Classroom Guitar Blog

Warm-Up The Beginners What Warm-ups do you use for your beginner guitar classes? Here are a few ideas to start you off. 1. Scales, first and foremost. 2. Finger 12 patterns on each string, then 23 etc.. 3. Bill’s geometric warm-up - check it out -...

I had a new guitar teacher that I was supervising tell me on the fourth day of school that he had already taught his class the first four strings on the guitar and was asking what he should teach on day five. I simply told him to tell his class on day five that the...

Question: How do you implement effective counting and accurate rhythmic reading? I’ve had my students count out loud since day one, but they fight it and struggle with it! Answer: That’s a universal “music teacher” problem. I don’t have a silver bullet for that...

Each year, more and more music teachers who were hired to teach Band, Choir and Orchestra are being asked to teach guitar. It is common for many music teachers to know little or nothing about playing or teaching guitar. Here is a list of skills which will be very...

Question: Music education training is about proper modeling of playing/singing- how do we teach guitar confidently (and in good conscience), if we are very much beginners and not demonstrating good technique/accurate playing? Answer: Hopefully, you have learned a...

Teaching Students to Improvise I am comfortable with teaching students how to improvise, but I have no idea how to provide the accompanying chord progressions. Here are a few ideas. 1. Fortunately, CDs and mp3 players (iphones, ipods, etc.) were made for...

How Do You Set Up the Right Hand for Fingerstyle Playing? 1. Let the right hand fall to the side and create a “C” shape with the fingers keeping the thumb on the outside the the i finger. 2. Turn the back of the hand toward the teacher. 3. Bring the right hand up...