Who Is Dylan Asena?
And what has lead him to where he is now?
Dylan Asena is not your typical guitarist! Not only does he have an Honours degree from the Royal College Of Music (one of the world’s best conservatoires), but he has also broken the traditional chains and become a musician in the true sense of the word. He will play any style of music or guitar you put in front of him.
Dylan has toured internationally giving both solo performances and also in bands and groups. Performing styles ranging from Metal and Rock to Classical, Country, Synthwave, Blues and Jazz. This has taken him to a list of interesting venues! Apart from the more usual festivals, academies, clubs… The list continues to the roofs of broadway theatres in the London west end. A battleship docked on the Thames. And (due to a terrible mistake by a tour manager) also an empty pizza shop in Italy with the full band! So making an impressive range of audience sizes from a few thousand to… well… none.
Maybe the most memorable occasion was in the city of Izmir in Turkey when Dylan was handed a guitar by surprise. Within minutes chairs were setup for an audience and tea was made for an impromptu performance.
Who Has Dylan Asena Studied With?
From mentors to universities and masterclasses
Since first picking up the guitar at eight years of age Dylan has studied at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music under the heads of both departments.
Alongside this he has had the privilege to have performed in international masterclasses with performers such as:
Over the years he has also been fortunate enough to have had regular lessons with teachers including:
Michael Lewin, Gary Ryan, Chris Stell and Craig Ogden to name just a few.
The crucial importance of working with some of the world’s top guitarist is the bar has always been set high. This has been a driving force and inspiration that now lets Dylan offer the very best in all aspects of his music. Be it his teaching, performing, recording or composing.
Dylan’s Mission Statement
The driving ideas behind his teaching
Dylan has spent a number of years specifically looking for the flaws and common misconceptions in the guitar world. Many years of opinions, styles and traditions have taken learning the guitar away from a simple relationship between yourself and the instrument. As a result this has opened room for contradictions in the techniques and ideas. These contradictions not only lower your potential on the instrument but also regularly lead in injuries.
These years of searching and questioning are being fed into both this website’s articles and lessons and a book that is currently being written. This book is designed to become an essential learning companion for any guitarist. It offers a revolutionary depth and approach to learning the guitar including ideas that have never been taught before. These alongside explanations for techniques that will let you understand how the guitar works, why the techniques work and how you can reach your potential on the guitar. Do you want to delve into these ideas without waiting? Come join at the Asena Guitar Academy in Cheltenham and put the ideas to the test.
What Your Fellow Guitarists Are Saying
“After years of struggling with the guitar and trying to learn I started lessons with Dylan. In the first few months I learned more than my last few years on the guitar and am now playing pieces I never dreamed would be possible! Every lesson is a joy and I could not recommend him highly enough.”
“I started studying with Dylan Asena after lockdown and wish I had found the Academy a few years ago! Go have a lesson and thank me later.”
“I have been taking electric guitar lessons with Dylan for 8 months now and I find Dylan to be an inspirational and engaging tutor. I started as a complete novice, and Dylan has helped build my confidence on the guitar and helped me understand how and why music ‘works’ through a fun learning experience based around the kind of music I like to play and am interested in. Dylan structures the lessons to reflect my pace of learning, and is flexible in fitting in with my timetable. I always look forward to the lessons, and come away having learned something new about the guitar, music, and sometimes even myself! I sincerely recommend him.”
“I’ve known Dylan for several years, as a fellow musician and teacher. He is a class act, both as a teacher and performer. He is amazingly dedicated to his students, really focused on them and their development. Dylan is also excellent at innovating exciting ways to really engage his students in guitar playing. Highly recommended.”
“With my guitar gathering dust in the corner of my room I decided to commit to guitar lessons and Asena Guitar Academy came highly recommended. I’m hooked! Dylan’s very encouraging, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable. He’s worked with some of the most credible guitarist and this versatility shows in his teachings. The one-on-one interaction beats any of the apps I’ve tried with a bespoke lesson structure, which keeps me committed and disciplined. Couldn’t recommend Dylan more highly!!!”
“Dylan is an exceptional guitar teacher that has been teaching me guitar since I was 10. From classical to jazz and modern pieces, I have learned many renowned pieces of the guitar repertoire, learning not only how to play them but also the proper techniques to adopt fitting styles. Dylan is an awesome teacher: his lessons are one of my favorite moments in the week. Dylan is extremely knowledgeable and experienced as a musician and teacher, making his lessons always deeply interesting; this combined with his enthusiasm, kindness and patience. With him I have greatly progressed in guitar, both in playing and the theory aspect. I highly recommend Dylan to everyone who wishes to progress or start playing guitar!”
“Dylan is incredibly knowledgable and experienced as a professional guitarist and musician, that much is clear: but more than that, he’s an excellent teacher (and having had many a music teacher in the past, that is hard to come by!!) !! He’s patient, kind and instills a confidence in the ability to learn, progress, with solid rationale and technique behind it all – if you’ve never played an instrument before, or have previously tried and struggled (that’s me), Dylan is the man to learn with!”
“Dylan has been teaching my son classical guitar for the past year and has been wonderful at making learning so enjoyable, combining all the necessary technical elements with an absolute pleasure in playing music.”
“Mr.Asena is not only a passionate and talented musician/guitarist in his own right, but I have been impressed with how brilliantly he nurtures these qualities in the students he teaches. His passion for inspiring his students has always impressed me and the results were always joy to witness at the concerts he prepared with his students. I would strongly recommend Mr. Asena as a teacher for your child or yourself.”