Teaching Method

My teaching method is individualized and tailored to the needs and goals of the individual student.
I make observations of new students and get to know their learning tendencies. As an example, some people learn by reading and writing, while others do better by watching or listening.

Setting Goals:
Short-term and long-term goal setting is encouraged.
Students are not pressured by being graded, passed or failed, but are allowed to learn at their own pace. Self-sufficiency in encouraged as an ultimate goal.

Practice:
Desire and determination are the two most important factors in learning the guitar or any musical instrument. A regularly scheduled daily practice session of thirty to forty minutes is highly recommended. Practicing sporadically for only a few days during the week, or extending a practice session beyond an hour to "make up" for irregular practice is ineffective.

Materials Used:
Method Books, Songbooks, Recorded Music, Blank Manuscript Book, Internet Resources.

Overcoming Obstacles:
There are a number of different aspects to learning and playing the guitar.
It is necessary for beginners to practice frequently. At the very least, a daily practice routine from thirty to sixty minutes will help to overcome the awkwardness of a new physical activity. During this phase of guitar playing, left and right hand muscles must be conditioned for correct playing. Playing ability improves gradually as the hands "remember" how to move and find their position.

Fundamentals of Music:
Learning to read, write and play music is like learning to communicate with a new language. The foundations are covered in the very beginning and clearly explained in greater detail as lessons go on. The main concepts are as follows: The Musical Staff - musical alphabet and clefs; Time Value of Notes; Time Signature; Key Signature; Natural Notes, Sharps and Flats.   The student is encouraged to phrase their ideas and questions concisely using the appropriate music terminology.

Tuning The Guitar:
Various methods of tuning the guitar are covered, including relative tuning, tuning to a piano, and the electronic tuner. Hearing pitch correctly is emphasized.

Find Any Note On The Guitar Fretboard:
Two approaches to finding the notes on the fretboard, relative and absolute, are explored, beginning with the natural notes in first position.

Sight-reading:
Most students are required to practice sight-reading with exercises designed to improve their reading ability and playing technique. Beginning with simple musical pieces, students gradually progress to more challenging pieces. An introduction to musical notation is presented and covers some basics such as tempo, dynamics, navigation, chord block diagrams and chord symbols. The student is shown how to read and play syncopated notes through correct counting technique. "Getting the feel of the instrument", literally means relying upon the sense of touch to "see" the strings and the fretboard. The eyes are then free to be used for sight-reading and visual cues.

How To Feel Four:
Students who are new to reading music learn how to feel the number of beats per measure, and how to arrive safely at the first beat of each new measure without literally counting every beat.

Ear Training:
Students are required to bring in CDs of their favorite guitar music to learn how to identify the key center, and how to learn chord changes by ear. Listening to individual chords, students learn to identify the difference between major, minor, augmented, and diminished chords.

Right Hand Techniques:
Holding a pick, strumming patterns, bass notes and chords, finger style, travis picking, plucking and palm-muting are defined and included in practice.

Left Hand Techniques:
Position playing, shifting, finger stretching, finger sliding, scales and fingerings, chord changes, note bending, pull-offs, hammer-ons, and left hand muting are defined and included in practice.

Theory In A Nutshell:
Definition of a major scale, natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales, whole tone scales, diminished and altered scales, and the twelve tone scale are covered in detail. Basic chord theory as applied to guitar is presented beginning with triads, and continuing with four note chords, extended chord forms, and altered chord forms.

How To Find Your Style:
Students are encouraged to use their acquired techniques and knowledge of theory to improve their ability to improvise. A musical style will eventually emerge that reflects the student's own preferences and musical influences.