About founder
Guitar Hall was founded by Kiran Roy on 1998, an electrical engineer by qualification, studied guitars privately with a number of prominent guitar teachers from Mumbai and Trinity College London, being the lead guitarist of many Indian rock bands, who wanted to teach contemporary and Rock music and provide professional guitar training for every guitar lovers. His idea caught fire, and the small teaching studio grew into a sizable school, then a professional guitar academy, in just over a decade.from 5 students when he started off,today he has trained more than 900 guitarists from all over India many of whom have made it big in the Indian Rock circuit and many who have settled into playing professionally as studio/sessions guitarists.
Being an ace lead guitarist, he has ruled the Indian Rock circuit for many years. Kiran Roy is undoubtedly one of the most experienced, versatile and creative guitarist in the music industry today. His acrobatic licks,speed,control,feats on the whammy bar, harmonics and melodic compositions has placed him in demand by even the most established musicians in Mumbai. Having shared the stage and spotlight with many musical giants,Kiran Roy has attained a career that many young guitarists only dream of. Apart from Kiran Roy’s unique and exotic playing and composing styles, his artistic heart and soul also emerges in his solo albums. He started his guitar playing journey winning numerous ‘Best Lead Guitarist’ awards throughout India for college festivals with his Rock bands.And as they say,rest is history!
In His Own Words: An Interview with Kiran Roy
Question: What does the Guitar Hall slogan “No shortcuts…No quick fixes" mean to the Guitar Hall students?
“No shortcuts…No quick fixes" is a turn of phrase used to describe the practical as well as contextual application of the Guitar Hall training method.At Guitar Hall, we focus on teaching on three levels: Fundamental, Practical and Conceptual. The Fundamental element being the core curriculum and the backbone of a solid musical education including musicianship, harmony and theory, ear training, etc. The Practical element is essentially where the "rubber meets the road." We strive to use real world examples and context to prepare the student for the rigors of guitar learning. We employ a talented group of hand-picked guitar teachers who are working professionally and provide insight into what really works and what's going to be asked of the aspiring guitarist outside the academy. We also address the Conceptual element of guitar training, which provides exercises and assignments for further study and to stimulate creativity. It's my constant endeavor to make sure that all the students at Guitar Hall get an unusually high level of training and personal attention.
What makes Guitar Hall unique?
First of all, there is no guitar training that is more effective than playing in real time with real guitarists. One truly unique feature of the Guitar Hall experience is that you — the student — get to actually play! Results are assured. We have guitar Workshops every now and then in which students get to play with and get advice from established professional lead guitarists from the Indian Rock circuit who have been my colleagues and fellow lead guitarists down the years . Not only does this provide invaluable experience, but it also provides for real guitar learning like no other institute in Mumbai can offer.
Secondly, Guitar Hall has a warm, friendly atmosphere with a boutique feel. I personally believe that great music learning happens in an environment which has an amazing ambiance. As I mentioned earlier, we employ a hand-picked team of professionals who are committed to guitar teaching. And with a student to teacher ratio of about 6:1, we can provide a personalized and comprehensive learning experience for our students.
Also, a unique feature of the Guitar Hall experience is the holistic way in which our curriculum and syllabus has been developed. We have taken painstaking efforts to make sure that all the students get a full and well-rounded education. The program not only includes the fundamentals of guitar playing and performance, but also style analysis and technique. In addition, we have a strong system that allows for specialization onto advanced modules. These entire elements combine for a powerful system that we feel is unparalleled.
With the tremendous body of professional experience you have, what do you teach students to prepare them for guitar playing?
Hehe..please don’t make me feel old!i’m just 28.Have a long way to go.Anyways having done as much varied music as I have in my career so far, I think that I have a very clear understanding of what is expected of the guitar learner. This includes everything from practical musical skill sets,advanced theories to advanced techniques. I like to think that Guitar Hall was founded by a Guitar Crazy man for guitar crazy people.I also firmly believe that Guitar Hall is no ‘hobby class’ like the ones which have mushroomed all over Mumbai,some of them which goes like “learn guitars in 15 days” and crap like that. If it was that easy my Guitar Hall watchman would have been an ace guitarist teaching at my Hall!
What is your motivation for teaching?
I've always been fascinated by guitar education. Although I completed my Trinity College London grades, and studied privately with a number of prominent guitar teachers from Mumbai, I've always felt primarily self-taught. I have always sought out the best and most efficient ways of learning and teaching, and I love having the opportunity to share that with our students. Also, my father was an educator before hitting it big in business, my mother was a teacher, and my wife is a doctor, so I'd have to say that I've got imparting knowledge in my blood.
Is there an advantage to studying guitars in Mumbai?
Completely. There is more happening in popular music and rock music in Mumbai apart from Bangalore and some north eastern states than in any other city in India. Mumbai has become the new capital for the popular music industry. In addition, Mumbai has managed to maintain its status as the leader in film, TV, and recorded music. There is no way to describe the experience of being in that environment and being truly challenged by the best of the best musicians this city has to offer. Also, there is nowhere else in India where there are more opportunities to get involved in the music industry on such a high level.
What's new at Guitar Hall?
There's so much new stuff going on at Guitar Hall every day — it's amazing. Guitar Hall has indeed come up a long way since its inception 10 years back.The academy is growing by leaps and bounds while still maintaining its boutique feel and niche atmosphere. We take very seriously our responsibility to train the next generation of guitarists and continue to develop programs and build facilities towards that end. We have new and more specialized guitar study programs to more actively meet our students' needs. We're incredibly excited about the new developments and couldn't be more optimistic about the direction of our academy.
And work on our new recording studio is already underway.Apart from recording movie scores,jingles,etc we also plan to record songs of budding new guitarists and musicians and bring out their talents for the outside world.I personally believe there is a huge talent database in India which has been largely untapped thanks to our bollywood and the pathetic attitude of our recording companies who just need pathetic remixes.Guitar Hall studios plan to change it and hopefully in the future we will bring out a new generation breed of talented musicians.