vreny
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Bio

  • Professional Bio
    Vreny was born and raised in Belgium in the 70s and 80s. He grew up listening to The Beatles, The Bee …
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  • Resume
    OBJECTIVES: Offer my broad and versatile musical training and expertise in guitar, engineering, production, …
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  • Personal Bio
    Vreny Van Elslande was born 14th June 1971, in the medieval Flemish town of Ypres in Belgium, under the crazy, …
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  • My Favorite Things!!!
    Taste: vanilla Drink: Vanilla Milkshake Color: Blue Guitar: Suhr guitars, from John Suhr Beer: Rodenbach (the …
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  • 44 Random Facts about Vreny
    1. Born and raised: 14th June 1971, at 6am in Ieper (Ypres), Flanders (Belgium) 2. His sign: Gemini, with …
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  • Testimonials from Students, Fans & Fellow Musicians
    1.”On another note, I wanted to tell you what an incredible person you are. Your patience and enthusiasm …
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Testimonials & Quotes from Students, Fans, and Fellow Musicians

  1. “Thanks SOOOOOO much again for helping me out on our session last night!!!! Besides the fact that you made everything SOOO EASY and sound so great, without hiccups, you always bring the *PERFECT* energy, and such great enthusiasm — as well as an incredible amount of sensitivity and finesse. You are a musical superhero. Everyone that works with us loves the experience, and loves working with you. We make a great team!!! I could never do all of this without you amigo..”
    (Peter Petro, owner Mandeville Studios.)

  2. “Hey! Just letting you know, I really enjoyed yesterday’s lesson! I am definitely inspired. I had tried to take lessons before, but the three teachers I tried to work with took everything way too slow… it bored the hell out of me! So, thank you for not being boring!.”
    (Emii, singer-songwriter/performer)

  3. “I have had so much fun studying with Vreny taking webcam lessons from my home in the UK, and in person private lessons during my stay in LA. I had only been playing a few weeks when we started our lessons and I progressed very quickly playing songs that I chose and loved…songs i will be able to play forever! He is very patient and has a relaxed, fun but very effective teaching approach! And of course he is amazing!!.”
    (Harriet Webster, takes webcam guitar lessons from the UK)

  4. “I HIGHLY recommend Vreny for anything music related – anything. Beyond just his fancy degrees and accolades, he is a great musician with an amazing dedication to the art. He has been integral in teaching, guiding and helping me achieve my musical goals. As a teacher he was able to transfer his knowledge in a way that I was able to grasp. His no-nonsense methodical approach and his love of music not only taught me about music, but also inspired me to do more and do it better. As in life, the more I learned the less I knew and it was a wonderful learning process. However, that’s just one aspect of working with Vreny. On the production side, he has an amazing ability to transform his playing to any style called for and make it sound just right. On one of my songs he was working on with me, he took my meager arrangements and propelled them to another level I couldn’t have even imagined – his solo alone blew my mind. It’s still one of my more favorite solos ever. I recommend Vreny for ANY music production, composition, session. He is capable of it all and he’ll deliver amazing results. I have no doubts about his abilities whatsoever and would not hesitate to have him lead any musical endeavor”
    (Viro S, artist)

  5. “Vreny is a professional guitarist in every respect. Easy to work with, always prepared, and a nice person to be around. I highly recommend Vreny.”
    (Alex Sartakov, music producer/engineer)

  6. “Thanks Vreny. I am really enjoying your instruction. Its been really hard to find a good teacher that fits my style of learning and you do an amazing job! And you will make me into a great guitarist.”
    (David Mate, guitar student)

  7. “Vreny is a competent and visionary guitarist. He is prompt and professional, whether performing live or bringing his artistic frame into the studio. He added a smooth and funky vibe to Cory Phillips’ debut L.P. and had a great knack of working with the producer to extract from his arsenal exactly what was wanted / needed to leave a professional luster to the project. Would gladly work with him again.”
    (Steven Danner, manages various bands)

  8. “On another note, I wanted to tell you what an incredible person you are. Your patience and enthusiasm shine through in everything you touch and have made you the guitar/music god that you are. I’m certain that all of your other students feel the same. Thanks so much for putting up with my stubborn self and for your gentle guiding and nudging, it means a lot to me.”
    (Stuart Allen, guitar student)

  9. “You are an awesome teacher. You never quit”.
    (Josh Picard, guitarist in the band Ninefinger, guitar student).

