by Glen McCarthy | May 20, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Stories, Tips + Tricks
Always place the capo a bit behind the fret and fasten it on the guitar tightly. Never slide the capo from fret to fret with out loosening it as this can scratch the guitar neck. Check your tuning after the capo is placed on the guitar neck. If a string should go...
by Glen McCarthy | May 20, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Stories, Tips + Tricks
Students are not ready to tune a guitar. Save valuable class time by insisting that students do not touch the tuning pegs and have consequences for the students who do. It is only necessary to tune the strings in which the students are playing. If working only on the...
by Glen McCarthy | May 20, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Stories, Tips + Tricks
Here we are at the end of another semester. Hard to believe! It’s always bittersweet. Nice to see the summer break, but also sad to say goodbye to my guitar kiddos. I feel like we pack so much information into a semester! I made the push this year, to try to get a...
by Glen McCarthy | May 6, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Tips + Tricks
When teaching a guitar class, always have a pocket or case loaded with extra picks for class. Students always need picks. A small plastic pick holder which has a self adhesive strip can be purchased for less than $2.00. Each one holds up to ten picks and I place one...
by Glen McCarthy | May 6, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Tips + Tricks
Students inevitably need to get up and move around the classroom. The safest way to lay the guitar down is to place it top down with the strings against the floor. The tuners are also facing towards the ceiling and will not be moved as they would be if the student...
by Glen McCarthy | May 6, 2013 | Classroom, Education, News, Tips + Tricks
When counting off for the class, play the rhythm with a muted strum on your guitar as you count. For instance if we are playing a 16th note warm-up I will strum muted sixteenth notes on the guitar as I count, “1e+a, 2e+a, 3e+a, 4e+a. The students hear the rhythm as...
