by Glen McCarthy | Aug 30, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Principles, Tips + Tricks
One of the most frequent questions that get asked early in the school year is, “What equipment is needed to start a guitar class?” Some school districts have what is called “standards” which is a common list that every guitar class receives when a guitar program is...
by Glen McCarthy | Aug 26, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Principles, Tips + Tricks
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 –...
by Glen McCarthy | Aug 26, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Principles, Success Stories, Tips + Tricks
Interning at the Teaching Guitar Workshops Atlanta kicked off the summer Teaching Guitar Workshop (TGW) series, offering both level 1 and level 2 courses. Attendees consisted of educators from elementary, secondary, and even collegiate contexts. While some of the...
by Glen McCarthy | Aug 23, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Principles, Tips + Tricks
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...
by Glen McCarthy | Aug 19, 2013 | Classroom, Education, News, Principles, Tips + Tricks
Let your classroom know what they sound like. Try recording your class sessions once you have gotten a semester underway and play the recording back so that you and your students can objectively review and discuss what they performed (either solo or ensemble pieces)...
by Glen McCarthy | Aug 17, 2013 | Classroom, Education, Principles, Tips + Tricks
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 one....
