Teaching Philosophy
Intro and 1b Class Topics
Level 2 Class Topics
Level 3 Class Topics

Teaching Philosophy

The group guitar class at SMI is designed to accommodate a wide variety of interest levels and aptitudes. Students are provided an opportunity to move at their own pace, and can move more quickly or slowly than the class as a whole yet still participate in group exercises and songs in a way that is challenging to them individually.

The class structure is based on four levels. While every level but the first lasts more than 1 month, each level is designed so that any student that completes a given level can move up to the next during any month of the program; each month at a given level is independent of the others, and the only prerequisite for participating in that month is a firm grasp of the material presented in any lower levels.

While an extremely ambitious student can complete an entire level with one pass through, many students will take two or more passes before they are ready to move up. The subject material is covered in such a way that it is challenging to students at various stages of development, whether it is their first pass or third.

Scale applications, for example, may be played using at least five different scale patterns. Students that are new to the material can focus on a few basic patterns while those that are more experienced can expand their use of the fret board while playing the same song, in the same key.

Strumming songs are chosen and presented such that they can be played a variety of ways - from simple strums using open chords to arpeggios of varying speed and complexity using movable chords and various right hand techniques. top

Intro Class Topics (1 Month) Level 1

• guitar basics
  
• tuning
  
• notation
  
• right and left hand technique
  
• single string playing
  
• basic power chords
  
• basic open chords
  
• strumming
  
• finger (pre-scale) exercises top
  

• palm muting
  
• left hand muting
  
• power chord variations
  
• strumming patterns
  
• basic arpeggios
  
• rudimentary fingerstyles
  
• hybrid picking
  
• alternate picking
  
• tuning with harmonics top

Every Month

• finger exercises
  
• strumming songs
  
• rhythmic notation
  
• single note songs
  
  

Month 1

• diatonic scales
  
• arpeggios
  
• CAGED system intro - major chords
  
  

Month 2

• pentatonic scales
  
• power chords
  
• octaves
  
• muting techniques
  
• CAGED system intro - dominant seventh chords
  
  

Month 3

• basic fingerstyle
  
• basic barre chords (major, minor, dominant 7th, minor 7th)
  
• notes on the fretboard
  
• blues rhythm patterns top
  
  

Level 3 Class Topics (4 Month Cycle)

Month 1

• lead techniques - bending, hammer-ons, pull-offs, harmonics, pinch harmonics, slides, vibrato, tapping
  
• diatonic modes
  
• improvisation - modes and pentatonic
  
• blues scales
  
  

Month 2

• ear training - note, key, diatonic and pentatonic scale degree, and major/minor chord identification
  
• sequenced runs
  
• intermediate fingerstyle
  
  

Month 3

• sight reading/theory - standard notation, key signatures, time signatures, circle of 5ths
  
• transposition
  
• chord embellishment and substitution
  
• triads and chord theory
  
• diatonic harmony
  
• nashville notation
  
  

Month 4 and beyond

• intermediate barre chords - major/minor 9th, 11th, 13th, altered
  
• speed development
  
• advanced practice techniques
  
• slash chords
  
• dynamics and phrasing
• three note/string diatonics and blues scales
• various accompaniment styles
• advanced picking technique development
• reading fake book charts
• blues, rock, and jazz lead vocabulary
• harmonic minor, jazz minor, whole tone, and diminished scales
• economy picking
• funk rhythm
• legato lead technique

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