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Group Guitar for Beginners - Level 1

This fun 8-week group guitar class is the perfect guitar foundation for beginners and will get you playing quickly. You'll learn open chords, transitions, strumming, and multiple songs. Bonus slideshows, tutorials, and at-home materials.
Val Jones, Certified Veteran Teacher
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(636)
Star Educator
Popular
Class
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What's included

8 live meetings
4 in-class hours
Homework
1-2 hours per week. 🎸 I will give you a slideshow with our lessons and video tutorials. 🎸 You should practice 15-30 minutes per day 3-4 times a week to see improvement. Students who do not practice in between sessions will find the sessions confusing and overwhelming. 🎸 I give all students verbal feedback during out sessions.
Certificate of Completion
Players will receive a certificate upon completion of course.

Class Experience

WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS CLASS?
This class is for beginners who've never played before. We're learning major and minor chords, transitioning and strumming as a foundation leading to future, more advanced guitar skills. Every session comes with a slideshow and/or videos for reference and additional practice. In my welcome email, I include all details for class setup and success.

⭐️ Siblings who take the class must have their own guitars and separate Zoom devices. ⭐️

Travel plans? Sick? No worries - Outschool records classes so that you can catch up on missed sessions! There are no makeup classes.

TOPICS COVERED OVER 8 WEEKS (PLEASE SEE SYLLABUS FOR BREAKDOWN OF WEEKS)
🎸 parts of the guitar, holding the guitar and proper guitar posture  
🎸 proper fretting to achieve a clear sound
🎸 basic chords - Em, D6/9, A, E, D, G and C
🎸 efficient chord transitioning and strumming 

WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE A GROUP CLASS?
Group classes are a more affordable way to learn guitar. Many learners prefer a group environment.

WHAT'S MS. VAL LIKE?
✔️  I relate well with kids and am able to break things down into logical, easy-to-follow steps
✔️  I’m experienced in finding ways to reach all types of learners - auditory, visual and kinetic 
✔️  I strive to make every lesson a five-star experience 
✔️  With 3 decades of teaching experience, I see my role as an encourager
✔️ I've filmed tutorials so you can feel supported when we're apart

If you like this type of student/teacher connection, we’re a fit!

TUNING BEFORE CLASS
Time constraints will not allow for us to tune our guitars in class so you'll need to tune prior to your arrival. Please see the materials section for your tuning options.

IMPORTANT
✔️ Arriving on time is IMPORTANT because students who come late cannot be "caught up" after the group has advanced.  

✔️ If a class is missed, students should review the Outschool recording and/or all additional slideshow/video materials I link in the classroom stream. There are no makeup sessions. These materials are included with your enrollment for all missed classes at no extra charge.

✔️ It's a group class, so the curriculum is set. Students must do their outside work and arrive prepared to move forward because the class can not go backwards for students who didn't reinforce the lessons on their own time. 

PRIOR EXPERIENCE
This class is strictly for beginners. If you know how to play chords already, this class will not be beneficial.
Learning Goals
Students will learn how to play open chords.
Students will learn to transition between open chords.
learning goal

Syllabus

8 Lessons
over 8 Weeks
Lesson 1:
Parts of the Guitar & Em & D6/9 Chords
 We will learn how to use proper guitar posture and learn two of the easiest chords, giving learners a rush of confidence and excitement as they form chords for the first time. Practice at home includes Horse With No Name. 
30 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
A & E Chords
 We will learn two more chords often used together with A & E.  Practice at home includes Hush Little Baby. 
30 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
D Chord
 We will learn D, often used in conjunction with A & E. Practice at home includes You Are My Sunshine. 
30 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Chord Reinforcement & Transitioning with A, D & E
 We will practice moving fingers from chord to chord as I show you easy ways to increase speed and muscle memory. 
30 mins online live lesson

Other Details

Pre-Requisites
This class is strictly for beginners. If you know how to play chords already, this class will not be beneficial.
Supply List
🎸 You will need a guitar.

🎸 You will need picks - thin for classical and acoustic or thick for electric.

🎸 You will need a way to tune your guitar. You may choose to purchase an electronic guitar tuner (battery operated), or as the parent or guardian, you may use an Android or iPhone app you research and feel comfortable using to tune your child's guitar. Please note that I do not require or endorse any specific apps for this course.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
YouTube: All YouTube videos that go with slideshows will be embedded into the Outschool classroom so that it is COPPA compliant and learners are not directed to the YouTube site to view it. This is standard practice on Outschool.
Joined October, 2020
5.0
636reviews
Star Educator
Popular
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Texas Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Bachelor's Degree in English from Angelo State University
I have taught guitar exclusively on Outschool for 4 years. Please also see my 4 week or 8 week group guitar classes for my overall 5 star rating and parent recommendations. 

Reviews

Live Group Course
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$180

for 8 classes
1x per week, 8 weeks
30 min

Completed by 64 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-13
4-6 learners per class

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