instructing a young student

[Osama_Spears]

hi guys. ive been playing electric bass for about...6 or 7 years, and recently got into upright and piano. Ive picked up guitar here and there, and took a class of it in high-school (2 years ago). My knowledge with guitar is intermediate, i'd say. I relate guitar technique to bass often, with the whole open/closed position technique,etc. I feel I am prepared to teach it at beginner/intermediate levels.

I currently teach lessons (bass) to a friend of mine, he picked up bass about 4 months ago and things have been going very well. Now, a co-worker wants me to teach her nephew guitar, who is in the 3rd grade. I am completely up for teaching him, however - I am unsure how to approach my lesson(s). Should I start him on a book and follow through with him? How do I teach someone from scratch? where should i start? My current/only student played trumpet for 10+years prior, so it was easy to dig in, but with a young student, who is no music knowledge - how do i begin?

Any help is appreciated!

[Osama_Spears]

rump

[uethanian]

rump?

i'd start him off with some introductory piano. its makes it soo much easier for novice musicians if they can visualize the music. then teach him a few simple progressions or play-along songs, and when he has those down by muscle memory, make the connection between what he plays and what it actually is on the piano.

and he'll probably have a lot of non bass-related questions, just why things are they way they are. be careful not to dismiss this, and answer in non-technical terms he can understand. my first piano teacher made this mistake and it took me years to finally understand what it all meant.

[Osama_Spears]

he wants to learn guitar though, so i think piano is out of the question - and might upset his parent(s) if they want him to learn guitar, but than see me suggesting/teaching keys.

though i totally support your approach.

[BryanM]

I'd say find some way to integrate the two, but definitely teach theory on keys. Trying to teach theory to a young musician on an instrument other than keys has so many pitfalls. Explain to his parents that the piano is an excellent starting point because it will ground him on the full staff, rather than just treble or bass clef. Make sure to find some sort of positive reinforcement as book learning can be a little bit tedious. As far as the guitar goes, perhaps baby steps with the piano and similar sounds on the guitar or something like that. I think that what happens with a lot of younger musicians is that they're turned off of music for a while because they don't realize how portable it is, and so a multi-angle approach might work pretty well with this age-group.

[Dave Muscato]

Actually, I will suggest that you go the other way. At that age, you need to start with songs or the student will lose interest (and not practice!).

Have him make a list of songs he wants to learn how to play, and teach him the basic melodies (the vocal line, for example, or the simple melody on guitar). I wouldn't even get into chord theory at first, or music reading - teach him how to PLAY some chords, just where to put his fingers, some very basic technique, but remember to teach him *songs,* something he can take away from the lesson and practice at home. At 9 years old, students can memorize things but lack deeper understanding of significance of things like scales & modes, even if they can memorize them. At this age, students are just beginning to develop critical thinking skills, and you don't want to go over his head.

And don't say that playing guitar will help him get girls - even if it's true, in my experience with students this age, he will think girls have cooties

At 9-10, he shouldn't have any trouble with fine motor skills and dexterity, so I would recommend a full-size instrument (we're talking about guitar, not DB, right? ~25" scale).

As he improves over time, you can begin to introduce him to the idea that chords are built from chord tones, which come from keys, scales, etc, and teach him those things. I would not push music reading too heavily at this point lest your student's eyes glaze over, although I would avoid teaching him tab, as it's a crutch and you don't want him getting on the internet to "learn" songs instead of doing it by ear from the recording.

My 2 cents,

"Mama" Dave, the nickname coming from years of teaching music to youngsters while working at a local music store

[Dave Muscato]

Originally Posted by BryanM

I'd say find some way to integrate the two, but definitely teach theory on keys.

When he's ready for it, +1. Don't talk about theory the first lesson, or a long-term outline of goals (to him, at least - talk to his parents about that). I wouldn't get into theory much until at least the 3rd or 4th lesson, and even then, keep it as simple as possible. If you want to combine teaching songs with the Suzuki Guitar books, that's a great approach, too (Suzuki approach uses a lot of child psychology and is *exactly* the level of stuff kids can comprehend and apply, highly recommended).

http://www.amazon.com/Suzuki-Guitar-...8784595&sr=8-1