About Lessons
I believe that lessons should be "tailored" to the needs of the individual student. A student's level of experience and knowledge, along with his musical preference should determine what is studied. My focus as a guitar player has been the Classical Guitar. My focus as a teacher is to impart to the student the playing skills necessary to pursue his own musical path rather than insisting on a particular kind of music or lesson regimen. Having said that, I believe the classical guitar playing method can help the student acquire the skills that he will need regardless of his playing style or musical preference.
Lessons can focus on any number of important elements. The most important element, however, is FUN. While it is important to learn the "technical" aspects of music, I believe it is best to concentrate on playing songs rather than endless practice exercises. There is an immeasurable amount of beautiful music that can be played on the guitar, much of which was written especially for the classical guitar. The process of unlocking this beauty is what brings joy and a feeling of accomplishment whether you're a beginning or advanced guitarist.
I have put together a partial table of musical elements that would be beneficial and fun as part of a lesson group. Any or all of these can be studied (in any order) depending on the student's background and preferences as mentioned above:
| Reading Music |
| Sight Reading as it Applies to the Guitar |
Counting Time |
| Identifying and working with Key Signatures |
Understanding and Using Classical Guitar Notation |
|
| Music Styles |
| Classical |
Blues |
| Jazz |
Folk |
| Playing Chords |
| 1st Position "Folk Song" Chords |
Advanced Chords |
| Blues Chord Progression |
Jazz Chord Progression |
| Harmonizing the Major Scale |
Chord Inversions |
| Playing Techniques |
| Classical Technique |
Finger Picking |
| Strumming |
Rhythm |
| Scales |
| Diatonic |
Minor Pentatonic (Blues scale) |
Major Pentatonic (Country) |
| Melodic Minor |
Chromatic |
Harmonic Minor |
| Modes |
| Ionian |
Dorian |
Phrygian |
Lydian |
| Mixolydian |
Aolean |
Locrean |
Ionian (Again) |
| Arpeggios |
| Major 7 |
Dominant 7 |
Minor |
|
| Diminished |
Minor 7 Flat 5 (Half-Diminished) |
Melodic Minor |
I'm sure you will find guitar playing as beautiful and rewarding as I do. My goal as a teacher is to help you achieve this through mutual study of the guitar. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
