Beginner Guitar Archives - Rigoletto Music

Posted on March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 by Alan Rigoletto

8 Ways to Have More Fun Learning Guitar

Have More fun Learning Guitar for Beginners

Learning an instrument can be very difficult at first. There are new fine motor skills to learn, and you have to decipher a new written language. After doing all that work, you certainly want to make sure you’re having fun. Musicians get to have so many amazing experiences, and so can you. Here are some things to do to make sure you’re having the best time you can have learning guitar. Some of these may seem pretty obvious, but they are what really makes a difference. If you check all the boxes, you will most definitely find that you are enjoying yourself.

1. Take Guitar Lessons

In our modern world it’s easy to skip out on this step. There are tons of resources on the internet, especially with the amount of video lessons on YouTube. While most YouTube lessons don’t come with a price tag, there’s nothing like a live guitar teacher to help you along the way. Many people have success with self-study, but it is very easy to get overwhelmed by all of the information available. A good guitar teacher will put you on the right path and make sure you stay on it.

If you’re already taking guitar lessons and you’re not having fun, be open with your teacher about any confusion you’re having. Guitar teachers will be able to pick up on the fact that you are not practicing, and not progressing because of it. By letting them know what you are experiencing when you play at home, you can help them find a way to keep you inspired. It’s also important to make sure you are in the method book that works for you. I did a review of four of the most popular books for guitar for beginners in my previous post. Read it here.

2. Practice!

Before you roll your eyes, really think about this. Learning an instrument can be very fun, but it also takes some dedication. The only way to really enjoy yourself is to have a sense of knowing what you’re doing. This of course, takes practice. Knowing how to practice is just as much of a skill as knowing how to play the guitar, and if you don’t spend time doing it, you’re not going to learn!

It can be very difficult to fit a practice routine into a modern schedule, no matter what age you are. I have so many younger students who are busier than my adult students. Planning your week of practice ahead will really help. If possible, try to find a consistent time during the day. It is also very helpful to set a goal to practice every day for a month (or even a week or two). Results come after these periods of time, not just a couple days. If you stay consistent with your practice for this amount of time, you will start to figure out how to hone in on your guitar skills. You might just have fun while doing it too!

3. Listen to Music

I have many students who don’t know what to say when I ask them what music they like. Especially with younger students, the act of learning an instrument sometimes come before they really have learned to enjoy music. I also have plenty of students who love to listen to music, but do not listen to anything that has guitar as a prominent instrument. Listening to music trains the ear, it also helps you build up an emotional connection to music. It is because of this that the most inspired musicians are the best listeners.

You may already listen to music, and you may be very inspired by some notable guitarists. Perhaps this is why you started learning guitar in the first place. Take your listening a step further, learning an instrument is an opportunity to expand your musical interests. Start broadening the genres you listen to in order to learn about even more notable guitarists. If you’re taking guitar lessons, ask your guitar teacher for recommendations. If you’re not, please first reread #1, then do some research into notable guitarists in all genres on your own. It’s important to have an open mind. If you allow yourself to enjoy a genre you are not used to listening to, you could possibly find your new favorite artists!

4. Go see Live Music

Going to see live music is taking listening to music to the next level. There is no better way to get inspired and to learn about the instrument than to see people play. Live music can take place at a huge variety of venues: stadiums, concert halls, bars, churches, restaurants, and even on the street. If your favorite artists are still performing and happen to be coming to your area, spend the money to go see them. The inspiration will be worth every penny. Find out about where live music happens in your town. With social media, this is easier than ever to keep track of. If there are musicians in your town that you enjoy, become a fan. Go to a bunch of their shows. You will learn from them and enjoy yourself all while supporting local music.

In addition to seeing live music in person, there is an unlimited amount of concert footage on YouTube. Watching live performances helps you focus on the music better. Plus you get to see how your favorite artists performed, they may be really wild performers!

5. Learn the Music You Want to Learn

Being successful at an instrument means starting out with a goal. If you have a favorite type of music, or if there is something that is inspiring you to play the guitar in the first place, then your goal should be to learn how to play it. If you are curious how one of your favorite songs is to play on guitar, there is no harm in looking up how to play it. There are online resources for practically every song. You can even watch guitarists playing more simplified versions on YouTube.

If you are taking lessons, be open with your teacher about what you want to learn. Your teacher can then help guide you in the right direction when the time is right. It is very important to listen to your teacher however. If he or she is giving you specific materials to practice, be sure to practice them well.

6. Play Music with Others

I can’t emphasize this enough. In essentially every culture around the world, music has been used for community building for a very long time. There is something very magical that happens when you play music with other people. The great news is you are working towards experiencing this. Not only is this an opportunity to get inspired while increasing your skills, it is also an opportunity to meet new people. If you have any friends or family who play music, reach out to them right away. If the genre or instrument they play doesn’t seem to match yours, see if you can make things work.

