilian guitar instructor for years when I came across his book and website. Finally an instructor who knows both the repertoire and diverse styles of Brazilian music from choro to afoxe, tango brasileiro, samba, bossa nova, and baiao AND how to teach the material to students that have not grown up hearing the Brazilian sound. I was apprehensive about online instruction at first but Billy is extremely comfortable teaching in this medium and gives great prompts and suggestions. Billy is also well-organized and always knows what pieces I’m working on and what we’ve done. He has an extensive library of arrangements for almost any tune in the Brazilian guitar repertoire you would want to learn (and he has quickly produce new transcriptions as well).

Billy is both a scholar and a player of Brazilian music and is great at breaking down pieces from performance, theoretical, and historical perspectives. Best guitar teacher I’ve had in 20 years of playing.”  –  Michael A.   a student for 4 years on Skype

“I’ve been Billy’s student for the last 2 years, and I can say with confidence he is a great teacher. My progression and evolution in the instrument are obvious, and he is very patient when it gets a little harder for me to grasp some concept or other. He knows and understand Brazilian music really well and is able to pass it on to you. A clear evidence to his Brazilian music knowledge is the fact that he is teaching me, a Brazilian, how to play Brazilian music, and he succeeds doing that.” 

– Leo B Cavaquinho Student

 I took guitar lessons from Billy for over 10 years. He is an outstanding teacher who is challenging but at the same time very patient. We managed to go through a very extensive repertoire of pieces ranging from the many Brazilian styles to Latin music and Flamenco. Not only is he a skilled and talented performer but his love and enthusiasm for teaching coupled with his extensive knowledge makes him the perfect choice for an instructor. For many years I took lessons at home with Billy but due to my hectic schedule we switched to Skype lessons. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the quality of the lessons was not affected in any way   

Vivian M.  Guitar Student for 11 years

   “I took Brazilian guitar lessons from Billy for several years. His method focuses on absorbing the many rhythms of Brazil and translating them from percussion instruments to the guitar. Much of his effort is devoted on achieving the elusive Brazilian swing, which non Brazilians need to learn. Billy is excellent in breaking down the rhythms and explaining them. He even has a book out on his method. He covers various Brazilian genres: choro, bossa nova, samba, baiao and more. 

Billy also is an accomplished jazz, classical and flamenco guitarist with a thorough understanding of harmony and improvisation. He is very patient and has years of teaching and performance experience. You will be lucky to study with him!”

– Felicia D. Guitar and 7 Cordas   student for 7 years

“I cannot recommend Billy enough. I studied jazz improvisation with Billy for three years, and later returned to study Brazilian guitar and Piedmont-style finger picking with him. I had been playing for more than twenty years when I started studying with him and he not only helped me improve my playing technically and creatively (on electric and nylon stringed guitars) but also expanded my knowledge of theory and helped me develop new approaches to composing and arranging. I am still working with the material he gave me and take lessons from him whenever my schedule allows. “- Lynn W.  Jazz Guitar Student

“I have been taking lessons with Billy since January 2015. I am a total beginner and I really think I have made the best choice ever to pick him as my teacher. Billy is an experienced guitar teacher and a professional player that knows great techniques for beginners. He has been teaching me basics of guitar in a smart way, and at each lesson I feel I learn something new and at the same time I can clearly see how much progress I have made since our first lesson. He has also been teaching me how to read music and tabs which proofed to be extremely useful every time I want to learn a new song by myself. Highly recommended!”  – Flaminia D. beginning guitar  to ……  over 4 years now