Shortcut to Guitar: Beginner Guitar Course
What you'll learn
- To know how the guitar works and to get it ready for playing
- To understand the basics of music theory
- To know and be able to use all the chords in a key
- To be able to construct simple melodies around chord progressions
Requirements
- No experience needed. Just a guitar.
Description
By separating the different disciplines needed to play the guitar the journey to guitar playing enjoyment is made easy.
Simplifying the learning process helps beginners get over the usual stumbling blocks with ease.
The course also gives the student a solid foundation in musical understanding.
The lessons show how using our simple chord shapes chord progressions (and therefore, simple songs) are constructed, with special emphasis placed on a typical "blues" progression, and how to embellish those simple chords to add melody to the rhythm (the students own natural rhythm at first and then later counted out rhythm) and the harmony from the chords.
The lessons encourage the use of the "thumb strum" a simple alternative to playing strum/rhythm patterns with a pick/plectrum, which is difficult for beginners. But don't worry, the "thumb strum" leads to many other types of guitar playing such as fingerstyle, percussive, flamenco, folk, and it won't hinder you if you want to pick up a plectrum to play later on!
These "shortcuts" which simplify the physical side of playing the guitar enable the learner to develop a better understanding of how music is constructed on a guitar and how music is constructed in general, giving a great foundation for future learning, a foundation that only enhances the student's enjoyment of playing the guitar and sense of achievement.
Try it and see for yourself
The course also covers all the basics of the guitar, such as knowing the anatomy of the instrument as well as how it works. How to tune up the guitar using an electronic tuner or phone app and by ear. There is also instruction on how to change a broken string and how to restring all the six strings of the guitar.
Who this course is for:
- Complete beginner guitarists who want to understand music as well as play it.
- Budding songwriters looking for a shortcut into using guitar as a songwriting tool.
Instructor
Pete Holland
Guitarist/singer, gigging musician
From London, currently based on the east coast of Spain.
A mostly self-taught guitarist and singer with the help of private lessons along the way.
Part-time gigging musician for 35 years.
Also worked, pre covid, in a local school as Mr. Pete "Guitar Man", teaching English through music, another thing that I really enjoyed and hope to be doing again soon.
Teaching: I give private lessons, one-to-one or to small beginner groups.
What I've realised is that not everyone wants the same thing from the guitar. Some want to become guitar heroes, some want to be song composers, and some just want to noodle at home in front of the TV. So there is no "one course fits all" option when it comes to learning the guitar, it always depends on what the student is hoping to achieve. That's one of the reasons why so many people start guitar and give up. For those people I came up with what l think is a simpler method of starting out, using a couple of basic shortcuts, with the aim of getting the student along the learning path sufficiently that they carry on with it and don't give up. I'll give away some of the secrets here.
Keep it simple.
Stay in one key.
See chords as they function in that key (there are just 7 chords!)
Don't even name the chords, just number them 1 to 7. Hey! that's just like the pros actually do.
Suddenly, intervals (the difference in sound between two notes) are clear, song structures are apparent, the basics of music make sense. So, you're only in one key, but it's easy to learn other keys later on.
I'm convinced that this Shortcut to Guitar course is as simple and painless as it can be. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but it might be for you.