Dr. Owain J. Graham

Instruments: Guitar (acoustic and electric, nylon and steel strings), ukulele, bass guitar, drums
Student age/level: Ages eight (8) years through adult, beginner through professional

PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Riverside; Master of Music with a concentration in classical guitar from the University of Texas at San Antonio; Bachelor of Music from Stetson University

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is shaped by my primary goal as a teacher: to help my students become life-long musicians. Every person has a different relationship to music, and, as a teacher, I do my best to understand, support, and enrich each of my students’ personal relationships to music and their instrument. To this end, I tailor lessons with my students’ goals in mind. This could mean learning to play your favorite songs for personal enjoyment, improving knowledge of music theory and songwriting for your instrument, or becoming highly proficient to prepare for competitions or a career as a professional musician. To this end, I focus on healthy technique and the progressive development of understanding the structure of music. I take this approach to help my students cultivate a life-long relationship with music and to develop a sense of ease in playing their instrument with healthy technique to maximize their enjoyment and freedom to express themselves.

Biography

Owain Graham, PhD, grew up in central Wyoming in a family of music lovers. His father was an amateur Irish and Scottish folksinger, his mother plays the piano, and he and his siblings grew up singing and playing along. In his teenage years, he was involved in Casper, Wyoming’s hard rock and punk scenes, and, at the age of seventeen, he began his formal studies of music at Casper College. There, he first encountered classical guitar and began his studies of music theory, jazz improvisation, and audio recording and production. Dr. Graham continued his studies in classical guitar at the Stetson University School of Music where he received his bachelor’s degree. At Stetson University, he studied with internationally renowned guitarist Dr. Stephen Robinson (a former student of Andrés Segovia). Dr. Graham continued on to receive a master’s degree in music from UT San Antonio. While finishing his master’s degree, he founded the guitar studies program and taught music theory at San Antonio’s Baptist University of the Américas. From there, he undertook studies in ethnomusicology, completing his PhD researching the musics of Latin America and the use of music in traditional healing practices in the Western Amazon Rainforest. Dr. Graham loves living in San Antonio and enjoys teaching and performing music in the San Antonio community.