Guitar Lessons in Antwerp – Private Guitar Teacher

I am Jappe Govaerts, a guitarist, live musician and teacher. Music is always central to what I do — on stage, in my teaching, and in the instrument itself. From my experience as a performing musician, I teach guitar in the Antwerp region, with a strong focus on musical understanding, expression, and enjoyment. I also work on the setup and maintenance of guitars, because a well-adjusted instrument is essential for really learning how to play the guitar.

This way of working didn’t come out of nowhere. Music has always been present in my life. It played an important role in my family, and many of my relatives played an instrument. At home, there was almost always a record or CD playing. I remember how very different genres blended together, and how singing along felt just as natural with Sesame Street as it did with James Brown, AC/DC, Nirvana, Howlin’ Wolf, and Bob Marley.

At the age of seven, I took my first steps into music school. Before being allowed to play an instrument, I had to study music theory for a year. That felt strange to me. I learned language and music by listening and imitating, without rules and without fear of making mistakes. Music theory, on the other hand, focused on what was “correct”, and felt more like homework than joy.

I began on saxophone, but before long another instrument caught my attention: the electric guitar. I heard it on my father’s blues records, and I saw it gathering dust under my uncle’s bed. Although I continued to play saxophone and took up guitar as a second instrument, my motivation within classical training slowly faded. I wanted to play blues and rock, not only the classical pieces I was assigned. After six years, I left music school, but music never left me, and self-study took over.

Around the age of seventeen, the spark returned. The father of my first serious girlfriend owned an extensive guitar collection. It was 2009, and the internet opened up as a world of endless possibilities. YouTube, VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs and books — everything was devoured. After finishing my studies in humanities, I started a degree in cultural work, but my mind was always with the guitar.

At twenty years old, I enrolled in a music program at the Popsoul/Jazzstudio in Antwerp. For five years I immersed myself in a musical environment where talent was given room to grow. It was a place where well-known artists such as Admiral Freebee, Angèle van Laeken, Laura Tesoro and Kapitein Winokio were present, alongside many lesser-known but equally impressive musicians.

During my first year, I heard a fellow student play a technique he called “Travis Picking”. A stride piano–inspired guitar style where the thumb plays a steady bass pattern while the fingers independently carry the melody. Named after Merle Travis and popularized in the 1930s and 1940s, this style made an immediate impression on me. It took years to truly master, but this moment marked a turning point and eventually became my specialty.

During my studies, I discovered another passion: teaching. In addition to guitar, I explored bass guitar, piano and vocals, which greatly broadened my musical perspective. At the moment, I am also teaching myself banjo and mandolin. Once you understand the language of music, every new instrument feels less foreign.

At the age of twenty-five, I started teaching guitar in the Antwerp region. I quickly noticed that many guitarists, even after decades of playing, lack a solid fundamental understanding. That foundation is essential to truly understand the instrument. For me, the guitar is not a mystery, but a logical whole — once you learn to see the bigger picture.

My experience spans a wide range of styles, including pop, rock, blues, country, folk, funk, jazz, reggae, flamenco, boogie-woogie, ragtime, old-time, bluegrass and rockabilly. In my lessons, patience and clarity are central, with one clear goal: helping people truly learn to speak the language of music.

To me, music is not a collection of rules, but a language — and it is a language I love to pass on.