Teaching Guitar in the 21st Century

Could I be teaching guitar without a computer? I could but I don't! The computer is part of most people lives today with Facebook, Google, Twitter, iTunes and more. It is big part of my teaching business. My uses for the computer include research, developing teacher materials, transcribing, marketing, sales, website, email, and recording.

I research online what other teachers are teaching and how they teach it. I see the good and the bad. This helps me improve my teaching ability. I also shop for books for students and myself to use for lessons. Google books is great for this. You can get "a look inside" of book you are shopping for. You can also see some reviews.

A guitar teacher not using a computer is not being competitive. The ability to produce clean and professional handouts and materials with software greatly improves student's and parents perception of the teacher. I have built a nice folder of files for my students ranging from open chords, notes on the guitar to advanced chords and polyrhythm. I do not have to write things in each lesson. It is already done. I have the printed out or can email them to the student.

I use software for transcribing. I have software that will slowdown MP3's to make it easier and more accurately to transcribe. I save these slowdown versions for students so they can practice songs slowly and gradually speed up to the proper tempo. This is important. The software will also change pitch, which comes in handy with bands that tune down. I can raise the pitch to regular tuning or in the case of drop C or B tunings, to drop D. I do not have to retune my whole guitar. I use another software to write out the songs or solos I am learning. I do this for my students and myself. I also encourage my students to do the same.

I use recording software to record custom backing tracks and exercises for my students. The backing tracks are used for learning to solo with different techniques. When a student learns to play a song, they can record with the backing into the computer during a lesson. Recording songs, techniques, and exercises with a video camera into the computer also helps students practice and review what was done in the lesson.

Other use of the computer for the guitar teacher is a website. A guitar teacher needs a website. When someone is looking for a local teacher, most of them go to Google and do a search. Having a website is necessary to get students. Teachers can develop a website online at various hosting companies. I did this for a while but I was getting annoyed and impatience with having to go online to change or add anything to the site. I eventually bought website software so I have more control and quicker updates to the site. Potential students contact me via phone or email from information posted on my website. Potential students contact me via phone or email from information posted on my website. Current students can go to the site and do ear training, watch videos and more.

I feel without the use of the computer for various aspects of my teaching business, I would have less students and less money.

Hopefully, this helps.

Brian has over 18 years Music industry experience and a guitar player for over 30 years. Brian currently teaches in Rockland County, NY. He can be contacted at guitarhelper@guitarhelper.net.

http://www.guitarhelper.net/

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Teaching Intervals

I teach theory to all of my music students, beginning from the first lessons. Every teacher will have to start with some theory, but after teaching the clefs, note names, note durations and a few other signs, often the theory gets lost, particularly if the teacher is inexperienced or not very interested in theory themselves. To me this is a real disservice and most students without theory eventually know they don't understand something but can't put their finger on what it is, or are too embarrassed to ask.

Why are intervals important?

Intervals form the basis of harmony, and the outline of melody. Without knowing intervals, you can't transpose music accurately (put it in another key). You don't understand structure, particularly of major and minor scales which most students learn in their first year. You can't even begin to progress to writing cadences and harmony. Before teaching intervals, your student should have learned at least one scale, if not two or three, both major and harmonic minor.

Teaching intervals

Anybody learning piano or a keyboard instrument will have intervals laid out in front of them. It is very easy to teach intervals when you can press down keys. Conversely, it is really much harder to teach intervals when playing a violin or a flute or percussion. It's not easily visible, so if you play or teach something other than piano, it's a great idea to get a little keyboard just for teaching or learning theory.

To start

Pointing out the difference between repeated (same) notes, steps (adjacent notes), skips and jumps (wider intervals) is the start, particularly with small children. Teach them to recognise a step up and a step down, a skip up and a skip down. Play intervals for them to pace out on the floor - same, step, skip, jump!

With children of 7 or younger, it is probably too early to teach them intervals by written work, but you can certainly teach the concept. Use an interval piece, such as the one at the back of the Leila Fletcher Piano Course Book 1, or make something up for yourself. Get them to play, sing and speak it.

Writing intervals

With older children or adults, I make up sheets, starting with thirds and fifths which are both odd numbered intervals. This means that both notes will either be on lines or spaces. For a third, the notes almost touch each other. When you see a fifth, there is a line or space in between. Actually there's more than that, but keep it simple and visual. The top half of the sheet is the instruction, and below I put four lines of 3rds and 5ths in different clefs and positions which the student has to identify. At this stage I do not talk about major or minor, perfect or any other type of interval. Just the numbers.

Next lesson

Then I progress to 4ths and 6ths, with the practice incorporating revision of the previous week's work. Then it's 7ths and octaves. Unisons and seconds are so obvious, I explain them, and put them in the final exercises, but don't devote a whole sheet to them. Next I start using the intervals on the piano. "Play me a 6th with your right hand" or "What interval do the first two notes in this piece mark out?"

