Horsforth is one of those Leeds suburbs that manages to feel like its own town while still being ten minutes from the city centre — and it's exactly the kind of place I enjoy teaching in. Town Street has enough independent cafés and shops to give it a proper high-street feel, Leeds Trinity University sits right on the doorstep, and there's a strong mix of families who've settled here for the schools alongside students and young professionals renting nearer the station. That variety shows up in who I teach: primary-age kids picking up their first guitar, teenagers working towards Rock School grades for UCAS points, and adults — some coming back to bass after years in a wardrobe, others starting from absolute scratch.
I'm Ryan Hawkins, guitar and bass tutor at Phillips Music Tuition, and I studied Pop Performance (Guitar) at Leeds Conservatoire before spending the past decade gigging and teaching around the North. I still perform regularly, including corporate and wedding sets with the Northern House Band at venues like Grantley Hall and Rudding Park, and that stage time shapes how I teach — less about memorising tab, more about ear training and reading chord charts properly, so a student can eventually work a song out for themselves.
Lessons happen at your home in Horsforth — whether that's up near Hall Park, over towards New Road Side, or down by the station — with no amp-hauling required on your end. I also teach from the Lawnswood studio just down the road in a few minutes by car, and online lessons are available too, which tends to suit exam season or the darker winter months when a home visit is less appealing.
I hold ABRSM Grade 5 Music Theory and know the Rock School syllabus in detail, so if a student wants a structured route through grades, we can build towards that properly — sight-reading, technical exercises and all. Equally, plenty of my Horsforth students have no interest in exams and just want to get better at the songs they actually listen to. Genre-wise I lean towards pop, rock and soul, but indie, blues and anything in between is fair game.
Every new student, child or adult, starts with a free consultation lesson — a relaxed first meeting rather than an audition, so you can decide if it's the right fit before committing to anything. Lessons are £35 for 60 minutes or £18 for 30 minutes, with travel across Horsforth included in the price, and we run a straightforward 48-hour cancellation policy.
If you're in Horsforth, or nearby in Rawdon, Bramhope, Kirkstall or Headingley, get in touch and I'll find a time that works for you.