A LASALLE-trained musician, active performer, and label-recognised producer — teaching guitar in the heart of Tiong Bahru.
Calvin picked up his first guitar at 14. What started as a teenage hobby became a genuine obsession — and eventually, a career. That path led him to LASALLE College of the Arts, where he completed his Diploma in Music before going on to graduate with First-Class Honours in a BA (Hons) Degree in Music. It's the kind of formal training that few private guitar teachers in Singapore actually hold, and it shapes everything about how lessons at Calvin's Guitar Lab are structured — technically sound, but never dry or academic for its own sake.
Over nine years of teaching — across neighbourhood schools and private lessons — Calvin has worked with students of every age and starting point, from total beginners who've never held a guitar to intermediate players preparing for Rockschool grades. His approach is built on one idea: every student has different goals, and lessons should be built around those goals, not a fixed syllabus. Some students want to play their favourite songs within weeks. Others want a structured path toward a graded qualification. Both are equally valid, and both get a genuinely tailored plan.
What sets Calvin apart from many guitar instructors is that he's still an active, working musician — not someone who stopped performing to teach. For the past 11 years, he's played guitar for local artists including Reub, Sherman Zhuo, Gail Belmonte, and Xena Giam, and has worked as a session guitarist recording parts for other local acts. That real-world playing experience feeds directly back into lessons — students aren't just learning theory; they're learning from someone actively working in the industry today.
Beyond the stage and studio, Calvin's guitar playing has also built a genuine online audience — over 119,000 combined followers across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok (41K, 60K, and 18K respectively). It's a reach built entirely on the strength of his playing and teaching content, not paid promotion. For students, that means learning from someone whose approach has already resonated with a huge, genuine audience — not just a qualified teacher, but someone people actively choose to watch and learn from.
Alongside teaching, Calvin co-runs Clearwater Studio, a production house offering songwriting, recording, mixing, and mastering services. In 2021, Calvin and his production partner were named one of six winners of UCompose, a competition hosted by Universal Music — with their winning work showcased in New York City. This is the same real production expertise behind Calvin's Guitar Lab's music production lessons, so students aren't learning from someone who dabbles in production on the side.
Calvin currently balances three things: running Calvin's Guitar Lab, co-running Clearwater Studio, and continuing to session for local artists. That combination — active performer, working producer, and dedicated teacher — is rare, and it's what shapes the depth and realism of every lesson at Calvin's Guitar Lab. Outside of music, Calvin spends his downtime behind a camera or a game controller.