The George Benson Method

The Jazz schools and universities always had a large quantity of amazing materials and methods for piano, sax, trumpet, drums, bass, and many other instruments. However, they have never had specific materials for Jazz guitar that could be compared to the others.

The truth is that the electric guitar was always treated differently from other instruments, as it was always considered a “street” instrument and nonacademic, different from the Classical guitar (nylon guitar).

For piano and classical guitar we have super-detailed materials containing the correct fingerings and articulations for each movement. However, for jazz guitar players the solution was always learned from the albums or in the street.

But let me ask you something: How many hours have you spent trying to “fish” a great single line idea from your favorite albums? How many hours did you take transcribing things you forgot one week later? Nothing against transcribing, but it must be done correctly otherwise it's just a loss of time.

In my lessons with George, we always talked a lot about articulation and how it affects your playing. Yes, we are talking about the connection between the right & left hand techniques. In other words, the importance of fingering & picking.

Peter Farrell was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1981. Son of the singer Claudia Fier and the saxophone player and arranger Lino Simão, he began studying music at school very young with an early interest in flute and violin. Still very young, his mother introduced him to the jazz and classical world, giving him the opportunity to hear the music of George Benson, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Debussy, Ravel, Bach, Dori Caymmi, Toninho Horta, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock and many others.

But just like every teenager, Peter loved rock n’ roll and at the age of 11 he asked his mother to take him to a guitar teacher. So, he started taking his first steps learning to play rock and blues.

One year later, the young boy joined a music conservatory in São Paulo, where he studied classical guitar, music theory and jazz guitar. During this period Peter started going deep into the music of George Benson, Wes Montgomery and later started to study piano with the great pianist and arranger Edmundo Cassis, who gave him a new vision of harmony and improvisation.

It did not take long until musicians all over the world started keeping their eyes on him because of his ability, technique and musicality. He was very advanced for his age. As a matter of fact, Peter was known in the musical scene as a prodigy since he was 14.

In his 20’s, Peter was introduced to his idol and mentor George Benson. The connection between them was instantaneous, as George was amazed at Peter’s talent and how he had decoded so many of his best secrets.

However, the friendship between them began when the young Peter decided to follow George all over the world to learn the Jazz guitar secrets from the master himself. It took Peter four years following him by motorcycle, airplane, boat, ferry, and car until the day that George finally invited him to stay at his home for a couple of days to play guitar together and see what would happen.

George quickly saw the opportunity to combine the genius of his playing with the rare talents of Peter, who was showing facility to organize everything he was teaching him. The combination between them has created The George Benson Method: the biggest and the most revolutionary Jazz guitar method ever created. This methodology has been a success in the Jazz guitar community not just for guitar students but professionals alike all over the world.

Peter Farrell has recorded and played with many great artists worldwide such as Brian McKnight, Jane Monheit, Harold Mabern, Antonio Farao, Franco Anbrosetti, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Eumir Deodato, Romero Lubambo, Adam Rogers, Didier Lockwood, just to name a few.