Lessons for Kids

When I’m teaching young players, my aim is for them to have fun. My 8 years of experience as a Teaching Artist at the After School Program at the School OF The Future in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan gave me great insight into inspiring musicians from ages 11 to 19. I taught weekly classes in guitar, electric band and music production (making music using computers). Kids and teens learn by having fun and we explore all the aspects of music by having a good time.

Here’s a video of three different class performances of guitar classes that I taught at School Of The Future featuring middle and high school students:

Ages 9 – 14

Players under 14 years usually enjoy the challenge of reading music and like the structure of working with a guitar method book so I often start with learning to read staff notation (traditional sheet music) in a lesson book and compliment it with a song book and some songs that the student would like to play. I also enjoy helping kids write songs, themselves. If the player in interested, that’s always a winner. I always keep an ear out for that come from their own world that they might like to play for their friends or family. I’ve written out tunes for young players from “take Me Out To The Ballgame” to the theme song from “Maya and Miguel”.

In the process, your child will learn how to:

play some of their favorite songs
play chords
count to music
read music and guitar tab
play from songbooks
strum in rhythm and play with others
play scales and chords
tune the guitar

and, of course, more…

Ages 14 – 17

Guitarists 14 and older are often forming strong tastes about what music they like and identify with. I like to work with that energy because they are using music styles to discover who they are and that can drive their motivation to mastering the guitar. Essentially, I teach a teen musician the same way that I teach an adult, but with a different view: a teenager’s discipline grows out of their inspiration and it can be very strong. If he or she is inspired to play, that thirst will develop a strength to stick with themselves through the work of playing music and living their life. So, I let the student set the course that they want to travel and I give them the training, the problem solving skills, and the vision they need to be successful.

In addition to the topics listed above, students may choose to :

Write original songs
Learn basic music theory
Learn to improvise
Learn to play music by ear
Build a repertoire, or songbook
Make a professional quality demo recording at a professional studio
make a video of themselves performing for youtube
perform with me at an appropriate venue

A teenager is in the process of becoming an adult and music can be a powerful positive force in that process. Personally, I get a lot from helping young people learn to stand on their own two feet through music.