[TheMasterplan]

My girlfriend just came back from camp on Saturday and she told me that her and her friend wanted me to teach them how to play guitar and I'm not really sure where to start. I've only been playing for a little under two years, but I'm not bad, I just don't know how to go about teaching. I know alot in the way of technique and form, but not alot about theory and what have you. I have some ideas on how to go about it, but a little input never hurts: What would you guys do?

[Sebastian]

hmm.. maybe how play with and without the pick..
.. basic chords..

[Metal Ken]

Show her the basics, how to hold the picks, a few chords, a couple of scales to practice. Show them a couple of riffs.

From what i've seen, nothing inspires people just starting out more than to play a riff from their favorite song. It really gives you a "I CAN do this!" attitude.

[nitelightboy]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

From what i've seen, nothing inspires people just starting out more than to play a riff from their favorite song. It really gives you a "I CAN do this!" attitude.

That's why I used to love making my students learn some Dream Theater stuff before I'd teach them anything else. You have to keep the enthusiasm to a minimum

Start with the super easiest of basics. How to hold the guitar, how to hold a pick, how to not get a farting sound when you play a note, etc....Then show them some sort of chromatic exercise for the first week or so so they can practice that stuff. Then step it up a little bit when they can play a note relatively cleanly and show them something that they want to learn. But be honest with them about probably not sounding just like Killswitch when they first start playing. And of course, be very supportive. You'll encourage them alot more that way. It's tough to teach your girlfriend something as challenging as guitar, but just remember to treat her just like you would anyone else, and hopefully you'll still get some nookie after the lesson

[shadowgenesis]

tell them to come to me. I'm told I'm a great teacher for beginners and I could use the extra dough.

:P

Don't make it too technical. Unless somebody is going into it with the "I wanna play like so-and-so" mentality, they're probably far less concerned with being good than they are about having fun. And i think most people find it a lot more fun to learn songs and get some basic ideas under their fingers that let them mess around creatively. Chord shapes are good. Scales are iffy - some people will get bored really quickly and want to quit if you make it too much about theory stuff. And yeah, riffs and little melodic lines. I think people always love learning novelty things like the Sesame Street theme song or something else that people can recognize.

course if they're the types that are like "I want to play like Steve Vai" you can drill em a little harder. Or at least you can drill your girlfriend a little harder.


oh my. that was so uncool and uncalled for i don't even know what to think about it.

[distressed_romeo]

Agree with everything so far. Just give them stuff they can play immediately, and try and make it fun for them, and gradually introduce more theory and technique as they need it. Scales will probably bore most people quickly, but if you just give them the major and minor pentatonics and show them how to play a simple solo with those, hopefully it'll whet their appetite for more advanced stuff.

[Mike_Philippov]

Don't worry about teaching them music theory, start with very basic technique work and as mentioned show them some simple riffs for their favorite songs to keep their enthusiasm up. Be careful not to teach too much in the beginning, that can be very overwhelming.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Mike Philippov

[Shooter]

Dude, just go back and think about how YOU learned guitar. When I first started playing, I just learned riffs from bands I liked, and that's probably what they'd enjoy. Like the other guys said, just ask them what songs they like, pick the easy ones, learn 'em yourself, and then teach them the songs. That's how I think I'd do it. What were the first things you learned? Teach them that.

[Ken]

Smoke. On. The. Water.



Seriously, stay away from chords for total newbies. Work out one string melodies for one of their favorite songs.

You need to keep the enthusiasm up, not down. Otherwise, it'll just be something they phail at and it won't be phun at all.

After a while of that, if they're wanting something harder, you know they're true gluttons for punishment and then introduce them to the pain. Chords.

* Ken loves the sight of calouses in the making.

[nikki_malicious]

id say just start with teaching em diff notes and shit. i mean... i just barely started learning and im learning which notes are where and then after that im gonna learn chords and shit. i can play ode to joy (thats a big thing for me)