Acoustic Guitar Basics

Hi!I'm Jason Rivera. I compose music and teach from my studio in Los Angeles, CA. You can check out my music on my website and you can join my email list for updates.“So good. His soothing voice establishes a real grounded trust. The kind of voice you want to hear in the trenches doing the hard work of making music.” - Philly B, Student“I'd been playing an acoustic guitar for years now. But this class helped me refresh my memory and see points where I'm still messing up. Jason is a gentle guide and is clearly aware of beginners' pain points when they first pick up the guitar. Thank you for sharing these lessons.” - Winta A, Student“Excellent class. He made concepts that have been difficult to understand previously so clear and concise. Really got a lot out of this class. This is foundational to becoming a good composer. Can't wait to try doing the assignments.” - Mona Lisa P, Student“Things I have been confused about for years finally made sense to me through Jason's instructions. I can't thank you enough, Jason.” - Ronja B, Student“Great work, with engaging visuals and great audio and video quality. Jason does a great job in keeping the audience engaged!” - Marco S, StudentMORE ABOUT JASONJason Rivera is a Puerto Rican, Los Angeles-based composer and multi-instrumentalist. Born to a musical family, his dad was an upright bassist in a Salsa band and his grandfather a guitarist. His dad’s basses and upright piano were fixtures in Jason’s house growing up. Occasionally, his dad would dust off a bass and jam with him as he learned to play drums and guitar. In his dad’s record and 8-track tape collection, he discovered everything from John Williams to the Salsa classics of Fania All-Stars. Because of these influences, he started playing and writing music at four years old and has not stopped since.Recently Jason’s focus has been on writing music for media. In 2020, he was invited to score music for Liberty Mutual’s employee diversity, equity, and inclusion program. In 2021, a project he scored, the e-Learning course Disarming Microaggressions, won 3 Telly Awards.His upcoming solo release, “Beam”, marks a new aesthetic. A direction in which he has given himself the freedom to follow his creative impulses and inspirations to wherever they may lead him.Prior to working as a solo artist, Jason enjoyed his earlier musical successes as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with the band Some Go Haunting – culminating when he, along with bandmate Aria Pullman Ostrander, won the beIN the Beat competition, and was flown to Miami to record at the legendary Hit Factory Criteria studio. This live recording was broadcast worldwide during the Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona El Clásico pre-game show in 2014. During this time Some Go Haunting also collaborated with Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, the hip-hop duo Black Knights, on the song “Kids of Summer’.Jason’s music has received radio play on KCSN (88.5 FM) and The Independent FM. His achievements have been profiled in Buzzbands, The Deli Magazine, Arena Music, Voyage LA Magazine, WeHeartMusic, Care2Rock, and Skillshare.Jason says, “Music is an agent of alchemy. Every single note holds the potential to transform the differences that separate us into commonalities that unite us. Through my journey in music I have learned this lesson firsthand. And I look for every opportunity to conjure that alchemy.”