Classical Guitar » Guitar Teaching

How to Teach Your Students to Slow Down

Christopher Davis — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:37:47 +0000

Even the most insignificant thing can become a big deal in a lesson.

For instance, as Rob pointed out: teachers have to choose their words carefully. Sometimes a word carries with it implications as to how a give technique or musical idea should be accomplished.

The result of the “wrong” word can be frustration from the student or some unexpected results from a week home a lone practicing.

Lessons are the Student’s Time

In lessons, it seems fairly obvious that the teacher wants the student to do most of the playing. Why else would a person take lessons? This mindset has unexpected consequences.

How many times have you (if you teach guitar) played a passage at tempo or fast just to get the student an idea of what it should sound like?

It’s probably happened a few times. Just like words can have hidden implications, so does how you play things for students.

Students Go Faster Than They Should

It’s a common problem. Students play something fast, when the should be slowing down or using a practice technique to really nail a passage.

I suspect a lot of this is due to teachers leading by example. We play stuff fast in lessons just to get through it so the student can have more time trying things out. But we’re also saying something about how a piece should be played: fast(er).

How to Teach Your Students to Slow Down

Simple. Slow yourself down. Play at the tempo you’d like your student to use.

How to Teach Your Students to Slow Down from Classical Guitar

What To Do During the First Guitar Lesson [For Teachers]

Christopher Davis — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 03:10:06 +0000

First lessons are a big deal. They’re the first time a student has met you, and their your first opportunity to show him just how awesome guitar is.

There are two things that need to happen during that first lesson: (1) the student has to feel comfortable with you, the teacher, and (2) the student has to feel like they’ve accomplished something.

Good Guitar Teachers Smile

Get your students comfortable the easiest way possible: smile.

Remember your first guitar lesson? I do, and I had no idea what to expect. Most students feel the same. So encourage them, even with small victories, and smile a bunch. And if you don’t feel like smiling, fake it.

Here’s something to remember, and something that will make smiling and being encouraging during lessons easier: music is a process. No student has perfect technique, and no student knows everything about music right away. Every 30 minute or hour session you have with them is an opportunity to shape their technique or musicianship into something it wasn’t before. Music is a process–a journey–and it takes time.

Who wouldn’t want to smile about being part of that journey for a student?

Get them to Actually Play Guitar

Any and every student can do something during a first lesson that they can take home to practice. This should be more than a few lame finger exercises. So here’s a suggestion: play some chords.

But please, don’t start with a C major chord. Young children can almost always do the simplified G, G7 and C chords. Older students (10-12+ and adults) can do some full open chords if you focus on the right ones. You can see what I do with my first week students on the Classical Guitar Blog Facebook Page (click the “like” button while you’re there!).

Easy Guitar Chords: G, G7 & C

This has two purposes. First, you get to teach your students about the beat and how to count using the easiest method possible: big movements (strumming) and moving with the beat. Second, you get to talk about rhythm and how it the different shapes mean different things.

The biggest part about doing chords is the student gets to leave and be able to play something that sounds like real music, not some finger exercise.

Keep Your Students Coming Back

There you have it: two easily implemented tips for guitar teachers to give a successful first lesson.

Are you a teacher? What do you do during the first lesson?

What To Do During the First Guitar Lesson [For Teachers] from Classical Guitar

Relating Movements

Christopher Davis — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:00:11 +0000

There are general guidelines to moving your hands correctly when playing the guitar. It’s always a challenge for a teacher to relate these unfamiliar movements to students. But there’s an easy way to do it: relate the movements to something we do every day.

I’m going to explain a few things I use to relate movements to students later, but first, let’s talk about why we should teach (and learn) this way.

It’s All About a Relationships

Choice Research has a lot of applicability to practicing. What you’ve read here before was about analogues: relating relatively similar things to each other.

We can think smaller than than practice events for our analogues.

When we relate movements used in guitar to movements we use every day they’re much easier to understand and master. It makes sense to take this “shortcut”, spend more time practicing, and less time worrying about whether or not we’re moving correctly.

So, with that in mind, here are some analogous movements I relate to my students.

Open the Door

Sometimes we need to use different left hand positions to accommodate passages. We change left hand positions primarily with a little wrist rotation.

If you haven’t ever tried to get a young student to rotate their wrist by saying, “rotate your wrist,” you should try it out. It’s very amusing. Most students will swing their elbow around like crazy.

Instead, relate it opening a door handle (or, for others, using a screwdriver). It accomplishes the wrist rotation without the arm movement.

Pick Something Up

Common wisdom on right hand technique is to, “move all the knuckles on the right hand in the same direction.” There’s the even better, more verbose methods of explaining it as well that involve tons of anatomy terms.

