My son took guitar lessons with Maurice for 5 years. He started in the sixth grade, and after he had been playing with Maurice for a couple of years I asked him (Maurice) if he would consider teaching me how to play. I told him that I played a little piano when I was a kid. But what I didn’t mention is that I am not musically inclined. I also left out that my wife would say that I have no sense of rhythm and that I’m tone-deaf. (She is probably right on both counts.) Lucky for me, Maurice didn’t ask any questions and simply said “Certainly.”  I am positive that he did not know what he was getting into when he said it. That was seven years ago.

What made it fun for me was that from the very beginning Maurice used songs that I had heard on the radio to teach guitar basics. The first songs we worked on (“Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix and then “American Woman” by the Guess Who) focused on basic chords and rhythm. We progressed from there to so many other songs by the Beatles (“Don’t Let Me Down”, “Let it Be”, “Here Comes the Sun”, “Norwegian Wood”), Led Zeppelin (“Over the Hills and Far Away”), Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Sweet Home Alabama”), Pink Floyd (“Hey You”, “Another Brick in the Wall”, “Time”), Rolling Stones (“Paint it Black”), Aerosmith (“Walk this Way”), and many others. What has made the experience gratifying has been the depth that we delved into these songs.

When Maurice says that he “provides all the materials”, he is referring to are transcriptions of the songs that he made himself.  What is particularly impressive is that when you listen to the music at a slow speed, you realize that these transcriptions contain every note, bend, slur, and “click”.  In short, Maurice has taught me note-for-note the songs as the artists played them on the albums.  I can’t play them at the same tempo, but my experience playing them has enabled me to appreciate the music I have listened to for years in a whole new way. Looking back on it, I am amazed at what I’ve accomplished, and given what Maurice had to work with, it speaks volumes of his ability to teach guitar.    –   John M. Papanikolas  April ’16

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Maurice is a thoughtful and committed guitar teacher. His approach is methodical, patient and responsive to the individual skill level of the student. I know because I took lessons with Maurice for almost two years until I moved away from the area, and recommend his personal approach to any guitar player whatever level, if they have the desire to learn how to improve toward mastery the instrument.

He is kind and agreeable, and taught from in a studio in a comfy and clean house in Carrboro. As a teacher, he leaves room for the little quirks in everyone’s way of handling a guitar, but tries to stamp out bad technique, posture or grip before it becomes ingrained as a habit. Every hand is different, and Maurice will use a physical therapist’s instincts to help you find the best way for your fingers to make the chord sound right.

When I took lessons with him, I was a 20-year old beginner with a full college course load. I am not an expert player and don’t pretend to be, but things Maurice said and taught stuck with me for years after my move away ended our lessons.

He also gives printed exercises that familiarize the student with basic styles of playing (flat-picking, chomping, blues shuffles, staple licks and patterns) Some of these exercises are designed to emphasize an important skill (muting, skipping strings, pull-offs, etc.) and I think others are to give his student a greater vocabulary for the instrument and its history. Most of these exercises he has transcribed himself from the work of master guitar players in his large music library.

He has also transcribed, not for note and bend for bend, some of the blistering solos of Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana and other guitar gods.

If you want someday to be able to play the hooks and solos of masters like Jimi and Duane, rhythm-guitar of Pete Townsend or Jimmy Reed, learn licks, riffs and runs, jazz chords, or learn how to improvise solos, Maurice will be your guide.

– Tom Hartwell.  March 24th, ’18

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It is my pleasure to write this testimonial for Maurice Balk who is without a doubt the best guitar teacher I could have ever hoped to find.

He is the one and only person I know who has truly dedicated his professional life to teaching students, not only to play the guitar, but also to understand the incredible richness and depth of the instrument.

I am confident that he would be a good choice for anyone of any age or ability if they really want to learn. At age 65, I imagine myself to be his oldest beginner and I will tell you that approached the lessons with a great deal of trepidation and anxiety. However, Maurice has always shown patience, sensitivity and a sincere interest in helping me learn.

If you are interested in learning to play the guitar, please do yourself a favor and try a lesson with him or at least talk with him about it. I think you will then understand my confidence in him.

Robert Goforth, March 2016