Our story
At Pickup Music, we’re on a mission to create the world's best experience for learning music online. With over 30,000 members and growing, we specialize in providing a structured, step-by-step approach that helps players of all levels make real progress.
Pickup Music started in 2015 as an Instagram community run by our co-founder and jazz guitarist, Sam Blakelock. The community grew into one of the largest online communities of musicians connecting through lessons, live shows, meet-ups, and challenges.
Today we're based in LA and supported by a global team of educators and partner musicians to bring the highest level of instruction to your fingertips. We’re proud to be fully bootstrapped and continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in online music education.
Our Learning Pathways guide you through a personalized journey to fretboard mastery, ensuring you know exactly what to focus on each week to take your playing to the next level. Our unique system combines detailed lessons with hands-on learning, giving you the structure and support you need to reach your guitar goals.
Alongside our video lessons, we offer 1:1 personalized feedback on your playing and weekly live lessons, creating a learning experience that feels as close as possible to in-person lessons - at a fraction of the cost.
The world's a better place with music. We love helping people get better at making it.
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2015
Founded by independent musicians
40K +
Members
100 %
Independently owned
Our Team
We're a small-but-mighty team of musicians who love helping people get better at music and develop their unique musical voice.
Sam Blakelock
Co-founder, CEO
Cam Nolan
Co-founder
Karl Kerfoot
Head of Education
Rob Araujo
Piano Lead
Nick Cisneros
Bass Lead
Kyle Sparkman
Managing Editor
Leigh Collins
Head of Notation
Júlio Mendoza
Head of Production
Sarah Riddle
Learning Experience Team
Dom Meyer
Head of Growth Marketing
Harry Nicholson
Video Editor
Miguel Mendes
Notation Team
Tom Harden
Head of Member Success
Daniel McLaughlin
Producer
Chris Bartlett
Writing Team
Leticia Filizzola
Member Success Team
Gabriel Fontes
Director of Photography
Che-Wei Hsu
Notation Team
Autumn Palen
Production Team
Jacob Durbin
Producer
Marcelo Filizzola
Video Editor
Pickup Music Coaches
Our pro Guitar and Bass coaches provide personalized feedback and guidance on every step of your learning journey.
Jack Handyside
Guitar Mentor
Dan Kalisher
Guitar Mentor
Ben Thomas
Guitar Mentor
Brandon Bae
Guitar Mentor
Felipe Melanio
Guitar Mentor
Michael Isacs
Guitar Mentor
Tash Wolf
Guitar Mentor
Joey Weidner
Guitar Mentor
Ben Sturley
Bass Mentor
TJ Whitelaw
Guitar Mentor
Our Artists
Here’s just a few of the incredible instructors we work with.
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