Relating intervals to scales

When my student has a thorough understanding of intervals just as distance, I begin to add perfect, major and minor to their repertoire. Perfect is easy: unison, octave, fourth and fifth are all perfect, and I just need the student to remember them. I said above that I expect students to have learned some scales when I teach intervals, and this is where it becomes necessary. All they need is C major and a minor, but a few others are good for them to experiment with. They should already know the tones and semitone structure of a major scale, and you can teach them the harmonic minor scale structure if that hasn't already been done.

Major and minor intervals

Look at C major scale. Demonstrate C-E as a 3rd. Call it a major third. Then play c minor scale. How does the 3rd differ? It's C-Eb, one semitone lower. Do the same for 6ths. C-A in C major and C-Ab in c minor. The principle is that the minor interval is always a semitone less than the major interval and the correct 3rd or 6th occurs in the respective scale. You can also show them that inverting the interval swaps major and minor. For example if you invert C-E to E-C, you go from a major 3rd to a minor 6th.

Teaching major and minor 2nds is also easy. A minor 2nd is a semitone, and a major 2nd is a tone. They just have to identify them correctly.

It's only 7ths that are tricky and you may need to prepare your student for this before you go on, because the leading note can be very confusing. Stick to the principle of what is in the key signature for the minor 7th, and tell them it's one of the few times they can ignore the leading note.

Practice

If you do this over a period of a couple of months for children, depending on their ability, they will grasp intervals. Use singing, humming, playing, writing, games on the whiteboard or anything at your disposal to get them to instantly recognise the size of interval. Keep on testing every week. Find songs that begin with a particular interval and relate that to their study. They may have to work out if it's major or minor for a while, but that's just fine.

Instant recognition of the basic interval will help their sight reading, let them progress to learn harmony, help them to improvise or compose, and form an important basis to understanding how music works. Please don't neglect it.

(c) Patrice Connelly, 2011

Patrice Connelly is an Australian musician who specialises in early music, and teaches piano, viola da gamba, music theory and history. She has an M.Mus (Hons) degree in musicology from the University of Sydney. Her business Saraband Music imports/exports, wholesales/retails and publishes sheet music, and she is involved in research, writing, editing, speaking and teaching music. Visit the Saraband Music website at http://www.saraband.com.au/

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Teaching piano-piano lessons with Old School still work?

Whether you are a piano teaching or wants to learn, many people find quite expensive Barinova, and for this reason some future pianistów are never detected. Playing the piano is a skill that takes time to develop. But don't believe the other hand, if you find that it is not. Here are some ideas on how to save some dough while learning how to play the piano.

If you're wondering over cost Barinova, you might want to know what are the available options. Of course, more options, more likely cost-effective solutions are available to the user. Simple supply and demand.

In addition to those of us who are looking to learn the piano teachers ' unions need to find more cost-effective ways of piano teaching. Remember, we are at the age of advanced technology and the internet is a vast Ocean resources when it comes to learning and acquiring knowledge. That includes teaching Barinova and learning games.

"When I was a kid (don't ask me how long ago), a typical way to learn the piano was by professional teachers. My parents started me at a young age (5) and I had weekly lesson in my house pianist. The Internet did not exist, so private lessons were pretty much our only option.

The statement in private have advantages

Today's teacher may charge a per hour, at a session or even on a weekly or monthly. It all depends on how to set it up. Most professional teachers are flexible and can help. Even better if you add the close friend or relative, teaching piano, you can save some serious bucks.

To learn a lot of great things with a teacher of piano. They help each step of the way and more importantly, you can see and hear Your mistakes and correct them directly on the spot. If you want to go this route, make sure that you get to know them before in principle long-term. It is important to find the right match.

On the other hand, some people prefer to learn on its own. If you are in that category, then the vast Oceanic resources above are for you. The good thing is that the advantages of a private teacher, are still available in some cases.

Piano courses

Piano course online certainly will provide you with specialised software teaching, which often will include lessons and instructions with video in addition to all of written material. The price actually is much more cost-effective than to pay a qualified teacher. An obvious advantage is the alternative that you can learn at their own pace.

With the exception of teaching piano, PCs and the Internet, you also have the option of spending money trying to piano ebook. It may seem difficult, but nevertheless, if you prefer to do all the work by itself, this option can do this task. Piano ebook is usually cheaper, so you are better able to benefit from the dough, if this is a problem for you.

Regardless of which option you have, the most important thing you need is a positive attitude and a strong desire to learn. Both piano teaching and learning how to play for the first time, simplify life somewhat with the online course for piano today. And have fun doing it.

You can enter a positive difference

For more information about the piano teaching or learning how to play the piano, visit PlayPianoDude.com, where you'll find this and much more, including the only opinion that trafficking for piano simulators.

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