How about this: imagine you’re picking something up or wrapping your fingers around something or closing your hand into a fist. In all of these instances the knuckles of the hand move in the same direction and we avoid the dense wordage.

As an aside, I use the “one hand clap” to demonstrate the fingers moving into the palm.

Any other movements relationships you use? Post them in the comments!

Relating Movements from Classical Guitar

Ask Your Teacher to Tell Stories

Christopher Davis — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:00:07 +0000

In Sources of Power Gary Klein writes…

The method we have found most powerful for eliciting knowledge is to use stories. If you ask experts what makes them so good, they are likely to give general answers that do not reveal much. But if you can get them to tell you about tough cases, nonroutine events where their skills made the difference, they you have a pathway into their perspective, into the way they are seeing the world (p. 189).

Practicing and performing and gigging are problem solving. How do you work out that touch section? How do you get over stage fright? How do you organize a concert program? How do you book gigs?

The best advice I can give anyone is to find a local teacher or, if nobody is available locally, take webcam lessons. Teachers have short cuts and knowledge and, most of all, stories.

Klein is right that the best way elicit knowledge is through stories. Every time I write a post on The Classical Guitar Blog, I’m telling a story about what has worked for me. Or I’m telling you a story about what I do in the practice room or on stage. These are authentic stories I live every time I sit down with the guitar. Your teacher has just as many stories and just as much knowledge.

So ask for those stories. Ask your teacher what she did the first time she performed. Ask him how he practiced that difficult bit in a piece, even if it’s not a piece you’re working on the lessons in those stories can often be applied to other works. Ask about their early years or playing and what they did to get better during them. You’ll be amazed at the responses you get.

Ask Your Teacher to Tell Stories from Classical Guitar

Kodály Rhythm: An Introduction

Christopher Davis — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:21:53 +0000

This is a guest post by Yoon Soo Lim, a music teacher and department chair at an independent music school in Pennsylvania. Yoon holds undergrad and grad degrees in piano performance. When she discovered her love for teaching, Yoon pursued Kodály certification. She teaches guitar and general music classes, advises a guitar club, and conducts two choirs. Check out her blog, Sing Imagination, and follow her on twitter.

There are many ways to help young musicians establish a good sense of rhythm. The following post is based on the Kodály method that presents a rhythmic study in easy, fun, and sequential steps.

How would you read this example?

What happened to the note heads?

Before you got to “read” this simple two-bar example, you might have noticed missing note heads. The Kodály method utilizes stick notation (stems without note heads) to easily get students’ focus on the rhythm. It is also easier for students to write fast and accurately. This is a very useful tool for rhythmic dictation.

In traditional music reading, one could read, “quarter note, two eighth notes, two eighth notes, quarter note” etc. Or one could simply tap out the rhythm. In a Kodály music class, traditional note value names are given syllable names. These rhythmic syllables represent the number of sounds that occur over one beat. For instance, a quarter note, is called a “ta”, one sound that occurs over one beat. The symbol is |. Here is a chart of basic rhythms:

Try writing out example 1 or your own rhythmic patterns on a piece of paper to get yourself used to the notation. You will find how easy it is to write and organize.

How to introduce Kodály rhythm to students: Preparation, Presentation, & Practice

All of the rhythms in a Kodály music class get introduced through songs that contain the same rhythmic patterns. Songs are learned first, usually taught by rote from the teacher. Students sing the song, play games and engage in activities that are related to the song. Then the melodic rhythmic concepts are presented and practiced.

After you have your student hear the new piece, allow time for him/her to read and think the rhythm (inner-hearing). You can do this by having the student read the piece silently. Silent reading is prepared by teacher’s “guided steady count-aloud” for the piece. For instance, in a 4/4 piece, teacher will prep count in a slow steady tempo of a four-beat, “1, 2, and here you go”; student will begin reading silently on the down beat.

This guided steady beat can be shown by the teacher while the student is reading silently. When guiding, teacher can point to each beat while the student reads silently. The second time, the teacher can “prep count” again and have the student read aloud with rhythmic syllables. As the student builds confidence and is able to read accurately, you can increase the tempo or play extra challenge games.

One of the fun memory games my students enjoy is “Turn it Over”. For this game, you will need 4-8 rhythmic cards containing patterns your student is or will be working on. Here are 4 cards for beginners:

You can arrange the cards in this order on a music stand. In a steady tempo, the student reads the 16-beat pattern. After a solid read, ask the student, “Which one do you want to turn over?”. The student will choose a card to turn over. In the case above, almost always, student choose the first card. The next time the student “reads” the 16-beat pattern, the student is expected to remember the card he or she turns over. One by one, the cards will be turned over while the student memorizes the 16-beat pattern. Remember to give some time for your student to learn a card before turning over the next card. The repetitive nature of this game helps students retain rhythms well and accurately. And it’s a fun challenge!

