About Andrew Siemon

Hey, I’m Andrew. I started Traveling Guitarist four years ago in 2019 after playing and studying the guitar for my entire life.

Traveling Guitarist is a site that revolves around everything connected to the guitar, including guides, tutorials, tips, gear reviews and recommendations, tricks, and music theory lessons, as well as maintenance and repair.

I know how difficult it is to learn an instrument, especially with the amount of information out there today.

Everybody has their own unique way of teaching some of this material, however, it’s my goal to explain the concepts that I’ve learned in a way that many other people can understand, including beginners.

A Picture With Me and My Family
A picture with me and my family

My Story

I first started playing guitar in 2002, when I was around 10 years old, and I took guitar lessons for the next eight years of my life at a Canadian music store called Long and McQuade’s. Initially, for the first 2-3 years, I wasn’t that crazy about playing the guitar and music in general.

When I discovered Nirvana, I became a massive music fan and did everything I could to learn their songs. However, it was discovering Metallica that really led to becoming obsessed with guitar playing, and guitar solos, specifically, and since then, I’ve been practicing and jamming on a daily basis.

Amid the backdrop of my University of Toronto education from 2011 and 2016, I was always working on music on the side including in class when I was supposed to be studying. I spent a good majority of my time working in Guitar Pro and figuring out what song I was going to learn next.

A Picture of Google Maps
This is the Long and McQuade that replaced The Carpenter Shop, where I used to take guitar lessons as a kid. It was on another street as well.
My Degrees and Certificates
My Advanced Rudiments Certificate from the Royal Conservatory of Music and my Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Toronto

While studying for my Bachelor’s in Political Science, I studied music theory on the side and learned Advanced Rudiments for which I received the certificate from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada. I owe a large part of what I know about music theory to Mark Sarnecki’s classic book, The Complete Elementary Rudiments.

After jamming with other musicians in the area, I eventually got into recording and production which led me to software like GarageBand, including the mobile version, FL Studio, and Logic Pro. Ever since then, I’ve been spending all of my time playing and recording music, working with other musicians, and creating content showcasing what I’ve learned.

I also share exclusive content with several thousand people on my email list which you can subscribe to here. Not only does this site touch on guitar playing, but I also do my best to share any music theory knowledge in a way that people can understand. I hope you manage to learn something from this site. You can contact me on this page or check out my socials below.