Providing you know a small amount of theory (enough to be applied to the guitar), and you know your way around the guitar without getting confused, anyone is capable of giving lessons, providing they are good teachers.
I've worked in teaching, and I know a small amount of music theory - enough to teach people the basics. However, often the basics are the hardest to teach simply because you have to get a student to relate to the theory.
I've been teaching my girlfriend some theory behind what she is playing, as she can play the guitar, but she doesn't exactly know what she's playing. She'll look at me and ask what a G chord is, and I'll have to remind her. Her number one priority at the moment is learning to play barre chords, because she loves to learn her favourite songs, but obviously she gets a bit lost when she has to play things like F#m.
Bless her, though, she's dyslexic, and she doesn't have the biggest attention span, so getting anything across to her can be quite difficult. I spent last night trying to explain the notes of an octave so that she could recite E-E on the E string, and also got her to memorise the notes of standard tuning ("Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears" - other suggestions welcome). Obviously I don't want to teach her too much in one go, because that can be overwhelming. I'm not even struggling, really, with knowing what to say.
More than anything, I'd just like some tips.
It is true that basics are really hard to teach,
but bare in mind that there are many ways to teach same thing.
And the more you know,you realize the point of basics.
What I'm saying is that you'll not be able to share your knowledge
that easily and effective if you know just a little bit more of basics.
Of course you can teach,
but it'll be somehow painful for you and your students.
Sometimes it is easier for beginner to teach another beginner, because skilled guitarist with many years of playing behind forgets what it's like to have a first contact with guitar.
There is one tip how to feel as a beginner again, if you are right-handed, just take the guitar as if you are left-handed, and notice that you have no control over your fingers
When I used to teach my beginners I would always try to work through the back door. What I mean is, you need to figure out a way to apply what your teaching to your student in such a way that is fun for them to practice what your trying to teach. Otherwise, it's too much like boring school work.
Guitar teacher is a specific job that you have to do and practice a lot to be good at, just like anything else. IMO it is not too important how broad the instructors knowledge is, but how well he can transfer that knowledge that he/she has to the student. If instructor can do that, and in the same time establish a good positive relationship with the student than it can be successful.
Well, my knowledge is reasonable. I didn't mean for it to sound like I'm a beginner myself.
I was hoping for some more tips, indeed like "Easter Bunny Gets Drunk After Easter", as, like I said, I have worked in teaching and know how to teach.
Sometimes the problem isn't really teaching, students must be focused and passionated about guitar in order to learn fast, if you don't like what you do it can take you decinies to learn it...
I'm a completely autodidact guitarist, but I always play guitar, sometimes it seems like I breath guitar lol ... so because of my love to guitar I can learn theory related to guitar and it won't be annoying for me, on the contrary i will be really interested
Maybe you should motivate your student before trying to teach him/her ... ("I spent last night trying to explain the notes of an octave so that she could recite E-E on the E string") this should be easy to understand.
Well I hope you'll perseverate and try again, perseveration is also a great way of teaching
I actually think theory is fun! It funny to see the logic when two things you have learned separetaly all of a sudden makes sence, together! The same with math.
I think that you may have better result with drills over a pentagram than using regular spelling, its a graphical concret thing vs a spelling abstract thing, try Berklee's Harmony I drills, use it for the name of notes and it´s writting on the score, and then goes for chords in the same book, you have to check that she has interest in this first o course.
Teaching guitar is a total different issue thn playing guitar, it is very hart to transmit your own sensations, and those things you may learned by intuition are harder to teach because you haven't got the futtage of what did you do when learning that for the first time. I disagree with Dejan about the skill level of the guitarrist-teacher for actualy playing guitar, given the fact that the techer can teach only what he knows, the important stuff here is that the teacher knows the "why" (theory) and "how" (tools for comunication) and the "how" is the most important think and shuld be personalizated case by case and it is something that teachers shuold build with a lot of effort, pain, experience and even failure.
If she has dyslexia try to ask some specialist some tips (concepts about which tools can be used and what can´t not be used and what are the probable progress expectation on all of them).
The thing about the names of the chords it is a convention for comunication in the music world that has been build based on tradition and practice over reason (that´s why we have 7 names for 12 notes), and G major could be called "Uncle Jack" and it´s nature could not be altered.
If she has trouble with chord name drills, try to see if she can identify the sound of the chord, record on tape or cd a G and a F#m randomly, you teach her both chords and let her hear the sound, the excerciser would be that the tape plays a chord and she guess and plays the chord. If a song has several chords, make markers on gramatic points of the song for example a whole sentence from the lyrycs or a whole semiphrase form the music. let´s say it has 4 chords, whel those 4 chords should be learned as a whole new structure, as one thing. Go from little to bigger, if you stay too little is harder to remember, once you have the mechanics go for bigger.
All this thing should be asked to a specialist, beacuse we could be trying random stuff forever and won´t work because just may be a hidden condition that make our toll useless.
For the names of the chords and it´s construction check the Berklee Harminy I book, has enough drills to kill your self, you make those in a week and you won´t ever ask what is a Ab minor is.
Good luck and that´s great that you can have a great time playing and teaching guitar with your girlfriend.
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)