Acoustic and Classical Guitar

Acoustic/Classical guitar is music you can take just about anywhere. It’s one of the things that make learning acoustic so appealing (and scary). There is a myth that you have to have really strong hands to be able to play this instrument. If your instrument is set up properly, it’s a matter of good technique.

As a beginner, the steel acoustic guitar represents some serious challenges, most notably being able to fret the instrument. The steel strings are hard to fret, even for more advance players. I teach a number of techniques that will develop finger independence and strength. Finger strength is not so much a problem with a classical guitar (which is one of the reasons I highly recommend starting with this instrument). The emphasis with classical is fretting hand accuracy and finger picking discipline (no looking at the picking hand!).

But what about playing music? I try to teach a beginner a song in their first lesson. No, it’s not a single note Mary Had A Little Lamb tune either. My emphasis is to teach how to make music first, teach how to read it second. A student has got to feel like they are making progress. This progress is measured by what they play, and how well they play it. Once they develop a love for playing music, learning how to read it makes more sense. Don’t get me wrong, I am very heavy into music theory. This includes everything from keeping tempo, naming the notes in a chord from memory, transposing to different keys on the fly (and no, not using a capo). More advanced players will learn several types of picking, three finger traditional, four finger classical and hybrid pick and finger styles.

My first lesson is free. I challenge all instructors to do this in fact. It’s important for potential students to know their instructor. Students/Parents should ‘shop around’, and get the best value. It’s your money after all.

To be honest, I am a pretty tough teacher. However, a good teacher should not be an ogre (see picture left), but a mentor. Put it this way. If you’re taking lessons with me, it’s because you want results. There are ways to make this happen and have fun along the way! It’s important not to take yourself too seriously. In the end, as a student or parent, you should see and hear improvement. If this is not happening (insert instructor name here) is doing you a disservice.

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