Guitar I, Guitar II & Guitar III [Acoustic & Electric]
Guitar IPrerequisite: 8 years and older
Guitar 1 introduces students to the concepts needed to play simple progressions. The goal is to help students learn music in a manner similar to learning a language. First, the class begins with basic chords, which is like learning baby talk. In the same way a baby learns to talk, musicians can learn to say a lot before they know music. Unlike the dictionary–like method of most chord books, students learn to play progressions. Progressions are like learning to speak in complete phrases rather than learning random chords that seem unrelated. Next, students learn the alphabet, which are the notes on the fretboard. Students use this knowledge to learn simple songs, riffs or progressions.
Guitar II
Prerequisite: 10 years and older with Guitar 1 or equivalent level of learning
Guitar 2 is a continuation of Guitar 1. Using the same idea that music is a language, students continue building their vocabulary, and expanding their knowledge of the fretboard. First, students use their Guitar 1 knowledge of the alphabet (notes on the fretboard) to learn how to play the major scale, which serves two important purposes. The first purpose is it introduces a finger pattern that allows students to begin exercising their fingers to play lead guitar. However, the focus of Guitar 2, is students implement the major scale to learn how to play every chord. This may seem intimidating at first, but it is like learning to spell. Using the major scale students are introduced to the chord types (sus, maj 7, etc.) and chord voicing, which lead to more challenging progressions. Not only will students know how to play many chords, but they will understand the composition of every chord and know exactly what they play. Students use this knowledge to learn songs, riffs and progressions relevant to the material.
Guitar III
Prerequisite: 12 years and older with Guitar 1 & 2 or equivalent level of learning.
Guitar 3 is a continuation of Guitar 2. This class introduces new scales that help students learn to play lead guitar and musical styles are examined including—but not limited to—rock, pop, jazz, blues, hip-hop, and country so students can find which chord types and progressions are more prevalent from one style of music to the next. First, students will learn excerpts from several music styles. Next, students will learn one or more songs through 100% focusing on the individual parts used in composing and how they relate to the material they have learned. Finally, using the language concept, students will apply all the music theory taught in this and earlier classes to create their own original song.