All of these basic notation introduced in this post usually get covered in Kodály music classes in Kindergarten – 3rd grades. If you are a private instrumental teacher teaching young students or older beginner students, I suggest that you start your students with these syllables from the beginning of their lessons with you and build your rhythmic vocabulary with them. You can determine when to switch over to the traditional notation names (or use interchangeably) as you assess each student’s understanding and growth.

Kodály Rhythm: An Introduction from Classical Guitar

Teaching: Incorporating Dynamics (Interpretation 101)

Christopher Davis — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:00:18 +0000

Most instructional materials lack instruction on some of the basic expression markings in music. One example is dynamic indications. As with ending a piece, dynamics are easily incorporated into any piece.

Before any student can start following dynamic indications, they have to know what the markings mean. I suggest starting with two different dynamic levels: Mezzo-Forte (a normal, full sound) and Piano (quiet). This way the student can begin to learn the difference between normal playing and softer playing while avoiding the tension that naturally crops up with louder dynamic levels. Because what we do musically is so tied into our movement patterns in both hands, learning dynamics like this often improves the student’s technique (a bonus!).

After the markings are explained, I like to have students practice them by incorporating dynamics into easy arpeggio pieces. I do this for three reasons: (1) Arpeggio pieces tend to be easier for students, freeing up some mental power to focus on dynamics, (2) the use of a variety dynamics is a great way to practice arpeggios, and (3) arpeggio pieces sound like a piece vs. a single-line melody. My students (in both group and individual lessons) have responded better to arpeggio pieces than single-line melodies.

When the two dynamic levels are mastered, the student can start incorporating some graduated dynamics (crescendos and diminuendos). Again the markings have to be explained, then I like to use arpeggio pieces again to practice the concept. Then the student can move on to incorporating more and more dynamic levels into their playing. After some simple graduated dynamic stuff is nailed down, it’s very easy to get the student shaping melodies so the dynamics rise and fall with the line.

If you use repertoire books, methods, or other anthologies that lack dynamic indications, I strongly suggest you mark some in for your students. I tend to write my own little pieces for students, all of which end up with some dynamic indication, even if it’s only one at the beginning.

Teaching: Incorporating Dynamics (Interpretation 101) from Classical Guitar

28 Things I learned in Grad School

Christopher Davis — Tue, 18 May 2010 17:04:50 +0000

The Classical Guitar Blog represents my past two years in grad school pretty well. I started it during my first semester. As I learned things or had thoughts about music, they made it onto the blog. Here’s some of the stuff that stands out to me as the most valuable.

On Business

If every musician spent 30 minutes each day developing relationships and networking there would be many more successful musicians.
Reputation and developing your brand is more valuable than any amount of money.
If performing is part of your brand, a performance degree will do nothing to help you get there. Seek out concerts (see the first item).

I gave a talk about some of the business stuff here

On Teaching

The longer I teach the less interested I become in teaching styles other than classical.
Recitals for students are extremely valuable–nothing makes a student more excited than experiencing success in a performance situation.
Students get very excited when you let them express creativity in music. It’s very easy to get a student composing from the first lessons.
Beginning guitar technique has very little variation. It’s never boring to teach it, however; every student is different and needs different sorts of cues and explanations.
It’s easy to teach even the youngest students to incorporate basic musical elements.

On Performing

Living with a piece for a long time–performing it often–is the best way to overcome anxiety. Or at least get used to it.
Performance anxiety doesn’t go away, but the feel of it becomes a sort of thrill.
Talking about a piece before playing it is much more terrifying.
Start strong and end strong. The stuff in the middle is nice too. I guess.

On Practicing

Efficiency is king. If I can get the same amount done in less time, that leaves more time in the day for me to pursue other interests or network (see the first item).
Part of efficiency is managing repetition. 7-10 perfect repetitions is fine. The problem is finding ways to play a passage perfectly! (see practice techniques).
three hours per day is just about right.
Slow/fast alternation is awesome.
Never wait to develop an interpretation. Never wait to get the piece “in the fingers” before starting to make musical decisions.
There’s no reason why a multi-movement piece has to be learned start to finish. Hit the hard stuff first.

On Music in General

If you want to understand music analysis, take composition lessons from a good teacher. It changes the way you look at music–you’ll see connections that have previously gone unnoticed.
A good repertoire selection will include challenging pieces that take months to work up and pieces that are easily prepared in a few practice sessions or weeks.
It’s more fun to play pieces that no one else does.
Form and motivic development interests me more than harmony.

