Question for Teachers

[Troll]

What resource materials do you use to supplement your private lessons? I'll be retiring in a few weeks from my first career and have taken on a job at a local music store as a teacher.

Although I have taught to some degree for years, I'll be taking on approximately 20-30students shortly - I already have 8, and it's become obvious to me that I need a system. I grew up with Mel Bay - and various other theory books. I like the Hal Leonard books. But there is sooooo much out there, I don't know where to turn. I'm looking for some advice from some of you who have done this for a while.

What resources do you like?
What do your students respond to?
I'm not just interested in formal theory resources - but also supplemental training material for older students who just want to learn to play a few songs.

I think you get my drift - any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.

-Tom

[Wengr]

Hello Tom. I actually do not use any pre printed resources in my private instruction. I Have tried method books, etc. and found that I can get get better results without them. I have a partially flexible order in which I present the fundamentals, based on what the particular student hopes to accomplish, and I always try to make examples based on music of students area of interest.
It seems to work quite well for me and I have a really good retention rate.

[jseth]

Tom;

I have not spent a whole lot of time teaching (as a matter of fact, I have "fired" most of my students, at some point!), but when I did, I tailored the lessons to the individual, depending upon their ability and what they wanted to learn. As such, I did not have a rigid "lesson plan", but I would bring in other items to further each student's progress and enjoyment of the instrument... I would also exhort them to bring in anything they wanted to learn or work on...

Obviously, this approach would not work for a classroom situation...

[Dalegreen]

Hi Tom
You could try my books(s). Just visit my website if interested

[Shimmy]

I write my own books for teaching. I have a "foundation" and "improvers" set, one each for chords, scales and theory which can work alone or in tandem (ie, tying the theory into the chords and scales). I then have separate books that cover a wide variety of topics, such as one that covers playing the pentatonic scale in 5 positions, one on CAGED, one on fingerstyle techniques, etc.

I also have handouts to cover more advanced stuff, like playing over altered dominants, substitutions, etc. I'm adding and updating to these all the time.

I also do grades with a lot if people, so I do Rockschool and RGT fingerstyle to grade 8 and classical to grade 5, which all have books for each grade. Grades are good but are far from comprehensive and it is the teachers job to flesh out the learning process to widen the scope of learning. Too many teachers rely on them alone, but they are necessary if the student has aspirations to study at university.

This all goes along with learning pieces or songs that the student wants to learn as well as a list of recommended pieces I have for different styles that consolidate the stuff covered in my handouts.

It's a lot if work to build this all up but it means I've always got stuff to hand and can be versatile in my approach to each student. My years as a music teacher in the classroom made me pretty organised!lol

[JonPR]

Like Shimmy, I use all my own materials (although he sounds more organised than me...).

There's undoubtedly a lot of good resources out there, but for each individual book I found they either (a) omitted stuff I thought mattered, (b) included a lot of stuff I thought didn't matter, (c) presented stuff in confusing ways, or in the wrong order, or (d) (most commonly) were aimed too much at specific styles (rock, jazz, blues, folk, classical).

So I ended up taking what I thought were good bits from several sources, but always rewriting things the way I thought they made sense - combined with self-analysis of my own techniques and understanding of course.
I can only use stuff that works for me, basically, that lines up with my understanding. It may not work for all my students, but I'm always adapting it as I go, assessing what works and what doesn't.
I used to think when I started (around 12 years ago) that I'd soon build up a coherent body of material that I could just file away and re-use every time - but it hasn't worked out like that; I'm always editing my existing material, trying to improve it.

Occasionally a private student will have a book they've been working from, and I'm always happy to go with that if they find it suits them. But I will still give them extra stuff of mine, even if it's only transcriptions of songs they want to learn.

[Shimmy]

Originally Posted by JonPR

I used to think when I started (around 12 years ago) that I'd soon build up a coherent body of material that I could just file away and re-use every time - but it hasn't worked out like that; I'm always editing my existing material, trying to improve it.

