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Instrumental
Guitar

Welcome to Guitar at Laney College

The Guitar Program at Laney College accepts students at all levels from complete beginners to advanced. While the focus is on acquiring a solid foundation in classical technique and the ability to read music, the music we learn to play has a wide range, from simple folk music, popular songs, and student choices to classical masterpieces arranged for soloists and groups of various sizes. I believe it is equally important to learn to play by ear as well as by written music. Theory and improvisation is taught as playing facility advances. The logistics of a class of multiple levels all meeting together is accomplished by juggling groups of students in and out of practice rooms and the main classroom such that each student gets both lecture and lab hours during the 3 hour class time.

Ron Galen, Guitar Instructor

Ron Galen, guitarist, is the longtime head of the guitar departments at Laney College in Oakland (since 1986), Contra Costa College in San Pablo (since 1978) and has recently begun teaching an outreach program for Solano College in Vallejo. He began his musical training at age five on the piano. When he was 13 he taught himself the electric guitar and played in dance bands through his high school and college years. In 1970 he left the midwest and took up residence in the SF Bay Area playing in country and western swing bands. But it wasn't until age 21 that he switched his major instrument from piano to the classical guitar. He holds BA and MA in Music degrees from Cal State University, Hayward, where he studied with the late, great, Jim Bertram, with whom he performed duet concerts for many years.

After college he continued studying in Bay Area master classes with Vicenté Gomez, José Tomas, George Sakellariou, Michael Lorimer. His studies continued at the Conservatorio Oscar Esplá, in Alicante, Spain, in 1980 with José Tomas and José Luis Rodriguez. He also concertized regularly as classical guitar soloist in numerous venues in and around the Bay Area for 30 years. Ron has also performed on tenor banjo, mandolin, ukulele, bass guitar, alto guitar and piano. His multi-instrumental versatility has allowed him to work in many popular music idioms including dozens musical theater productions around the Bay Area, as well as in folk, country, blues, rock and swing jazz idioms. His interest in Brazilian music began when he was first introduced to the music of Brazilian guitarist Paulinho Nogueira in the early '70s, and his choro band, ChoroTime, is the fruit of a long germinating love of Brazilian music. He has also attended California Brazil Camp at Cazadero every year since 2001. Additionally, he has studied Brazilian music at The Jazz School in Berkeley with Marcos Silva and Carlos Oliveira. In 2004 he traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Salvador (Bahia) and Foz do Iguaçu (Paraná) in Brazil and and again in 2006 when he studied guitar with Luis Brasil and Bilinho Teixeira in Rio

 

 

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Professor Ron Galen

Ron Galen (510) 464-3462


 

 

Laney College • 900 Fallon Street, Oakland, CA 94607 • (510) 834-5740