About
James McDonald
I'm a guitar teacher based in Kilkenny. I've been teaching since 2018 and now work exclusively with adult students.
Then
My Background
I first started guitar lessons at 14. Music was already something I loved, but I wasn't convinced I could become particularly good at the guitar. I was a fairly typical young student — I rarely practised, and as school became busier, it became easier to find reasons not to. After about a year and a half, I stopped lessons altogether.
I came back to the guitar at 19. This time I'd made a conscious decision that I wanted to become good at something I genuinely enjoyed, and I was beginning to consider studying music at college. There was still no sudden jump to practising for hours every day. I began with relatively short sessions, often only 20 minutes, but I was now practising most days and taking the guitar much more seriously.
I remember working on a piece with my teacher, Mark McGrath, and noticing that after practising a particular movement repeatedly, it became much easier and began to happen almost automatically, without me having to consciously think through every movement. It helped me understand what practice was actually doing. As I learned more music, I began to notice that skills developed in one piece carried into the next, and seeing that relationship between practice and progress made me want to practise more.
Mark prepared me for my entrance audition to Waterford Institute of Technology, now SETU Waterford, where I went on to study classical guitar with Michael O'Toole. During college, I began practising much more seriously, sometimes spending between one and four hours a day practising and studying music depending on my timetable and what I was preparing for.
I graduated in 2017 with a BA (Hons) in Music, First Class Honours, majoring in classical guitar performance and minoring in composition. In my final year, I was awarded first place in WIT's Bridget Doolan Award and won the Classical Guitar competition at Feis Ceoil. The following year, I returned and won Feis Ceoil's other senior guitar competition, the Guitar Bach Prize (George Lowden Cup). My classical guitar studies subsequently continued with Tal Hurwitz.
My musical education has continued beyond the guitar. I've since studied classical composition with Alexander Pozdnyakov and classical piano with Ksenia Dyachenko, and I continue to study composition today. I also completed a First Class Honours Higher Diploma in Software Development, an area I remain interested in and hope to combine with music through educational tools and projects in the future.
Now
Why I Teach Adults
I've taught more than 300 students since 2018 through one-to-one lessons and group classes, working with both children and adults. Over those years I've increasingly found myself drawn towards teaching adults, and I've now chosen to make them the sole focus of my teaching.
My own experience is one reason for that. What happened to me at 14 isn't particularly unusual. A child can love music and still struggle to make practising an instrument a priority. School gets busier, other interests compete for their time, and it's easy for the guitar to gradually fall by the wayside. Many stop and eventually find their way back to music later in life. That's essentially what happened to me.
When I came back to guitar at 19, the difference was that I'd decided to properly apply myself to it and see what I could achieve. I see the same thing with many of the adults I teach now. They've made the decision themselves, they usually have a clearer idea of what they want from the guitar, and they're in a better position to take responsibility for what happens between lessons.
I also enjoy the more direct relationship I can have with adult students. Adults generally have more control over their own priorities and can decide for themselves where guitar fits into their week. That makes it easier for us to have realistic conversations about what they want to achieve, how much time they want to give it, and what they can expect from that.
After teaching hundreds of students, I've seen how important that is. The students who make regular time for the guitar and practise consistently make the most progress. It doesn't need to take over your life, but it does need to have a regular place in it.
That's the kind of teaching relationship I enjoy. I can put a lot into helping an adult student — finding music they genuinely want to play, working out what needs attention, giving them clear direction and helping when they get stuck. At the same time, they understand that what happens between lessons matters too, and they're in a position to make their own decisions about the time they give to the guitar.
I don't expect guitar to take over anyone's life. But when someone wants to learn, is willing to make a regular place for it in their week and wants my help getting better at it, that's exactly the kind of student I enjoy working with.
Education and Achievements
- 2017Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in MusicFirst Class Honours · Waterford Institute of Technology (SETU)
- 2017Bridget Doolan Award1st place
- 2017Feis Ceoil Classical Guitar1st place
- 2018Feis Ceoil Guitar Bach Prize1st place
- 2018Founded my private teaching practice300+ students taught to date
- 2025Higher Diploma in Science in Software DevelopmentFirst Class Honours · Atlantic Technological University
- 2026Developing an online music composition schoolWith Dr Alexander Pozdnyakov
Why me
Experience You Can Trust.
300+
Students Taught
More than 300 students taught through one-to-one lessons and group classes.
8
Years Teaching
Teaching guitar since 2018, working with students across different ages, levels and musical goals.
3×
1st Place Awards
First place in the Bridget Doolan Award and two Feis Ceoil guitar competitions.
1st
Class Honours
BA (Hons) in Music, with classical guitar performance as a major and composition as a minor.
In their words
What Students Say
A few words from students I've worked with over the years.
Ready to Talk About Lessons?
Tell me what you'd like to be able to play, and we'll see how I can help.