Ain't that the truth! :-)

[Dalegreen]

gee, you both sound very organized!
I use sibilius extensively. I am happy to share some of my work sheets with both of you if you like. if you both use sibilius I can send you sibilius working copies so you can edit as you like.

just send me an email if interested in some of my lesson sheets, happy to share

[Troll]

Thanks all for the replies, and I may look up some of your reference/teaching materials. I appreciate the offer.

I also try to be flexible and do not present a rigid "one size fits all" plan for all students. I try to focus on what the student wants to learn, and to leverage music that they are interested in to demonstrate techniques.

I guess I need to refine my question a bit. I am not the teacher who will be instructing university-level students; likewise, a very advanced student would most likely be referred to another teacher who would serve his/her needs better, unless they were looking for some particular skill that I could help with.

However, I also feel a responsibility to go beyond what the student wants to learn, and to recognize and direct them towards what they need to learn. This is particularly true for younger students who show early potential. I always ask (and re-ask periodically) what the student's objectives are and where their interests lie. I ask them to really give this some thought.

For example, I have a beginning student who is in his 40's who says that he just wants to be able to play a little guitar in order to join his wife who sings and plays piano. My approach with him is to focus on fundamental technique, build his chord vocabulary, and to show him how read some basic chord charts. The lessons are very song-based.

Another student in his 60's is at an intermediate level, and has a beautiful singing voice. He has a book of hundreds of songs, and simply wants to refine his fingerstyle accompaniment. These are also very song-based lessons. I'm meeting both of these students expectations, and feel good about their progress.

But I have another student who is in high school and already has some experience in band, knows how to read, and is learning quickly. She has a hard time verbalizing what her objectives are, but loves playing. Another is in middle school, has shown some incredible early potential, and his objectives are that he just wants to "shred like Brad Paisley". I feel a responsibility to these types of students to gently push them into a deeper understanding of theory, technique, practice regimen, etc...

My original question should have probably been framed differently. I'm looking for some counsel from some of you who have experience doing this - not only on what materials you use, but how you approach different types of students, how you nurture their interest and creativity.

Resources are part of that equation that I am struggling with. I feel like I'm "winging it" right now. Besides sensing that I can do better, it is also more work for me to wing it - I want to use my time wisely. I'm sure some of this will resolve itself as I gain more experience, But it would be helpful to have a sort of "home base" that I can modify as needed. Thanks again for your responses and suggestions.

If there are any students out there who have an opinion on what has/has not worked for you, please weigh-in.

-Tom

[Dalegreen]

Hi Tom
I have many of the same type of students you have as likely most private instructors do have.
One thing I notice over the years is all students seem to really enjoy pentatonic scales, and once they have a grasp of moving thru inversions of the scales I get them going with many of the classic rock guitar solo's of Led Zepplin, Carlos Santana, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Hendrix. I have transcribed many of these solo's from early recording's and offer them in note / tab formation. Clapton's acoustic "Layla" solo is a real favorite among acoustic players, never leaves that D minor pentatonic mode.
For finger style players, I always get them going with elementary classical guitar style exercises. Just moving thru a couple of chords (eg. C- G/B) and develop their T123 and T321 finger movement. Then we approach what ever song they are interested in learning and play it finger style.
I also wrote a basic 12 bar blues piece using a classical fingering style with 16th note repetition, have not had a student who does not like that one ( young and old).

All time favourite for beginning students once they grasp finger style approach is the Beatles "blackbird" in my teaching experience.
Funny thing is, they alway's have it memorized as well. I let them know that is the result of going thru it 100's of times while learning. It usually is a high point in all of my beginning students musical repetoire.
And in the end, it is alway's what keeps any student motivated and eager to pick up their guitar.
Constant encouragement for every (small) step keeps them going and wanting to learn / play more.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Troll

Thanks all for the replies, and I may look up some of your reference/teaching materials. I appreciate the offer.

