I was born into a musical family and took formal lessons in piano, clarinet, guitar, cello and bass throughout my childhood, but none of them really stuck until I discovered the banjo. My camp counsellor, who didn't play, had brought an old Kay 5 string and Pete Seeger's instruction record to camp, which I found under his bed one day. I spent the rest of that summer learning the instrument, but didn't make much progress until I returned to the city and found an instructor. This was at the beginning of the folk revival of the 60's and I was fortunate to find a few players willing to teach me. It seemed that lots of people wanted to learn folk music and within a year I was teaching regularly at a local music shop.

Randy Torno, founder of MUSICLESSONSOURCE has been a professional player and teacher since the days of the FOLK BOOM in the mid 60's. A versatile multi-instrumentalist, I have played BANJO, MANDOLIN and GUITAR in a number of different bands, and in a number of styles ranging from BLUEGRASS to ROCK to JUG BAND with stops at CELTIC, FOLK, OLD-TIME BLUES and JAZZ along the way. Because I play in a number of genres I can show you the subtle differences that give an authentic sound and style to your playing. I like growing complete musicians and include lots of help in playing with others, improvising, tuning, setup, care and maintenance etc. and I am always there to answer any question you may have about music or your instrument. Based in California, I am very active in the Bluegrass jam scene, proudly playing alongside former students. Having taught literally thousands of people to play over the years, I have developed my own philosophy and style of teaching. I believe that students need to learn the basic biomechanics of playing at the same time as learning songs and exercises. I make lessons fun as well as adding valuable contributions to your playing. MUSICLESSONSOURCE was founded based on a need expressed to me by former students who moved out of the area and could no longer take private lessons. Sporadic long distance telephone lessons followed and after attending a business videoconference, I realized that Internet video-conferencing and music lessons were a perfect fit. I teach videoconference students worldwide, from Alaska to England and all appreciate being able to learn from a professional instructor.