Teaching Guitar by: MusicStaff.com Guest, Joe Mazza |
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Balancing Artistry and Technique
Guitar teachers, think of your current studio of students. How many of them
are extreme in one way or another when it comes to their guitars?
I know
that out of my group, many of my younger students in particular are quite
fanatical about their guitars. They take them to school, and often play them
all afternoon and evening after getting home. However, many of them are out of
balance when it comes to their total music education. I have two categories
that I find many students naturally fall: 'Song Learners' and 'Technique
Hounds.'
Most guitar teachers know Song Learners all too well. These are the students
who just want to learn to play songs, usually their favorite rock hits, to
impress friends or start a band. While allowing them to just bring in a
different tape or CD each week has its obvious problems, they do have one
thing going for them - they learn to perform early. They are usually found in
the middle of a circle of friends singing and strumming away, and even
performance on this level is good experience for a young player.
Technique Hounds are those players that enjoy locking themselves in their
rooms, with their amps turned up to 11, practicing scales and arpeggios all
day. This was more common in the shred metal 80's, but these players exist
in all styles, from classical nylon string to hard rock. And while their
teachers are happy with their practice habits, when put in front of an
audience, many 'Technique Hounds' stumble and end up with a bad
performance experience.
While the categories for other instruments may differ, I am sure that with
every instrument there are similar pitfalls. As teachers, it is our
responsibility to make sure our students don't fall too far into either
category, but strike a balance between the two. Our students must learn not
only how to play at their highest level, but how to play in front of others
as well. After all, music is all about performance. If we don't share our
gifts and talents with others, it robs both us and them of the joy of music.
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? Memorization
I ask my students to try to memorize everything they play (with the
exception of sight-reading material, of course). When a student comes in for
his lesson, I will often ask to hear the assigned piece right at the
beginning, with the book closed. This forces the student to get his focus
off of the dots on the page and on to the actual music being played, and the
technique involved. Often times, students are surprised at the amount of a
piece that becomes memorized without any effort. And through this, he will
quickly build a repertoire of pieces that can be performed at any time.
In my mind, all Improvisation is Composition, though Composition is not necessarily Improvisation. Therefore, I consider them together as one category. I regularly ask students to write their own songs, even in the early stages of learning. The method that brings the most success is theme and variation, where I will write out a theme and ask the student to come back the next week with a short song that is based on that theme. Through these exercises, I have discovered that more than a few of my students have a strong aptitude for composition. And whenever applicable, I will ask a student to play a solo (of sorts) along with the piece he or she is working on. For example, if we are playing "Amazing Grace" in the key of G, I will teach the student the G Major scale and then tell them to play around with it. We pay particular attention to how each tone of the scale sounds within the context of the chords, as well as how to develop rhythms. This way, they learn how the different notes function as tonic, dominant, or leading tones, etc. This also provides a way to keep an assigned piece fresh.
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? Song Techniques When I do teach a student a song that they request, I make sure that we pull some new concepts out of it for the student to practice. I will sometimes ask them to find another song that uses the techniques from the first song. For example, if the song contains a particular finger picking pattern, I may ask the student to bring in another song the following week that contains the same pattern. In this way, songs become connected in the student's mind by the guitar parts, and not just the singer, band name, or music style. This enables the student to make the connection between technique and performance, rather than just learning random scales and techniques that don't have any application. I have found that my students are much more receptive to learning new techniques on the instrument when I can play them an example of the technique in a popular song. A technique or new chord becomes "cool" when the popular band of the day uses it! ? Performance
There is no substitute for the real life experience that only performing in
front of a live audience can bring. I will constantly ask a student about
the opportunities he or she has for performing, whether it is in front of a brother
or sister, or a school talent show, or a community music recital. I try to
teach my students about the skill of performing, rather than just teaching
them to play a piece perfectly and then putting them up on the stage. I
stress to them that when performance time comes, it is no longer the time to
work out difficult passages, but the time to just let the music come out.
Many students, as well as teachers, fall in to the trap of thinking that the
only performances that count are the ones that are regularly scheduled in
auditoriums and in front of large audiences. Most often, I've found that
the most meaningful performances happen by chance, when a mother, father,
grandparent, or spouse hears the guitarist play for the first time. It is
important that my students know that the whole point of what they are doing
is for the music to be heard by someone - even if that someone is for themselves.
With these ideas, maybe we can help lower the numbers of 'Song Learners'
and
'Technique Hounds' that fill our lesson times today. We can replace them with
musicians who are both accomplished at what they do, and love to share it
with others.
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