I also try to be flexible and do not present a rigid "one size fits all" plan for all students. I try to focus on what the student wants to learn, and to leverage music that they are interested in to demonstrate techniques.

I guess I need to refine my question a bit. I am not the teacher who will be instructing university-level students; likewise, a very advanced student would most likely be referred to another teacher who would serve his/her needs better, unless they were looking for some particular skill that I could help with.

However, I also feel a responsibility to go beyond what the student wants to learn, and to recognize and direct them towards what they need to learn. This is particularly true for younger students who show early potential. I always ask (and re-ask periodically) what the student's objectives are and where their interests lie. I ask them to really give this some thought.

For example, I have a beginning student who is in his 40's who says that he just wants to be able to play a little guitar in order to join his wife who sings and plays piano. My approach with him is to focus on fundamental technique, build his chord vocabulary, and to show him how read some basic chord charts. The lessons are very song-based.

Another student in his 60's is at an intermediate level, and has a beautiful singing voice. He has a book of hundreds of songs, and simply wants to refine his fingerstyle accompaniment. These are also very song-based lessons. I'm meeting both of these students expectations, and feel good about their progress.

But I have another student who is in high school and already has some experience in band, knows how to read, and is learning quickly. She has a hard time verbalizing what her objectives are, but loves playing. Another is in middle school, has shown some incredible early potential, and his objectives are that he just wants to "shred like Brad Paisley". I feel a responsibility to these types of students to gently push them into a deeper understanding of theory, technique, practice regimen, etc...

My original question should have probably been framed differently. I'm looking for some counsel from some of you who have experience doing this - not only on what materials you use, but how you approach different types of students, how you nurture their interest and creativity.

Resources are part of that equation that I am struggling with. I feel like I'm "winging it" right now. Besides sensing that I can do better, it is also more work for me to wing it - I want to use my time wisely. I'm sure some of this will resolve itself as I gain more experience, But it would be helpful to have a sort of "home base" that I can modify as needed. Thanks again for your responses and suggestions.

If there are any students out there who have an opinion on what has/has not worked for you, please weigh-in.

-Tom

You seem to be talking about a range of students with various ambitions, and little (if anything) in common. So it's hard to imagine what general advice we could give - other than keep tailoring your lessons to their different requirements.
Obviously there are basics (of guitar technique at least) that apply to everyone, but you probably have those covered.

Likewise, while it's always good to get feedback from other students, what worked for them may not work for yours.

The question of "nurturing creativity" is an interesting one. Not every musician wants to be "creative", let alone beginners. Many just want to play other people's songs, as well as possible - or at least to a level they can play for their family or friends. In my experience, the notions of improvisation or composition are way outside most students' minds. It's not just that they can't do it, they can't see why they would want to do it. That's fine with me, and I'm not going to push them if they have no desire in that direction.

OTOH, those who do want to be creative, either writing or improvising (and it's a tiny minority in my experience), need little encouragement - just guidance and tips.

Still, I consider it a big part of my job to educate students about history in some respect: at least, important players they may never have heard of, that may inspire them. The more creative students, in particular, need to be shown ancestral lines, the influences that created the players they admire, so they can gain a firmer foundation.

What I don't consider part of my job is enthusing lazy students. If they can't be bothered to practice, that's their problem. If they don't progress and eventually give up, again that's their business. Obviously I do my best to provide them with helpful information, advice and guidance; but I'm not the driver, I'm just the satnav. They have to be behind the wheel, with at least a vague sense of wanting to get somewhere (even if it's only to learn the next song).
Not everyone who starts off wanting to learn guitar will carry on for as long as it takes. It's natural selection: those with sufficient inner enthusiasm (gas in the tank) will prevail. Those who can't make it; well, it's no loss, for them or for the world. If it turns out guitar is not for them, at least they can say they tried.