Meet Ross
I get great joy from
teaching and watching
my students progress.
A bit about me…
My musical journey began as a self-taught guitar player.
From the bedroom to garage bands and playing at the local church hall…
Somewhere along the way, I realised that my self-taught style needed a bit of polish. If I wanted to make a career out of music, I needed to get an education.
My first formal music lessons were with “John Rees”, a trained classical musician but better known as the bass player with “Men at Work”. John was a natural teacher and he taught me the basics of harmony, theory and arranging. Lessons that still resonate today.
I still really needed to lift my guitar playing so I sought out the best guitar teachers I could find to help me. Legendary guitar player/teacher “Bruce Clarke” taught me how to read music and instilled a love of jazz and improvised music. Gifted classical guitarist and teacher “Nick Chalkiadakis” gave me a great technical foundation that underpins my playing style.
Apart from the study, I was playing 5 to 7 gigs a week in original rock bands. It was during this time that I also met “Tommy Emmanuel”. Tom was in the process of developing his solo playing style that has since taken him to fame as one of the all time greats of guitar. Just being able to hang with, listen to and play with Tommy was such an inspiration. He was always so gracious with his time and taught me the basics of “Travis Picking” that I still use in my teaching to this day..
Over the years, I’ve worked live and recorded with a number of different artists, people and bands like the Bop-girl “Pat Wilson”, “Whiteman Can’t Reggae”, “Misfits”,”The Bobby James Syndicate” and “Animal Farm”.
I’ve done shows from the “Hells Angels” Broadford annual event with Aussie soul legend “Jeff St John” to playing in the orchestra for the “Moscow Circus”. Shared the stage with many legendary Australian artists and performed in venues all over the country.
I have been teaching guitar lessons in Melbourne for most of my working life now. The lessons I learned from my own teachers, the many musicians I have worked with along the way and the 1000’s of students I have taught underpin the structure that I work from.
I love what I do…it’s so rewarding watching people learn to play the guitar and the joy they get from it. It’s also rewarding when the pro and semi pro players I have taught over the years tell me how something they learned from me helped them with their craft. Helped them get a gig or gigs…
Enjoy!
My mentors
These are some of the teachers and people that have helped guide me on my journey.
- John Rees (Men at Work)
- Bruce Clarke (Legendary Teacher)
- Nick Chalkiadakis (Classical Master)
- Tommy Emmanual (Guitar Legend)
- Ron Leigh (Inspirational Teacher)
- John Paine (Theatre Guitar Man)
Memorable gigs
Over the years, I’ve played many thousands of gigs. These are a handful of the most memorable… all have a good story.
- Pentridge Prison – ‘B’ Division
- Calder Raceway – International Event
- Broadford – Hells Angels Annual Concert
- The Moscow Circus on Ice
- Warren Hall’s Final Show
- A Concert for Ross Hannaford
Alli Harris
With Ross’ amazing guitar talent, he can teach you everything and anything you want.
Ben Wolfram
The musical road is never ending, but so long as you’ve got a teacher as great as Ross helping you drive down it, you won’t want it to end!
Bill Briggs
After poor experiences with four other teachers, I’ve found Ross to be skilled, supportive and patient, and have certainly found the right teacher for me.
Damien O’Neil
Ross Helmot loves the guitar and he loves teaching the guitar. He impresses me with his knowledge and skill.
Andrew Lin
Ross has been an exceptional teacher – amiable, patient and very passionate about what he does.
