by Glen McCarthy | Jun 24, 2014 | Classroom, Education, Gear, Principles, Tips + Tricks
With the introduction of Finale 2004 a new chord feature, the Fretboard Editor, was made available that greatly simplified creating custom guitar fretboards. As a Guitar Educator you can use this feature to design custom elements for your guitar classroom quizzes and...
by Glen McCarthy | Jun 18, 2014 | Classroom, Education, Gear, Principles, Tips + Tricks
Mistake #1: Not Developing your Calluses It doesn’t matter how much natural talent you may have; if you don’t practice consistently enough to develop your calluses, playing will never feel easier. (And pain, as we all know, is a natural deterrent.) Fix: Try to play...
by Glen McCarthy | Jun 18, 2014 | Classroom, Education, News, Principles, Tips + Tricks
While questioning my motives for using a practice sheet in class, I set out to see what other music teachers did when it came to requiring their students to practice at home. I spoke with the band director who was also trying “something new” when it came to weekly...
by Glen McCarthy | Jun 11, 2014 | Classroom, Education, News, Principles, Tips + Tricks, Uncategorized
Img: Incase You don’t have to be a guitar player or buff to know the name Eric Clapton. This Englishman solidified his status early on as one of the greatest guitar players of all-time, and he’s still active today. Though the blues were his inspiration, Clapton...
by Glen McCarthy | Jun 11, 2014 | Classroom, Education, Principles, Tips + Tricks, Uncategorized
Img: Kejoli Do your students know about finger picking master John Fahey? Probably not. Are they familiar with Fleet Foxes? Probably. Whether or not they’re conscious of it, they do know something about folk. And a great way to cover folk in class is to teach both old...
by Glen McCarthy | Jun 5, 2014 | Classroom, Education, Gear, News, Principles, Tips + Tricks, Uncategorized
1. A Guitar Book Today students can search video after video of guitar instruction and piece together a decent intro. But there’s nothing like a single book with a table of contents and established expertise to get you answers when you need them. Here’s one that comes...