In order to meet new people to play music with there are many ways to put out feelers. Putting an ad on a community board at a music store, library, or anywhere else is a good way to start. You can also try posting ads on online outlets such as craigslist. Most areas have many events you can take part in. These include open mics, meet ups, jam sessions, or community ensembles. If you don’t feel comfortable playing guitar in front of or with other people just yet, it’s always fine to observe. It’s still a great way to see what musicians live nearby and to be inspired by their playing.

7. Perform

Performing can be very scary at first, but it does get to be an enormous amount of fun. For a beginner, performing does one major thing: it gets him or her to practice. If you practice diligently for a performance, you will be very satisfied with your results. It is also a great way to show off your new skills to friends and family.

Finding ways to perform can be a bit tricky. If you are taking guitar lessons, there is a chance the school you are part of will hold a recital. If you have not performed in a recital, ask your teacher if there will be a recital any time soon. Open mic nights are a good way to get comfortable performing in front of people. All open mic nights are different, but they will generally be very supportive of any beginners who have the courage to take the stage. If it’s your very first performance, let everyone know! You will receive a lot of encouragement afterwards.

It’s also just good practice to get comfortable playing around people. If you are happy with your progress on a new song, don’t be afraid to share it with everyone you can. If it’s a nice day, take your guitar to a park and practice. Just knowing there are other people around makes practicing feel a lot like performing.

8. YouTube/Social Media

Making videos of yourself playing is a way to perform without leaving the house. This helps you practice as well, because if you want to make a quality video you need to have a quality performance. YouTube is full of amateur musicians performing their covers and originals, so your videos may even be an opportunity to connect with them. If you don’t feel comfortable having your videos out there for the entire internet to see, post them on your favorite social media outlets so your friends can see your progress.

To find out more about Lambertville, New Jersey based guitar teacher Alan Rigoletto, please read his About Me page.

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Alan Rigoletto

Popular Guitar Method Books for Beginners

As a guitar teacher, one question you may be asking yourself is “Which guitar method book should I use?” There are many books out there, and all of them seem to offer something different. Finding the right method book is crucial, but the process can take a lot of trial and error. This article will take a look at 4 of the most popular beginner guitar method books in an effort to make your teaching experience a lot easier.

What Makes a Good Guitar Method Book?

Before we look at the books, let’s consider some factors that we will be looking for in each book:

Pacing

Pacing is particularly important for younger beginners who have no experience with music. Some books tend to get ambitious with their expectations of the student. You don’t want to put months of work into a book, only to realize it will take you forever to finish it.

Repetition

After learning a new set of notes, a new musical concept, or a new technique on the guitar, the student should be able to practice the new skill before moving forward. A well-paced book will take into account that the new information needs some practicing. It will provide a decent number of songs for the student to practice for that skill.

Focus on Rhythm

There is no doubt about it. If you fully understand how to read rhythms, you will be a better musician. I spend a very good chunk of my lessons making sure my students are playing each rhythm correctly, preferably while counting out loud. A good book will have a variety of rhythms without overwhelming the student.

Song Selection

This is a struggle for all guitar method books. Most of them rely on American folk songs and songs that younger students would have known – in the 1960s. I find that it is easier for a student to truly read a song if he or she does not already know the tune. That being said, a book with a good song selection gives the student an opportunity to learn traditional songs. It also gives the teacher an opportunity to teach a little bit about the notable musicians who performed them. Kids these days are definitely being deprived of “Red River Valley!”

There are certainly many more factors that can be taken into account when deciding whether or not a guitar method book is right for you. For the sake of simplicity let’s leave it at that four. We have some books to look at. The order in which I have chosen to list these books outlines my own personal journey as a teacher. The first was the first guitar method book I used and the last is the current book I am using.

The Books

Jerry Snyder’s Guitar School

The Pros

My Guitar Pedagogy class in College used this book as the main example of how to teach beginning guitarists. This book certainly tries to cover as much ground as possible. In order to accomplish this, it has a very unique format. There are two sections: Section 1 is all about chords and accompaniment and Section 2 teaches musical notation. Both sections are to be used simultaneously so the student can develop a working knowledge of both chords and melody at the same time. This book covers so much ground, those finishing this book will know techniques on the guitar that most methods don’t cover until well into book 2.

Section 2 (which is similar to other method books) has students thinking about rhythms from the very first song. There is a great emphasis on rhythm, and plenty of helpful information about music theory. Many of the songs are melodies taken from classical guitar repertoire, which makes the classical guitarist in me very happy. Most songs also have an interesting, but not terribly difficult second part for the teacher to play.

