Teaching Guitar
by: MusicStaff.com Guest, Joe Mazza
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.

    So, how do we accomplish this task? I have a few things that I regularly ask my students to do in order to make sure they are becoming well rounded musicians, not just guitarists.

? 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.

? Improvisation and Composition

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.

 

? 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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