Beginning Guitar Lessons

Level I

Course Scope:

This one-year course is designed for students with no previous guitar experience. Students will receive guidance and direction in solving problems related to playing the guitar on a beginning level and will learn many of the different styles, skills and techniques required to become a successful guitarist. Areas of concentration include: correct posture, note reading, aural skills, flat picking, singing songs, rhythmic patterns, chord study, finger picking styles, musical forms, improvisation and performing experiences.

Course Goals:

  1. To develop correct posture and hand position
  2. To identify the parts of the guitar
  3. To demonstrate the proper tuning of the guitar by pitch matching
  4. To understand the history and origin of the guitar
  5. To learn basic fundamentals of musical notation
  6. To learn basic chords and single notes in first position
  7. To learn proper strumming, finger style and flat picking techniques and accompaniments
  8. To become aware of career opportunities
  9. To participate in performance and evaluation of music
  10. To demonstrate basic notating skills

Backward Assessment Model
Level 1 – Beginning Guitar

YEAR ONE – At the completion of year one, students will be able to:

  • perform using correct sitting posture and appropriate hand positions
  • play a sixteen measure melody composed with eighth notes at a moderate tempo using alternate picking
  • play on all six strings in first position
  • play melodies in the keys C, Am, G, Em, D, Bm, F and Dm
  • have a tonal range which extends to the A above the staff
  • play major, minor and dominant seventh chords in first position in the keys of C, G, D, A, Am, E, & Em
  • strum rhythms to include whole, half, quarter and eighth notes including simple syncopation
  • play power chords using roots on open sixth, fifth and fourth strings
  • read and understand symbols indicating up and down strokes
  • play arpeggios in a finger-picking style as an accompaniment
  • identify and use p-i-m-a
  • identify and name the parts of the guitar
  • identify basic musical symbols
  • tune the guitar by pitch matching

Level 1 Texts.

(Please do NOT purchase any text until after the first lesson!)

(for students seeking beginning guitar lessons in Orlando, Winter Park and throughout Central Florida)