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Calling all Guitar Players


R

Rich

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Sorry if this is waaaaaay other interest.

I know that there are a number of guitar players here on the forum. I wanted to tap your brains (rather than a guitar forum) because I've come to value your opinions over the last couple years. I was approached by a homeschool group to teach guitar lessons to some of the children. I have no idea where to begin with this. The kids are around 7 to 8 years old and have little to no music background. The idea appeals to me a little because, hey, who couldn't use a little extra cash, right! The sessions would be taught individually. My problem, Where do I begin?

Have any of you taught lessons and can recommend a program? I've done a little diggin' Alfred's is still around as well as Mel Bay. I'm a little intimidated to go into a guitar studio and ask questions because when I was a kid they had a habit of making me feel like crap. Nothing like a musician making minimum wage with a chip on his shoulder to give you issues the rest of your life.

Any direction would be appreciated.

thanks

Rich
 
Rich - I taught guitar for many years and always enjoyed it. Of all the courses that I tried I liked Alfred's the best. I would recommend it. Go ahead and jump in I think you would find it very rewarding. Not very many kids will keep at it and end up being musicians, but the few that do excel and keep at it is worth the effort.

Good Luck
 
Rich That is wonderfull. I do not play guitar but I do love music.

I sow this movie a while ago and I was so touched and was thinking about teachers and how much thay can influence somebody`s life. So for insperitaion I would recommend it highly:

"Music of the Heart" ( main caracter played by Meryl Streep), based on a true story.

http://www.louisvillescene.com/movies/rev1999/19991029musicoftheheart.html


Enjoy !

I hope the link works now1 \:]
 
Lily great movie - another good one to inspire the novice music teacher is 'Mr. Holland's Opus" with Richard Dreyfuss

A few other thoughts for you Rich

Alfred's books are pretty basic and good for young children, however as soon as the student progresses far enough you should write out some simple songs for them to practice. The exercises in the books can get a little boring for young people.

I used to try and do some things for the kids that fitted in with the season, such as Christmas or Easter, you can write some simplified songs that small kids would like ( Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer for example) this helps to keep the interest alive

Do a search on the web and you will find some programs that will enable you to write music score on your PC and print it out, I find for me this was much better that the fly specks I write. I can read it but no one else could :bustagut: :bustagut:

And I would stay away from teaching tabulature and stick to traditional music score. ( just my preference)

And be prepared that they will all want to be Rock musicians in two of three weeks ( and we know that just ain't going to happen) :bustagut: :bustagut:

Most of all Have Fun 8))
 
Rich hat's great to hear. I agree that you should go ahead and jump in. You'll enjoy it. :righton:

I also taught on & off for several years when i was younger, when i came home from road trips -- to keep busy. The Alfred books are good i agree, and i also liked the MelBay books as well. If i remember correctly, the MelBay books use more graphics than Alfred's; that's why i liked them. But in actuality, i hardly taught with books.

When teaching complete n00bs, i would always start them off with knowing and identifying the various parts of the guitar, and remembering what each part was for -- i.e. the tuning pegs, or the nut, etc.
After they could remember the main body parts, then i'd start them off with basic open position chords and pentatonic scales. After learning a few songs, things started to move up the neck.

Anywho... that's what i remember about that. :D

TIP: i found it most productive if i got to know what type of music the student preferred, and had them find/buy some sheet music for a couple of their favorite songs. And then we'd learn them together. That seemed to help hold their interest more.

Have fun! And be patient! ;)
 
Thanks for the tips!

I admit I'm a little nervous about doing this. I'm afraid I'm going to get some really talented kid and mess him up forever [confused] . Part of my plan is that my kids are the same age as the ones I'll be teaching so I'm hoping that gives me an advantage in that I can experiment on them [shhh]

My kids take piano lessons and have a recital around Christmas every year. Did you guys have recitals for guitar?

Rich
 
Huh??? How could I have missed this ?

For what it's worth....... if you get to read this, rich........

I agree with Mark. Not all of your students will stay on. Those who do will move on to a more advanced tutelage, be it with you or someone else.

Mel Bay's is excellent. I used to soak up on that in the 60's (for piano) . In addition to Mark's , what I do with pure Noobs is teach plucking techniques - plucking and strumming patterns- in time to 3/4 & 4/4 time signature and songs. This builds up finger strength, touch and confidence in the sound they make out of the instrument.

I had classical guitar training when I was a kid, so it was an added bonus that I could teach them a few very basic pieces. If you know a few popular (simple) solo pieces you can add those. ( trains their ears ).

I used to teach youngsters in groups. I'd divide the group into 2 or 3,.... each group is assigned either plucking or strumming ; first position or second position chords ( open chords or bar chords ). They gain confidence thru the harmony they create. Gives a sense of teamwork as well.

Take a page from rick's book. You may teach individually but get them to play as a group. If your up to it, have them do a private recital for their families.

The goal is not only to teach them how to play but give them confidence and probably start them on a direction they can take in their lives.



Just me 2 sens.

vee
 
thanks for the tips vee,

I've started with a couple of the kids and am using the Mel Bay materials. They seem to be having fun with it (I am!). Once I get a little more used to this I may put an ad in the paper for more students.

I'm discovering that my house isn't exactly ideal for this though. I can see why many people teach out of a studio/store.

Rich

ps. The really neat thing about all of this is that I'm picking up the guitar again! I've done a couple things here and there for the kids but now I'm picking it up every night. I almost forgot how much I enjoyed it.
 
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