Best Way To Learn Guitar

Children who take lessons on standard band and orchestra instruments can start as early as the second grade. But if a student wants to play guitar, he often has to wait until middle school or even high school to find an in-school program that addresses the guitar on an organized, structured level. As a result, many guitar teachers find themselves in the position of facing older beginners and dealing with the special dynamic that creates in the classroom.

“Older students can be much more results oriented,” says Glen McCarthy, MENC guitar mentor and a guitar teacher and assistant band director at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, Virginia. “It’s part of the whole problem with our culture and instant gratification. And I think that’s becoming much more apparent with kids than it used to be. If they have to work really hard at something, that’s when you’ll find the student wants to quit.”

McCarthy sees the early lessons as critical for enfranchising these older students. “I look at the period from the beginning of school to winter break,” he notes. “I call that the ‘honeymoon period’ for teaching guitar. You can pretty much give anything to the kids and they will respond to it, as long as you provide what I call ‘a tune of the day.’ You give them something where they’re strumming some easy chords — whether you’re just playing along with ‘A Horse with No Name’ or some little strummer.”

Another challenge beyond keeping students’ interest high is that guitar is often not part of the established curriculum, like band is in the fourth grade. It’s often presented as an elective. “An elective means they are electing to take it,” emphasizes McCarthy. “So you have to make sure that they are getting out of the class what they are expecting. But at the same time, it’s important for you to give them a really balanced approach to the instrument.”

In guitar teacher code, a “balanced approach” translates to “tablature versus note reading.” McCardiy agrees, adding, “I don’t subscribe to the doctrine that ‘tab is the only way to win them over,’ because if the students don’t really learn how to read music, they’re going to be illiterate. Some teachers feel you can present just the tab, and that will turn them into good guitar players. Well, the students might be able to get good at the guitar, but if they get into high school and they’re asked to play in the pit for the musical, how are they going to do it? However, if you’re successful, you can have your kids buying into the importance of reading music as well as learning songs.”

McCarthy finds that older students are more sophisticated in their listening habits and that he has to update his repertoire from traditional children’s songs and folk songs. “I will often say to the student, ‘What kind of songs do you want to learn?’ and that’s part of the hook,” he reveals. “There are some songs that are classics — ‘Dust in the Wind,’ ‘Blackbird’ — but some of the more contemporary examples include Queensryche’s ‘Silent Lucidity’ and ‘December’ by Collective Soul, which both have nice finger-picking patterns. And everyone wants to learn ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ Is there a better exercise for learning hammer-ons and pull-offs? That intro is awesome!”