BACKGROUND: I graduated with honors from both Berklee College of Music in Boston (1991) and received my Masters Degree (1996)from the New England Conservatory. I've worked with many great players such as Mike Clark & The Headhunters, Steve Hunt, Antonio Sanchez, Donald Harrison, and many others.

In addition to each students personal goals, the lessons tend to concentrate on;

a) CHORD SCALES and their practical applications to all different types of harmony.

b) IMPROVISATION over all kinds of chord progressions. Standard tunes, to Modal tunes, and everything in between. My goal is to get the student to the point where he/she in comfortable looking at a lead sheet with just the chords changes on it and feel solid about what scale fits what chord.

c) IMPROVING YOUR GROOVES in ALL styles. I always use a drum machine or a drum loop whenever I practice and during the lesson there is always one of the two keeping time for us to play over. We play during 90% of the lesson which keeps it's musical. My goal is to bring out what's already in you musically, not to impose my way of playing on you.

d) Various ALTERNATIVE PICKING TECHNIQUES that incorporate the thumb and first 3 fingers of the right hand as well as palm muting and various slapping techniques.

e) CHORDAL VOICING for 4-5 & 6 string basses. I use a 6 but any string combination has a vast array of chordal possibilities. This again brings Harmony into the picture.

*The lessons are at my home in Aptos, CA right off of the Rio Del Mar Exit on Rte 1 just 10min from downtown Santa Cruz. The lessons are 1 hour and are $60. I ONLY accept CASH for private lessons and PayPal for Correspondence Lessons. No checks, sorry. Thanks.

All you need to bring is your bass and a patch chord. I have amplification. If you would like to see clips of my playing as well as references from people like Marcus Miller, Matt Garrison, and many others, feel free to go to;

http://www.myspace.com/picksband or

http://www.cdbaby.com/pickford

*I AM ONLY ACCEPTING SERIOUS, DEDICATED PLAYERS, looking to fill in the "holes" in their harmonic knowledge. Please no Beginners or cats who can't read music at all or don't know the names of the notes on the neck. You DO NOT have to be a great site reader however. Just the basics is fine.

CONTACT: LUCAS PICKFORD AT:

831-708-2528 or e-mail me at ljpickford@yahoo.com or at http:www.lucaspickford.com *Leave a message with your name and ## a good time to call you back. Thanks!