Teaching guitar

[Yax]

Fellow forumers:

I started to teach one of my mates to play the electric guitar today. This is the first thing he's ever tried to play, so we're really starting from scratch. So, we've booked appointments every week: He'll come to my place every tuesday after school and then we'll have a session.

Now, I haven't told him to buy a tab book or anything yet (though I might do). So I was wondering: What should I teach him the following six months (or something)? Should I save scales,theory and such for later, and just teach him how to play simple songs? Or what?

 

[Eclipse]

I'm not sure mate. I'm trying to teach my cousin who is 12, she just wants to learn songs.

I've tried to teach her songs, and the only sucessful one so far is Megadeth - Symphony Of Destruction which has a simple opening riff. But she wants to learn songs like Megadeth's - Holy War's The Punishment Due and Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama, which is a way off yet.

Any suggestions to easy songs?

 

[Yax]

I'm not sure mate. I'm trying to teach my cousin who is 12, she just wants to learn songs.

You taught her the whole song, or just the riff?

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Songs?

Judas Priest: Breaking the Law, Metal Gods, Heading out to the highway.

Deep Purple: Smoke on the Water

Black Sabbath: Paranoid

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Proud Mary (simplified)




 

 

[Eclipse]

just the main riff 

Love her to play the Solo 

Breakin The Law, I feel stupid when I see one's that are so simple

 

[Yax]

just the main riff 

Love her to play the Solo 

Breakin The Law, I feel stupid when I see one's that are so simple

Metal Gods is sooo enjoyable to play. 

 

[SinisterMinisterX]

Let the student choose the songs, so long as their choices aren't way out of their league technically. But it's good if the song is a bit beyond their abilities; learning it will then push them to be a bit better.

Use the songs to teach the scales. Figure out what scales are used in the riffs. "Here's that riff you wanted to learn ... (teach the riff) ... notice how all the notes in this riff are from the E minor scale, which goes like this ... (teach the scale)" Send the student home each week with a new song to practice, and a new scale to learn.

In other words, teach everything all at once - but in small doses, with the student helping to define their own direction.

 

[Ironmaiden]

if you want some easy power chord based song, you could teach him iron maiden songs, like fear of the dark, the trooperhallowed be thy name etc...

 

[manishfusion]

The best thing to do with your lefty is hand him a guitar and see which way he holds it without any coaching. If he holds it like a lefty, a lefty guitar is probably what he needs. If he holds it like a righty, a right-handed guitar is probably what he needs.
If it turns out that a lefty is what he needs, it's better to actually get a guitar that's designed to be a lefty. Re-stringing a right-handed guitar backwards can cause a host of problems with action and intonation.