You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe."

Hey there Friend,

As I've mentioned before, I've recently started teaching a beginner's level group guitar class (see pics here!) at a local community center. It's been a learning experience, obviously for the students, but particularly for me. This first class was designed to give a broad brush over the basic components of music as it pertains to guitar. Each week I cover a component - melody, harmony and rhythm, throwing in guitar fundamentals in the first week. You saw a lot of the groundwork for this class in past emails. It's a lot of information, given to folks just dipping their toes into making music with guitar.

The students have all been enthusiastic and seem to really enjoy the sessions so far. I load them up with all sorts of handouts and talk through the basics of each component. What I found is there's just not enough time in four-plus hours to do this justice! It's a bit overwhelming, but my students have been taking as much in as they can, and so far the response has been very positive - it does my heart good!

I've been teaching private lessons now for close to two years, so this is a new dynamic for me. In fact, most instruction at music stores and schools tend to be private lessons - one on one , student and teacher. Working with a small group of students opens up new pros and cons, but the pros are out-weighing the cons from my perspective. Here are some observations I've made as I wind down the 'yellow brick road' of teaching guitar.

It's Hard to Put Myself in the Shoes of a New Student

When you just know something, mostly because you've done it a thousand times, it's sometimes difficult to translate it into words. I'm often needing to think back to when I was starting guitar lessons (well over 30 years ago!). What things did my teacher show me? What didn't he show me that, thinking back now, would have been good to learn? What were my challenges? Of course, this type of thinking makes for lots of good teaching opportunities as questions come out. It's certainly made me more aware of the need to create engaging materials and find better ways to explain concepts and techniques.

There's Never Enough Time

Music is potentially a very deep subject. I say potentially because we all have our personal tastes and biases in what we listen to, and that's just touching the surface of music. When you start talking about constructing music, there are many layers to consider. Now the easy thing to do would be to stay in the shallow end - don't go too deep. You can merely teach the basics and give students a general understanding of how to play some notes on guitar, some easy chords, how to play the pentatonic scale. But that's not typically how I roll. So, if you're my student, you're often going to get a lot more information than you probably expected. Don't worry, I won't get bored talking about it - that can be a problem sometimes...

I Talk Too Much!

Sometimes I should just shut up. I can get going on a topic or begin answering a question, and the information just keeps flowing. Even when their eyes are glazing over. I need to be a whole lot more aware of what I'm saying - so I don't bore people or give them too much information. We've all been there - someone sharing way too much. At least I'm not getting into personal stuff that makes people uncomfortable and want to back away from me slowly!

I Need to Simplify Things More

When I get talking about music and guitar, I get very focused and maybe too granular. I start talking about the physics of sound waves, how these waves create the different pitches we know as notes, why music is most likely an earliness form of communication than speech. Again, I go deep. Frankly, probably not the best approach with my beginner students. This approach probably goes back to the instruction I had as I was trying to learn guitar. We didn't go into many of the details I find interesting today. I definitely need to stick closer to my outlines and save the detailed stuff for future classes.

I Like Teaching Groups

I like the group dynamic. Many times a student will ask a question that another might to have considered or think wasn't worth asking. This gives me an opportunity to help them all at the same time. The students also help each other and begin developing some camaraderie. I also get to introduce them to playing with other individuals, and this interaction is invaluable in my opinion. When people play music together, they begin to have a better appreciation of the skills it takes to make music in bands, and it inspires them to continue playing. Why? Because it's fun!

How Am I Fixing This?

I have started teaching a new Beginner's Guitar II class to get into the details of music and guitar. I have a methodology designed to not only teach the necessary skills, but also take those skills and incorporate them into your playing. The class is set up in four weeks sessions, renewable each month. I focus on one particular musical component that we apply to guitar playing. The nice thing about this type of approach is that I can work with people ranging from the complete n00b to someone that has taken lessons before. It's very easy for me to customize the teaching approach that is appropriate for the student.

We can start digging into the particulars of making music on guitar, and having students of different skill levels and backgrounds makes for an interesting mix. We all help each other out and I really think it makes for a rich learning environment. I think this helps get you to where you can start playing the songs you like a lot faster.

Just a quick note: No, I haven't forgotten about the metronome audio samples I keep promising! It's close, really close. Hopefully this weekend I'll get it published online... And the webinar has been delayed due to finding a better solution for the technical side of things. We're testing video software at the moment, so I appreciate your patience. If anyone knows a decent low-cost solution for doing webinars, let me know. Sorry for the delays. Have a great weekend!

Peace~

Dave

Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes.

He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already!

Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:

I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com

As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend!

I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness".

We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.