"I remember our first lesson."

These could be rare words from a teacher. But Sean Radford of Radford Guitar in Issaquah means it when he talks about all the students, including many from Sammamish, he has helped and collaborated with over the years. "I like nothing better than spending my Friday night watching my student playing somewhere," he said recently, on a break between lessons.

He has good reason: Radford followed his father's path as a guitar instructor. Since he began teaching guitar nearly 20 years ago, he has fostered many creative talents from the Plateau and surrounding Eastside areas. His students play regularly at venues in Seattle, such as El Corazon and Neumos, and on the Eastside at youth centers, including KTUB in Kirkland and Ground Zero in Bellevue.  

A few students have taken the stage at larger talent competitions. "I really love working with students who are talented and driven," he said. This year, one student from Sammamish, Cameron Hodges, appeared on America's Got Talent. Other students are also doing remarkably well. Erik Knudsen's band Letters and Lights has 55,000 friends on MySpace and the group just toured with the Disney band All-Star Weekend. Apart from the individual lessons he gives, Radford also teaches jazz combos at Eastside Catholic School during the week.  

How does Radford help his students transform from novices to artists who use strings to produce melody and meaning? "Introduce music and artists that will inspire specific goals," Radford said.

His approach, he said, is the "most flexible and most efficient learning method." He said a student who is a figurative "blank slate" can be exposed to artists such as the late legendary Seattle-area guitarist Jimi Hendix. Soon, the student realizes that "Purple Haze" is exactly the sound to be created with improvised guitar riffs.

A Mötley Crüe fan can be schooled in the method called shred guitar, an incredibly fast style of heavy-metal guitar soloing.  "Lately," Radford said, "everybody wants to learn to shred."

For Radford, the key is defining a student's passion and using it as fuel for learning, as opposed to following a one-size-fits-all lesson plan. That type of lesson could successfully teach students how to play an instrument, but might not tap into their specific interests or goals.  

For Nate Katzenberger, 16, studying guitar with Radford has helped his songwriting and technical skills.

"I've definitely seen improvement," Katzenberger, a Fall City resident, said. "Before I had guitar lessons with Sean, I was self taught. I really didn't know anything about songwriting. I just put sounds together. He showed me different picking techniques. I had a technique that was kind of sloppy."

Radford also has direct Sammamish ties.

Shortly after Troy and Scott Moore of the Plateau's Moore Brothers Music store opened their doors in 2004, Radford found himself there teaching students. He also brought in other teachers to assist budding musicians residing on the Eastside. 

At Moore Brothers, Radford taught a student who would eventually become a fellow teacher at Radford Guitar. Harrison Forss, 19, of Issaquah, has been playing guitar since the age of 8 and began lessons with Radford in 2003.

When he's not teaching his own students, Forss is often practicing or recording with his band, If I Were A Gladiator, whose fourth album is set to debut in spring 2011. Katzenberger said Radford also helped him become a band member. Forss and Radford also formed a Spanish guitar duo and have an album debuting in January. 

Radford formed Radford Guitar with his own group of teachers to focus on his teaching methodology and approach.  Some of Radford's students started their musical careers with lessons from Radford Guitar.  One such student is Brandon Chriest, 10, of Sammamish. Chriest has been taking electric guitar lessons from Radford for more than two years and can now play Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and AC/DC's "Back In Black" from memory. 

Any lucky audience member, whether at a show in Seattle or in Radford's studio, will see that Radford's students are confident, exuberant musicians whose passion is evident, whether they are learning guitar, bass, mandolin or even ukulele. Radford is there to help students on the Plateau and Eastside turn their musical dreams into realities, whether teaching beginning guitar chords, booking gigs and producing records or assisting Sammamish-area 12th-graders with their music-centered senior projects for high school.  

"I live a life where I play guitar, and help people play guitar all day," he said. What more could a musician ask for?

If you're interested in more information about Radford and his classes, visit his website or contact him. He asks that lessons be purchased in advance in groups of four. The cost for 2010: $25 for 30 minutes and $50 for 60 minutes. In 2011, new students will be asked to pay 5 percent more than the 2010 price.