A Beginner's Guitar
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What do I teach?Techniques Chord shapes, scale and arpeggio patterns, licks and tricks. I also recommend a variety of finger exercises which build up strength and develop the agility required for other playing techniques. These cover fretting hand and picking hand (both fingerstyle and plectrum techniques).
Reading Some guitarists read "tab" which has its uses, some don’t read anything. Traditional music notation is universal and allows music to be shared between players of different instruments (keyboard and sax players don’t read tab!). While I accept that reading is not a priority for those whose learning is primarily by ear, I would recommend it as an aid to the understanding of music.
Theory Knowing how music works and understanding what to do with all those licks, chords, scales and arpeggios is essential to being a good improviser, to being able to predict what happens next when learning a new piece, and to constructing your own music that "makes sense" to other people. I bundle theory with the practical things as well as offering tutorials on theoretical topics.
How to teach yourself How to structure a practice session, how to make the best use of your time, how to decode things off records and from books ... in short a TOOLBAG full of practical techniques and mental understanding which allows you to develop in any way you want to!
How do I teach?
- By example, I show you what to do, and refer you to recordings of other people using a technique or musical idea.
- By getting you to teach yourself as you practice, experiment, and listen to music.
- By a logical approach to theory, you recognise it as an elegant and consistent system which can be generated from a few basic axioms and some simple rules. To understand why is better than learning by rote.
Who do I teach?
Anyone who wants to learn! Adults are not too old. Teenagers often take inspiration from chart music or that which is popular in their peer-group. Children have the necessary manual co-ordination by the age of 8. I insist that a responsible adult accompany children and young female teenagers during lessons. Apart from the obvious climate of paranoia which pervades our society, it is an ideal opportunity for the adult to gain insight into what a child is being asked to do, so the child can be helped at home with practice. It also results in a free lesson for the adult!
When do I teach?
At a mutually convenient time. I can be flexible, so even if we cannot do
the same day and time every week you will make the progress you desire if we meet frequently enough (and if you practice enough) .What kind of guitar?
I usually start children on a ¾ size nylon strung classical instrument. They can progress later to steel-strung acoustic or electric instruments when they are bigger.
Those who are physically able to handle a full size instrument are in my opinion also old enough to choose the type of instrument that suits what they want to do with it. However I can offer my opinions and advice during the selection process if you wish it. You DO need a playable instrument though! Get one before you start having lessons. My main instruments are the electric and the steel-strung acoustic, but I can get you started on classical guitar.
Hints on choosing guitars: Fixed-bridge types (based on eg Gibson designs) are less hassle to maintain than those with a whammy bar. Locking trems are maximum hassle. Natural wood finishes are to be preferred because the makers have to use good wood (so you get better tone); paint jobs can hide any old wood. Humbucking pickups are less prone to mains hum (as their name suggests) than single-coil pickups and give a fatter tone. The people in music shops usually know more about guitars than assistants in catalogue shops; try before you buy. The prime requirements for any instrument are that it plays in tune and handles well - decoration on cheap instruments may be indicative of corners cut elsewhere.
Lefties? If you learn from scratch it doesn’t matter: you need equal agility in both hands and in my experience left handed people do not suffer from playing a "right handed" instrument (I once played in a band with such a person for 6 months before I discovered he was left-handed!). However I am quite happy to teach those whose left-handedness dictates a left-handed instrument; diagrams of chords, scales, and arpeggios can be reversed fairly easily and the only likely problem is the extra cost to the buyer of a left-handed instrument (manufacturers claim extra tooling costs and low volume production as the main culprits).
Bass? The electric bass was developed by Leo Fender as a more portable and easier-to-amplify alternative to the double bass, and as it had frets, playing it in tune was so much easier (hence its name, the "Precision"). Its shape bears a resemblance to the electric guitar but its function and the techniques required to play it are different. However, since it is tuned one octave lower than the lower 4 strings of a guitar, it is possible for guitarists to find their way around it without too much difficulty. I can get you started on the electric bass.
What about exams?
Not compulsory, but I can get you through the lower classical grades (I have a 100% pass record with children on these!). Grade exams on electric guitar are also available from The Registry of Guitar Tutors or Trinity Rock School.
What about books?
I recommend Ralph Denyer’s Guitar Handbook (pub. Pan) as an excellent source book which you will be dipping into for many years to come. Mel Bay's Easy Way to Guitar is a good starter for children, which I supplement with other exercises. Adults choose their own songbooks.
Any other equipment?A notebook for use as a log book, to note down items for practice, and record your achievements as you improve your skills. A tuning fork (A-440Hz), a metronome, and a music stand are the essentials. Plectra [plural of plectrum? The best kind are the stiff ones that don’t bend] for those who need them. Be warned I advise against long nails on the fretting hand but can suggest a convenient shape for filing the nails on your picking hand to achieve the best sound and minimise the chance of breakage. Electric players will need a signal lead and a practice amplifier.
Who is Phil Rowland?
Please allow me to introduce myself as a musician with a variety of artistic and technical interests. I have worked in bands as the only guitarist, or as one of two – playing rock/blues and medium weight folk-influenced prog rock, and held a gig as an electric bass player. I’ve done sound engineering live and in the studio (using Cubase and 24-track tape). I’ve also taught music on the guitar and electric bass. At home I write music and record it using strings and keys. I used to co-present with Ozzie Sibley a 60s/70s/80s rock show called Vinyl Club, and also had my own show called Phil’s Music Magazine, both on Ipswich Community Radio (http://www.icrfm.co.uk)
Teaching experience includes Rock Workshops, one-on-one private tuition, group tuition for junior-school children, Adult Education, and the Amplifier project (
www.amplifiersuffolk.co.uk) – for which I have been CRB checked. Qualifications-wise I've done the Guitar Institute course on Scale Theory and Playing Styles, and the City & Guilds Adult & FE Teacher course.What music is he into?
If your particular fancy isn’t on this list – don’t worry! I don’t make a big deal of teaching repertoire – YOU choose that – but since some people ask, here’s my list of likes:
Baroque & Renaissance music. Blues, Rock, Acoustic singer/songwriters. Listening habits also include Mediaeval, Classical, Jazz and Celtic music. Special likes: Orlando Gibbons, JS Bach, GF Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Deep Purple, Focus, Camel, Wishbone Ash, James Taylor, Runrig, Capercaillie, Clannad.
