Community Highlights: Meet Jonathan Horton of The Rock And Roots Guitar Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Horton.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi!

I’m originally from Charlotte, NC and grew up in the rural areas on the outskirts of the city.
And from as early as I can remember, I have been absolutely in love with music. All kinds of music. But especially rock, country, blues, soul, and singer/songwriter stuff.

My dad was an amateur songwriter and the rest of my immediate family were all ravenous music listeners. My earliest memories are listening to my dad play guitar and sing, and listening to music being played on the stereo.
By the time I was five or six I was having my mom take me to buy music “Queen’s Greatest Hits” was my first album, and I was always mesmerized by the guitar.

When I was about 10, I was listening to Metallica and Guns N Roses and I REALLY wanted to learn how to play guitar. I took lessons and could do what I was instructed to, but I didn’t really feel like I was understanding how it all worked and eventually I drifted away from it. But I still listened to music all the time. From Nirvana to the Grateful Dead, to Sam Cooke to David Bowie to Radiohead, I was there for it!

Fast forward to my sophomore year of college. I was a pre-med major, and two things happened that changed the course of my life:
1. I saw a video of Jimi Hendrix playing guitar for the first time
2. I stumbled into a music theory class

Seeing Hendrix perform was like seeing a real life Jedi knight. I had never, and still have never, seen anything like it. And the music theory class felt like I was finally able to understand how the architecture of music works, not just how to play guitar.

The next semester I had changed from a biology/pre-med major to a music/business major. From that point on I was determined to make music a profession.

A few years later I had graduated college and was hanging around Charlotte, playing music with different people, when my dad and I decided to drive cross country. Neither of us had ever done it and I had some friends that had recently moved to L.A.

I fell in love with L.A. immediately. I had never even considered coming here since I didn’t know anyone who had been to L.A. I can’t really overstate this… It’s not that I didn’t think I could handle it, I just didn’t even realize it was an option. (The same way going to the moon isn’t really an option.)

I knew I had to move somewhere to pursue a music career and after visiting I knew Los Angeles was the place for me. But I didn’t know how to, as my (very) old Volvo could not be trusted to make the trip across country.
One night playing guitar I had a realization. I remembered that a friend of mine was a tractor trailer driver, and delivered cars. I called him and told him if he ever had a trip to California with room for my car to let me know and I would ride with him.

And a few weeks later he did.

We loaded my car up, and 5 days later we unloaded my car at an off ramp and I pulled right onto Sunset Boulevard. I can’t tell you how exciting it was (and still is)! To this day I say the only reason I pity folks who are from California is because you will never know how cool it is to move to California.

I did the typical thing for a while, crashed on a friend’s couch and tried to find work. Within two weeks of being here I was hired to be a waiter on “Hell’s Kitchen.”

From that more jobs waiting tables and eventually I got out of that and into post production for a production company. But it was not the job for me, and when layoffs started, I volunteered.

But before I left, a coworker asked if I could show her how to play guitar.

I did and it turns out I LOVED teaching guitar.

So once I got laid off, I posted ads for guitar lessons on Craigslist. People responded, they came out, I taught the lessons, and they liked it and came back. From there I just kept advertising and year after year, I kept getting students faster than I would lose them.

I had stumbled into a way to make a living playing the guitar, while living in Southern California! (Another huge turning point in my life.) Those very first lessons with my former co-worker were the spark for what had become my career.

Fifteen years later here we are and I have a new commercial location in the heart of Santa Monica! I have worked with everyone from absolute beginners to Grammy winners and am beyond grateful that I get to play guitar pretty much all day every day.

I mean it when I say I feel like I’m living an absolute dream!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Learning guitar was not a smooth road for me at all. It’s a confusing instrument and most folks just understand bits and pieces so when I tried to learn, it seemed like I never heard the same thing twice from different experts. From there I assumed I just didn’t have what it takes to play. I thought maybe some folks just can’t learn it.

But it was always my dream to be able to play.

Turns out that by putting it on the back burner, then coming back to it later, I was able to learn it in a very thorough and complete way. And in a way that allowed be to teach it to others.

It one of those amazing situations were a weakness actually turns into a strength.. just like in super hero stories.

It’s amazing what can happen in life if you just refuse to stop listening to your inner voice!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I teach guitar in Santa Monica.

But more specifically I teach music THROUGH the guitar.

Look at it this way. If music is a language, the guitar is just like your computer’s keyboard. You have to understand how the language works in order to “type it out”. I mean, it’s impossible to type in a language you don’t understand,

That’s why folks think learning the guitar is so hard, because they don’t really understand what they’re doing. But if you do understand the language, you can practically teach yourself how to type!

Furthermore, just as in any language, it has to start simply and evolve. Effectiveness, no matter how simple is what matters. Try to do things that are too difficult only results in frustration.

I focus on making music fun while simultaneously understanding it from from top to bottom.

And while I love all kind of music, I focus on teaching rock, blues, country, r&b and songwriting.

I am most proud of the fact that I can help folks fulfill lifelong dreams of being able to make music. It’s SO fun!

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
In a word, I love the diversity of Los Angeles.

It is such a spectrum of people, landscapes, food, professions, culture. And everybody sorts it out through an openmindedness that just kind of permeates the city.

But perhaps the thing I love most is how aspirational the place is. I mean, is there, or has there EVER been a place more associated with making your dreams come true than California? Specifically Los Angeles.

It’s a very, very special place that way.

I never take being here for granted. Everyday feels like a miracle.

Honestly there’s not anything I don’t like,.. besides the traffic. (But fortunately I’m rarely involved in it)

I don’t love how expensive rents are, but honestly the challenge makes me fight to be the best I can be so it kinda feels like a win. And it’s just a testament to how many people want to live here!

Pricing:

• 100% Free trial lesson
• $300/month for weekly 50 minute lessons
• $200/month for weekly 25 minute lessons

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rocksandrootsmusic.com