Getting Started on Guitar – 5 Week Class (Individual Lessons)

'Getting Started on Guitar - 5 Week Class' is a series of lessons for students who are beginning to learn to play the guitar. It follows naturally from the 'Getting Started on Guitar - Introduction' class, which is the best place to begin. However, if a student wishes to enroll for the 5 Week Class without having taken the Introduction first, the content for the Introduction can be covered during the first lesson. The 5 Week Class is taught to individual students rather than in a group.  In this way, students can make progress at their own pace and the lessons can be adapted as needed.

A typical outline for the 5 weeks is as follows:

Week 1 - 
How to sit, hold and tune the guitar.
Identifying parts of the guitar.
Forming chords and noticing connections between them: Em, Em7, E, E7, Am, Am7, D6/9.
Understanding and reading chord diagrams.
Learning two songs and strumming in time.

Week 2 -
Practising the two songs learned in Week 1.
Learning new chords and noticing connections to chords already learned: C, G7, G.
Learning a new song.
Naming and playing the notes on open strings.

Week 3 -
Practising the songs learned in Week 2.
Learning new chords and noticing connections to chords already learned: D, D7, Dm.
Learning a new song and a 12 bar blues pattern.
Introducing an alternative strumming pattern.
Practising naming and playing notes on open strings.
Naming and playing notes on the 1st string.
Playing bass notes with chords.

Week 4 -
Practising the songs learned in Week 3.
Learning new chords and noticing connections to chords already learned: A, A7.
Learning a new song and another 12 bar blues pattern.
Working on different strumming patterns.
Practising naming and playing notes on open strings and the 1st string.
Naming and playing notes on the 2nd string.
Playing bass notes with chords and learning a simple fingerstyle.

Week 5 -
Practising the songs learned in Week 4.
Learning new chords and noticing connections to chords already learned: F, Dm7, F major 7.
Learning a new song.
Working on different strumming patterns.
Practising naming and playing notes on open strings and the 1st and 2nd strings.
Naming and playing notes on the 3rd string.
Practising the finger style learned in Week 4 and learning a new fingerstyle.

Each student will need a guitar with six strings. Please send a message to let us know in advance of the lesson whether the student is left or right-handed, as the guitar is normally strung differently for left-handed players - we can advise about this. 

Before each lesson starts the guitar should be tuned with adult help if necessary. The easiest way to do this is to download a free app called 'GuitarTuna' from Apple App Store or Google Play. When you open the app on a phone, tablet or similar device you will see a picture of a guitar.  Click the button marked 'auto', then play each string in turn. The app will tell you whether the sound is too high or too low in pitch. Turn the tuning peg for that string to make the sound higher or lower. Try this out at least a day before the lesson, and check the tuning again half an hour before the lesson. Please ask if you need further advice with this. We can go into more detail about tuning during the first lesson if this is needed.

The class will be taught live by online video using Zoom. For good safeguarding practice, an adult with parental responsibility for the student will need to be present at a distance in the room but not on camera. Video and audio will need to be enabled throughout the class. Students must be appropriately dressed. No recording (video, audio, photo or screenshots) of the class are permitted other than authorized recording by Outschool.

I will be interacting with the student as I teach. I will show them what to do, then listen as they play to check that they have understood. At times I will share my screen to show a picture or words to make clear what is being taught. I will show the student how to play along to a practice video.

After each lesson I will send some notes as a summary of what has been learned. I will also send a practice video for any new songs so that the student can play along to this each day. Students should practise for 10-15 minutes every day to make good progress.