Section 1 starts with basic chord progressions and uses many popular melodies such as “Amazing Grace,” “Our Land,” and “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In” to help the student understand basic strumming. This section covers a wide variety of techniques, including power chords, bass-chord accompaniment, and fingerstyle accompaniment.

The Cons

I eventually stopped using this book because of how it is paced. Almost every song has something new to teach. This is excellent for the student who picks up on musical concepts quickly. I found it rather difficult for a student who needs a bit of practice with each concept to fully grasp it. That being said, I definitely recommend this book for a more mature music student who may already have some musical training.

Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method

The Pros

This book is a classic. I trudged through this book in the earlier days just like many others. Unlike Jerry Snyder’s Guitar School, Mel Bay has a much more straightforward approach. Students learn the guitar string by string while gradually learning musical concepts and 3-4 string chords.

The Cons

This book is my least favorite of the books mentioned in this article. In my early days of teaching, I was having a hard time getting my students to move on from songs because of how difficult they were. Finally, I had a major epiphany: “What if I don’t use this book anymore?!” There you have it, one of the most scathing things I’ll ever write on this blog – I hope.

The portion of the book concerning the first string (Pages 7-8) has good examples of the E, F, and G notes with different rhythms. The page introducing the second string is exactly what it should be. Page 10 launches the student immediately into confusion. There are longer songs that skip between strings like it’s not a problem for little fingers. By page 15 students are already learning eighth notes and alternate picking. By the time chords are introduced, the book becomes downright impossible for some students.

Alfred’s Basic Guitar Method

The Pros

I used this book for a very long time. It is very similar to Mel Bay in its layout but it is definitely more mindful of any learning curve the beginning student may have. There are plenty of songs for the student to practice after each string is introduced, which allows the new notes to really sink in. The book teaches musical concepts and 3-4 string chords at a slower pace than Mel Bay as well. There are a lot of good folk/Great American Songbook songs in this book. This provides lots of opportunities to talk about Pete Seeger, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, etc.

The Cons

Reading shorter musical examples is very helpful for the student who is learning to read music for the first time. Alfred’s Guitar Method doesn’t seem to agree with me on this. Many of the songs students learn early on in the book are 16-25 measures long. At this point in time, it is more important for the student to be focusing on reading 4-8 measure songs that contain pitch and rhythmic variations.

Another issue with this guitar method book is there are way too many quarter notes. A good number of the songs are a torrent of quarter notes, not allowing the student to properly focus on counting. There are songs with plenty of rhythmic variation towards the beginning of the book, but they are so long that the student ends up spending more time trying not to lose his or her place than reading rhythms correctly.

Finally, it is my opinion that learning to read rhythms is much more important than being able to play bass-chord accompaniments. By the time students have gotten to the low E string and have begun reading 8th notes, there is plenty of material to keep them challenged. At this point, the book puts a lot of emphasis in Carter style bass-chord accompaniment, which most students aren’t ready for yet.

Hal Leonard Guitar Method

The Pros

This book is my current favorite. I do not think it is perfect, but there is a substantial use of the first three “factors:” it is well paced, there is a lot of repetition of concepts, and the major emphasis is on rhythm. The book immediately introduces a variety of rhythms in very short songs and examples. The student gets plenty of practice reading simple rhythms before the book begins introducing eighth notes.

My favorite thing about this guitar method book is that chords and melody are kept separate. This makes the songs much less of a physical burden. Less physical burden means more time counting and focusing on technique. As the student starts to learn different strumming patterns with the chords, his or her working knowledge of rhythm is strong enough that changing chords is more natural. By the time my students approach the more sizable duets at the end of the book (including Bach’s “Minuet in G”) they are much more confident in their reading abilities.

The Hal Leonard Guitar Method’s song selection has some real gems. Many of the untitled songs are actually “Easter Egg” songs, which are famous pop/rock melodies disguised as mere exercises. There’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Spirit in the Sky,” and others. It’s always fun seeing if the student can recognize the song just by reading the notes.

The Cons

My main complaint about this book is the lack of even spacing between notes. This book could definitely use a good cleaning up as far as layout is concerned. There are spots where quarter notes are jammed in with eighth notes and other spots where quarter notes have as much space as the surrounding half notes. I have to remind my students once in a while what rhythm they are looking at, and it is usually not their fault.

Other Books

There are many other guitar method books out there that I did not mention. I have spent countless hours going through these books with my students over the years, so I thought it would be best to write about the books I have experience with. Perhaps in the coming months I will write a follow up to this with some different books. If you have a particular favorite, please don’t hesitate to let me know!