  10. “… yeah I played it for a couple people and they were like “fuck, who the hell is playing the guitar??? that guy is amazing. . . ” lol… my sister in law was like “that guy can play just like David Bowie.”
    (Cliff Tang, artist and former guitar student whose album Vreny is producing)

  11. “I love the new guitar parts – I can’t believe you came up with all those parts so fast.”
    (Cliff Tang, artist and former guitar student whose album Vreny is producing)

  12. “I think you’re a great guy, Vreny. You’re very inspirational to me – even if I’m still having trouble getting my shit together. Your lessons help me stay positive and keep my focus.”
    (Andy Cogan, guitar student)

  13. “I really appreciate how easy-going and flexible you are…and you’re a wonderful teacher!”
    (Joy Osmanski, guitar student)

  14. “Vreny: your riffs are super-melodic and super-rhythmic all at the same time — irresistible and way inspiring, whether you’re soloing or comping (if one can actually call it just that).”
    (Al Marotta, keyboardist band member)

  15. “Cela and I feel just as blessed to have met you. I have told all my friends about you. You are truly The BEST music teacher I have ever had. This includes college professors. You are really making a difference in both of our lives. I finally feel like I will accomplish the musical goals that I always struggled with before. I know, with your help, that I can understand music on the deeper level that I have always wanted to.”
    (David Crocco and Cela Scott, music students; running/owning recording studios in L.A.)

  16. “I don’t just think of you as my guitar-teacher, but more as my guitar-sensei. You’re like a karate sensei: I leave your lesson with more inner peace and renewed energy, but with a couple of bruises.”
    (Joe Adams, guitar student)

  17. “YOU ARE A MANIAC! Not only are you a great player, but you’ve got the right personality to succeed. Many people are lacking in the personality area. As you know many musicians are flakey – i.e. they have overly large egos, they don’t show up on time, they abuse substances – the list goes on and on. You’ll find success because you don’t have any of those negative traits. People feed off of your positive energy. I HAVE to hear your recordings.”
    (David Park, guitar student)

  18. “Man, I had the most unbelievable luck of actually seeing my hero Stevie Ray Vaughan in concert. I was literally sitting a meter in front of the stage. Unbelievable show, unbelievable playing, but honestly, after what I have just witnessed, I have to tell you: you are better than Stevie!!!”
    (An impressed fan in Belgium, after a Jimi Hendrix Tribute show, Jan 2008)

  19. “This is an unbelievable composition. This really puts you in the same ranks and at the same musical level like Johann Sebastian Bach!! If Bach would have been alive today, THIS is what he would have written. Great Piece!”
    (Bruce Bartlett; Boston, Fall 2001: Vreny’s private guitar instructor, considered one of the top guitar professors at Berklee College of Music. After these amazing compliments; Vreny titled the composition: “(Con)fusion Ba(ch)rock”)

  20. “Vreny is amazing. Initially, he was my guitar teacher. During this period he completely revamped his entire teaching strategy to meet my individual needs and make the experience fun, interesting, and productive for me. This may sound like “what most teachers are supposed to do”, but let’s be honest, how many of them actually do it?? And do it well?!? Vreny did it. Prior to him I’d had 4 or 5 teachers… Vreny is the only one who made a difference. Vreny is the only one who inspired me. Vreny is the only one I can write a recommendation for, and truly wish the dictionary had more kind words so I could jam them all in. He made me feel like I could accomplish anything, and with his help, completed full-length songs and understand “who I am” as an artist, this is something I could NEVER do before! Vreny was patient, yet challenged me, and there is no gift in the world greater than self-belief… this is what helped me uncover. I definitely recommend Vreny. He’s the man. Top qualities: Great Results , Expert , High Integrity”<
    span class=”orange”>(Leah King hired Vreny regularly as a Career/Guitar Coach since 2002. Leah is a top-class vocalist/songwriter, her dad is one of The Commodores)

  21. “You are awesome. I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me that you have taken this to heart and given me this great foundation for my music. Nice! Really cool and jazzy! You are absolutely amazing and I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for your wonderful talent. You are so good it is unbelievable!”
    (Rebecca Blanks hired Vreny as a producer in 2009 for her 6-song EP. Rebecca is an accomplished singer-songwriter)

  22. ” I love the mix. It’s really great!!! I really appreciate your help and teaching me some more mixing tips. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned since I first came to you for guitar lessons 4 years ago…I feel like I’ve progressed light years from where I started.”
    (Aron Gibson, guitar student, guitarist The Swagger Sticks)