Misc.

Pool is a good game.
I really enjoy learning things–even a lot of random stuff.
The music binder is a good idea.
Sometimes little things can add up to a big difference.

In the fall I begin a DMA at the University of North Texas, and I’m excited to keep posting as I learn more.

28 Things I learned in Grad School from Classical Guitar

Teaching: How to End a Piece (Interpretation 101)

Christopher Davis — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:00:07 +0000

There’s a belief that students must learn to move their fingers first. Only after the ability to play has been well established can the student begin work on musicality, musicianship, interpretation, and stage deportment. This is certainly true in some respects. Students do have to learn to move their hands a bit first. From their very first piece, however, basic issues of interpretation can be taught.

Teaching a student how to end a piece is easy: it just requires a bit of a ritard. A teacher should write both the full word, ritard, the abbreviation, rit., in the score. After an explanation of the word has been given, demonstrate the effect to the student. Ask them to play along with while you slow them down and finish the piece. Then have them try it on their own a few times experimenting with how much to slow down and where to place the rit.

This often becomes a sort of game to get it just right. (and the student will know when it is!)

Art of the Cut Off

In addition to the rit, the basics of stage deportment can be taught at this stage. Show the student how to mute the strings and finish the piece. I like to rest my right hand on the strings in a certain way.

Right Position to Finish a Piece

Then have the student do a brief moment of poise then relax.

All of these things are extremely easy to show even the youngest of students. Last Saturday an eleven year-old student of mine did all of this on his very first piece. Teaching interpretation and stage deportment should be done early. By the time they are ready to walk on stage for a public performance the habits from lessons will be well ingrained and second nature.

Teaching: How to End a Piece (Interpretation 101) from Classical Guitar

On Teaching Children

Sonia Michelson — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:38:54 +0000

Music is a gift. A gift for all ages and all cultures. It’s not for adults only, but children as well.

You might ask, “Why should I bother teaching children classical guitar?” There are many reasons. One that comes to mind immediately is that children who study music and classical guitar are the future core audience for classical guitar concerts. In addition, a good music education broadens a young person’s interests. We have the opportunity to encourage a young person to grow in depth and sensitivity.

Besides children love playing the guitar the world over. Why not introduce classical guitar instruction in addition to folk and popular guitar to your teaching program for children?

From past experience I’ve found that initially many kids sign up with me thinking that we’re going to learn the latest pop song and just strum and yodel a few I IV and V chords . And that’s all right. Most children have no idea what classical guitar is let alone why learning about classical music is such a joy.

However, with lots of patience and a sincere interest in each child’s welfare, you, the teacher, can stimulate a child’s interest in playing classical guitar and discovering the beauty and magic in music.

Please note though that it is very important that the classical guitar teacher has an excellent musical background, fine technique and must develop a real love for teaching children. Then this teaching program can succeed.

Working with Parents

How on earth do you get a parent or both parents seriously involved with their child’s musical progress? How do you get a real commitment and interest in their child’s practicing at home? Answer: It takes imagination and enthusiasm.

Most parents these days are so fragmented and so busy with multi-tasking that they don’t have the time or patience to talk with you as their child’s teacher, let alone time to practice with their child. Of course they want their child to take guitar lessons. However, they don’t want to be involved during lesson time or at home with practicing or musical progress. In reality they just want to drop their child off at the lesson and then be off to the next errand or appointment

So what is the answer to this problem? A few practical suggestions:

