Tonga Teaches Music

“As someone who previously studied jazz voice in college, I’ve long wanted to deepen my comping skills so I could accompany myself with more freedom and authenticity. Tonga’s class has been such a gift in that process. The short, focused video lessons make complex material feel approachable, while still offering the kind of depth that actually changes how you hear and play. What makes this course truly special is Tonga himself—he shares secrets and fresh perspectives that only come from decades of experience across a wide range of instruments and styles. I’ve started to recognize shapes and sounds across the fretboard in a way that connects directly to my singing, and it’s filled in so many gaps I didn’t even realize were holding me back. For anyone on the path of becoming a more self-sufficient jazz musician, Tonga’s course feels like an essential step.”

“Tonga has been a mentor to me since I began seriously pursuing jazz, and this course captures what makes him a great teacher. One of my favorite aspects of this course is its practicality — you can take the material and apply it immediately at a rehearsal or gig. As a guitarist, establishing harmonic motion can be challenging. Tonga’s approach makes it easy to move across the fretboard using harmonically rich chords and voice leading that sounds great. These voicings and concepts aren’t limited to jazz — they work great across gospel, neo-soul, Brazilian music, and many other styles. The amount of content is extensive, the website is easy to navigate, and overall it’s one of the most well-put-together online courses I’ve seen. I highly recommend this course to any guitarist looking to expand their comping vocabulary.”

“Tonga’s course showed me that jazz comping isn’t complex—instead, it is about knowing the building blocks and learning how to make informed decisions when applying them. It broke down a huge amount of information into simple chunks that were easy to follow. I was able to form new connections between bits of knowledge I already had, as well as learn new ways to approach harmony on the fretboard. Highly recommend!”

“Tonga’s lessons really helped me connect the dots between the minor scales I already knew and how major chords fit right alongside them. His walkthrough on chord finger placement made everything much clearer, and learning a jazz chord progression boosted my confidence with transitions and speed. I can already tell that this knowledge will make my music production stronger, especially when I start to explore more R&B styles.”

“When I took this course, I had been playing jazz piano for a long time but had almost no experience with the guitar. It helped me move past the basics of guitar and allowed me to enjoy comping over jazz standards. Becoming familiar with jazz guitar and especially the intervalic approach to chords also improved my overall instincts for playing and writing jazz music.”

“Tonga's lessons are filled with so much applicable information this course truly unlocked new pathways in my playing and songwriting. The cadence in which he explains these concepts makes each lesson straightforward and digestible. I particularly love that he not only covers the different chord voicings but explains how and/or why certain voicings are better than others in certain situations. Additionally, I found the root-connected chord exercises really insightful as it demonstrates different how each voicing has a different "feel." For so long I was stuck on a playing plateau and Tonga's lessons served as a launching pad to get beyond it. If you feel like you're stuck in your playing, you can definitely benefit from the information in this course. I highly recommend. ”

“I haven't played guitar in twenty years, so it was great to have a course I could follow along with online, rather than have to sign up for classes or something and have to explain to an instructor what my skill level is. As much as I had basic classes back in the day, I don't feel like anyone ever taught me really how to form chords, modify chords, and move them around. Most of my instructors had taught me how to play scales, read music, and make some basic chords, but I wanted to learn jazz, man, not just be some dude playing Jack Johnson tunes! I may have learned these chords in the past, but no one put them together for me like Tonga does in his Guitar Fundamentals course. It's what I always wanted to learn--how to move around the fretboard and really understand how these chords relate to each other, and how they can be modified. The course gave me a lot of things to practice, and it's great that I can replay the video and use the included materials to practice, practice, practice. I hope he makes more videos in this series, because this course gave me a taste of The Real Thing and now I want to learn more!”

“Tonga’s course is very organized and the concepts are thoughtfully presented. I’m advancing past the root position and “cowboy chord” phase, and the exercises to end each section called “comping with all options” got me to level up my playing significantly! Within a couple lessons I already had some ideas to bring to a jam session.”

“Tonga's lessons are simple and easy to follow. He explains chord theory less like a teacher and more like an old friend walking you through something that they are an expert in. Instead, each lesson has a key concept and Tonga quickly but patiently walks you through the idea, with clear illustrations and examples for how to use the concept in your playing. He's someone who has studied jazz AND how to teach jazz. His approach is refreshing and relatable. By the end of the course you can really comp and sound smooth and professional!”