Live Performance
Steve Vai - Marco Minnemann - Joel Taylor - Jimmy Haslip
Studio Sessions
Bad Robot (J.J. Abrams) - LemonTree - Revolver Studios - The Village Recorder
Educator/Faculty
Musicians Institute - TrueFire - JamPlay - Fundamental Changes - Cherry Lane - Hal Leonard - Sonora
Rob Garland grew up in England, worked in a diverse array of bands and later played hundreds of gigs at festivals and clubs across the U.S. with his band The Blue Monks. The band opened for artists such as B.B. King, Booker T. & Chuck Berry.
Rob now lives in sunny Los Angeles, where he continues to write and record his original music, ranging in genre from jazz-rock fusion instrumentals to acoustic vocal songs, available to stream and/or download.
He regularly performs at clubs such as The Baked Potato, Alva’s Showroom and Trip. He has recorded sessions at notable studios such as Revolver, The Village Recorder, LemonTree and J.J. Abrams Bad Robot Studios.
Rob has been teaching guitar for 30 years and has taught hundreds of private students across all ability levels and styes. He has taught group classes, open counseling, private lessons and masterclasses for Musicians Institute (G.I.T.) in Hollywood, CA, where he served on the faculty, and also private and group classes for Sonora Guitar Intensive.
Rob has been featured in U.K. and U.S. guitar magazines, such as Guitarist, Guitar One and Premier Guitar. He has created numerous instructional courses for TrueFire and JamPlay, including the best selling TrueFire Chord Navigator series based on Rob's approach to the CAGED system.
He has written books for Cherry Lane/Hal Leonard, had articles published in the TrueFire Journal Riff, and has an eBook entitled Guitar Play! Motivation & Practice. His latest instructional book was published by Fundamental Changes in 2023 and is entitled The CAGED Rhythm Guitar Method.
In 2018 Rob performed with legendary guitarist Steve Vai,
in Hollywood, CA. Other musicians Rob has performed with include Jimmy Haslip (The Yellowjackets), Marco Minnemann (Joe Satriani), Gus Thornton (Albert King) and Joel Taylor (Allan Holdsworth). He has also worked with Tony Newton (Gary Moore/Tony Williams), Mick Stevens (Brand X) and Markku Lappalainen (Hoobastank).
Rob is endorsed by James Tyler guitars, Bogner amps, Curt Mangan strings, ChickenPicks and Moody Leather straps.
He has presented clinics for guitar and audio companies at trade shows such as NAMM and The L.A. Amp Show.
Rob loves music and the guitar today as much as he did when he was 14, possibly even more! He likes to explore many musical genres but is fascinated by fusion -
the harmony of jazz combined with the energy/tone of rock.
So Many Great TrueFire Instructors, But This Guy Is Extra Special
I have been benefited from many TrueFire courses taught by many amazing instructors. So many of them have been absolutely instrumental to my progress on guitar, but none more so than Rob Garland. It's hard to explain, other than to say that he has a very unique way of not only seeing the instrument, but also in communicating that knowledge no matter what your own skill level is. Every one of his courses is stellar, but in my opinion, his Chord Navigator series is the absolute GOAT. I've probably recommended that series to almost every guitarist I know. It's been quite a while since Rob has released a TrueFire course, and I really hope he returns someday, because there are so many additional Chord Navigator topics that could be made into courses. Here's hoping that happens!
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Lavender231
10/24/22
clear and just the right amount of knowledge chunks
I took this course because I wanted to expand my knowledge of the guitar neck. I feel this course was perfect in helping me progress toward my goal. I especially like the fact that there is a demonstration of application to all concepts introduced.
J
John G.
01/01/22
A Consummate Professional Musician's Musician
I own all of Rob's courses and have been a subscribing member of his British Invasion group on Patreon since it started. Rob is as nice a guy as you will meet in the music industry. Rob takes seemingly difficult concepts and breaks them down into bite sized chunks of musical info that you can learn and apply instantly to your playing. I really enjoy all the time I spent interacting with Rob and wish I lived closer to LA I would love to see his band perform live!
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LLLJr
06/18/21
Very Helpful Courses
His Caged cracked course are extremely well done and he does an excellent job of explaining the concepts. He offers context examples from songs and styles that really make practical sense.
K
Kevin O.
09/29/20
Rob is great!
I enjoy Rob's style of teaching and the pacing of the lessons. Some instructors take too long to get to the point and I get impatient with them, but Rob keeps things moving and uses examples that makes his lessons easy to work with. I recommend his courses.
