This absolute beginning guitar course provides the student
with basic guitar skills. Students learn more then 25
chords, 30 folk/pop songs, bass lines and rock riffs and
some easy introductory classical techniques. Many of the
songs we learn use different accompaniment techniques. At
first we do simple down strums then move on to up strums on
the upbeats then bass/strum and later arpeggios etc. At the
end of this first semester, the beginning guitarist should
be able to read tablature and chord diagrams and be able to
play simple melodies, pieces with a melody-and-bass, some
folk/pop song arrangements, and some easy classical pieces.
It is the instructor's belief that with classical guitar
technique as a foundation, all other styles of guitar
playing are easier to learn. In addition many styles of
popular guitar will be covered as well. For instance, we
play lots of Beatles, Dylan and current songs, Stairway to
Heaven, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Good Ridance, Wipe Out,
Peter Gunn, Blackbird, Malaguena, Hey Joe, Hit the Road
Jack, Hotel California, House of the Rising Sun, Good
Riddance, Stand by me, Louie,Louie, Smoke on the water, Free
Fallin’, I’m a Believer, Rock n Roll patterns, Malaguena,
Greensleeves and some rock bass lines and riffs. In that we
have many different levels of guitarists in class, the
instructor will start from the beginning, going over the
basic techniques of playing learning the fundamentals of
tablature and diagram reading. A typical class begins with
warm-ups and technique work, followed by either tablature
reading or song material with constant careful monitoring of
each individual student's progress. A list of all items
covered on the mid-term will be handed out at the fourth
class session, and four weeks before the final. To minimize
stress the student is encouraged to begin checking off exam
items three weeks leading up to the exam dates, sometimes
playing them many times before checking them off with our
goal of finishing the entire list. We will work towards
passing all the items on both exams worth 100% of the final
grade. The final grade will be proportionate to the amount
of material passed. |