First of all insist over the phone that the parent attend the first two lessons in order to see you teach. This gives the parent a definite idea of what it is you do during lesson time. This is especially important for parents who have never had music lessons themselves as children.
Suggest to the parents that they set a regular time at home for their child’s practice and mean it. That is, no baseball or soccer practice until he has practiced for his 30 minutes first!
In my own teaching practice I always hand out a Practice Sheet. Each of the seven days of the week is listed in a separate column. The student is required to fill in the amount of time he practices each day. If the child is still not old enough to tell time, I suggest that he mark the day’s practice with a check. He brings this sheet to each lesson.
Incidentally, I hand out this Practice Sheet in a folder to the parent at the first lesson, along with a flyer from my Michelson Studio stating my teaching goals, when payment is due (4 lessons in advance) a business card, and a friendly welcoming smile. Since the Practice Sheet is in a folder there are fewer chances for it to be lost! Be firm but fair. Both the student and their parents will get the idea that you do mean business, and that you are a serious teacher and that you expect responsible behavior and a positive attitude toward practice and payment.
Now back to practice time itself. For older students I expect a practice time of about 30 minutes for five days out of seven. For younger ones I start off with 15 minutes four days a week. It takes quite awhile for young students to learn to concentrate and to be regular in their practice time. Try to establish good practice habits right from the beginning of lessons. Be patient.
I always suggest to the parent, right at the very first lesson, that the family should have a “Home Concert” at least once a week. Treat this seriously. Suggest to the parents that they meet in the living room after dinner and ask their child to perform. Even though he may only be able to play the first two or three measures of a piece, it will show his family what is being done in lessons and practice. In this way the parents are involved in their child’s music making. The young student feels good about the support he is receiving from his family and what he is doing at practice time.
Another way to involve the parent is to make a friendly phone call a few weeks after the semester begins and Johnny has had a few lessons. Mention to the parent that their child will be in a Workshop in several weeks and that you expect the parent to attend giving time, date and place.
If giving a Workshop is too hard to fit into your busy schedule as a teacher then mention that the Annual Winter Recital or the upcoming Spring Recital will be held at such a time and place.
Parents do worry about how their own child will perform in a public place so they sit up and take notice. Parents usually show much more interest and involvement with their child’s practice and Home Concert after such a phone call. Naturally they want their child to be a success especially performing before family, friends and neighbors.
I usually print up an attractive flyer about the upcoming Recital or Workshop a month before the performance. The student takes this home and it usually appears on the family kitchen refrigerator for everyone to see and to remember!
Create a monthly Newsletter and give special mention to those students who have outstanding practice records. Also mention which students will appear in the next Workshop or Recital. Parents love to see their child’s name in print and will probably be more cooperative and involved in their child’s music lessons as a result of your Newsletter.
Ask the parent, with either a phone call or a note home to buy a CD of an outstanding classical guitarist playing either Spanish music or romantic music. Something that is easy listening! Easy to digest. Have your parent write down the name of the artist and the CD. Don’t forget we, as teachers are trying to educate our parents as well as our students about music and classical guitar. Have the student listen at home or in the car. Ask the student during his/her lesson time which piece he liked best. Be kind and interested.
Kids know when you like them and respect them. Just because the child may be only 5 or 7 years old he certainly has ideas and opinions. Listen to him carefully and thoughtfully.
In addition to a CD you might suggest watching an outstanding performer playing a beautiful classical guitar piece on youtube or another video service.

Teaching Materials: Recommended books and Websites

The following Websites and books might interest you and will help keep your parents and students involved in their music and lessons.

www.practicespot.com
www.musicteaching.info
yespublishing.com
Not Until You’ve Done Your Practice (aff. link) by Johnson and Sutton. This book is written mostly for piano students but can easily be geared toward guitar practice.
Helping Parents Practice: Ideas for Making It Easier (Vol 1) by Edmund Springer – available at Yes Publishing.

Please have understanding and patience with both your students and their parents. Show enthusiasm for the student and his parents and you’ll succeed. Good Luck!

On Teaching Children from Classical Guitar

Three Ways to Get Yourself Students

Christopher Davis — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:56:55 +0000

Teaching is a great source of income for professional musicians, and it can be an extremely rewarding form of employment. Marketing yourself, however, sucks. Unless you get a gig at studio or local music shop, you’ll have to do all the leg work yourself. Here’s three simple things to help.

List yourself on Google Maps. Why? Search results on Google are tailored to the searcher’s location. Which is why Adsense shows ads for local business in your searches. This also means that a search for “guitar lessons” in your area will pop up results listed on Google maps near the top of the list. You need to get in on that action. This assumes, of course, that you have a website which people can go to check you out. If you don’t, there are some great cheap website options.
Play gigs around town. You need to get noticed as a musician. Most gigs are played for adults, and some of them will be interested in lessons or have kids interested in lessons. Playing gigs for charity organizations is also a good way to get some local press with out paying for an advertisement. Talk to local libraries or charities and offer to set up a benefit concert. You won’t make any more, but the exposure could easily be worth it (just don’t hesitate to call the local newspaper about the gig).
Have promotional materials on hand. This is basic common sense: have business cards to hand out, and give them to everyone. Give your current students two or three–when their friends ask them where they take guitar lessons they can give one of them away. There’s also the option of setting up advertising promotions around your town, which would require some leg work. The idea is to be the first person that comes to mind when someone says, “guitar lessons,” and you should use any tools available to spread your name around. Business cards are a good start, but anything is possible. Guitar picks with “Guitar lessons” combined with your name and phone number could be a great promotional tool. There’s no end to the possibilities.

Three Ways to Get Yourself Students from Classical Guitar