Lessons
Each person has different needs and abilities. It is
important that the lessons progress at a pace suited for the specific
student. A lesson plan cannot be worked out until goals can be
established.
Your responsibilities as a student are to
determine your goals, what you would like to achieve by playing guitar
and commit to a practice schedule.
A lot of what you will learn will depend
on what you want to get from the guitar and how much practice you put
in: Do you want to learn a few specific songs or guitar basics?
Even to learn a few songs you need to
know how to hold the guitar, finger chords with one hand and strum with
the other ( with or without pick ). You will be exposed to several
chords and how to read a chord chart. You will be shown how to tune a
guitar and read tablature.
Please note that non-adult students are expected to learn to read guitar music during the summers months.
A complete course will take you from
the very basics of learning to hold the guitar, to tuning and
tablature, reading music, some basic music theory, and various guitar
playing styles ( folk, rock, country ,etc ). Please call for more
information.
If you want to learn specific songs,
please remember that it will be dependent on the complexity of the song
and the skill level of the guitar player. Basically, what I'm saying is
that a simple folk or simple country song can easily be learned by a
beginner. Imitating a full blown rock band on one guitar is another
story. Those songs may be simplified to fit the skill level of the
student. You may also have to supply the CD and sheet music/tablature.
You will need a Guitar
The more you can spend on a guitar, usually the better
the guitar. A very cheap, inexpensive guitar will be hard to tune and
difficult to play; and it's resale value will be low or nothing. A good
guitar is fun to play and may even appreciate over time. Usually, but
not always, an inexpensive electric guitar is better than a same-priced
acoustic (wooden) guitar. But then you have the amp to deal with.
I may be able to arrange a rental guitar if you aren't
ready to buy one. Renting a guitar is a good idea if you don't yet know
how to play a guitar. You should take a couple of months to learn how
to play chords and a couple of songs. That way, when you go to the
guitar store, you will have a better idea what to look for in an
instrument. You won't depend on the salesman to pick the guitar for
you. An experience guitar salesman can make any guitar sound good.
Please ask me for details.
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