Little Kids Rock (LKR), a leading nonprofit provider of free musical instruments and teacher trainings to U.S. public school hosted Monte Pittman on January 27 th. Pittman, the famed solo artist and guitarist for Madonna, Adam Lambert and Prong, visited Belvedere Middle School in East Los Angeles to give a special guitar lesson to low-income students participating in the Little Kids Rock music program. The visit comes amidst unprecedented school budget cuts forcing public school music program closures in California and nationwide.
Pittman’s initial claim to fame was his role as the “Guitar Teacher to the Stars,” teaching British film director, Guy Ritchie and his then girlfriend - pop music legend Madonna, with whom he eventually toured. Having just completed a stint as the musical director and lead guitarist for Adam Lambert’s Glam Nation Tour, Pittman took the time out to teach tomorrow’s stars the art that he has taught to today’s stars.
“One of the greatest gifts from being a musician is the ability to help others by what you have been blessed with,” Pittman says.
The visit consisted of a guest lesson, a group jam, and a question and answer session.
Pittman performed "Crazy for You" from Madonna, "The Deepest Dark" from his own album, and jammed to Nirvana. The kids were the main performers, with him joining in and giving mini-lessons along the way. He played acoustic most of the visit, but jammed on electric for Nirvana. The kids and teachers loved it and Pittman was totally in his element with teaching.
Since joining Little Kids Rock’s Honorary Board of Directors in August 2010, he has helped raise more than $6,500 to restore and revitalize music education in schools nationwide through a donation page and by painting a guitar for a custom guitar auction. Now he was able to give back by doing what he does best – teach guitar.
For more information on Monte Pittman, please visit: http://montepittman.com
For more information on Little Kids Rock, please visit: www.littlekidsrock.org.
Click on the slide show to see photos from the event.
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