Teaching guitar.

[Bushleague]

With extra curricular activities on hold, I bought a small guitar and started teaching my daughters (8 and 10) to play. Being self taught myself, I just got them going the way I started... power chords and songs they actually like, and the results are really starting to take off.

They have a few friends that have taken lessons for a couple years can barely pick their way through "Yankee Doodle", struggle play a few random chords, and worst of all they hate playing. In six months my daughters have learned to play a half dozen songs that they and their friends actually like, and more importantly I dont even need to ask them to practice... they love playing.

So... if you want your kids to play guitar, and can play even a small bit yourself, instead of signing them up for lessons give the Bushleague method a try - Green Day to Nirvana to Tom Petty.

1- Brain Stew... super easy, a great introduction to power chords.
2- Dust on the bottle, almost as easy expands a little on chord positions
3- Hitchin' a Ride... slightly faster strumming pattern
4- Smells like Teen Spirit... building up a grasp of more complicated strumming patterns.
5- Come as You Are, introduction to single notes and simple arpeggios
6- Free Falling, currently working on this one, awesome song to start working on full chords.

[RandyBoBandy]

:happy0034:

[Okotok]

Same way I started. Sort of like instant gratification rather than excruciating musical math. Some people thrive on that but not me. Tommy Emmanuel can't read music. Good enough for me! :)

[58thecat]

yup my daughter taught herself and she has a blast at it....very impressed but I think the key is to enjoy what you do and some are forced to take lessons others just kick back and have fun...fun...fun:sHa_shakeshout:

[Bushleague]

yup my daughter taught herself and she has a blast at it....very impressed but I think the key is to enjoy what you do and some are forced to take lessons others just kick back and have fun...fun...fun:sHa_shakeshout:

After I'd played for several years I took about 6 months worth of lessons, just to pick up a bit of a rudimentary understanding of theory. It was highly worth my while, and on what I learned I've been able to expand as needed on my own.

That said, even at that point and knowing the value of what I was trying to learn, I still found it incredibly painful. I think my guitar teacher's experience was pretty similar, it was quite often apparent that I hadn't practiced what he'd taught me very much... made all the more frustrating for him because he knew for a fact that I'd spent many hours playing my guitar that week but simply found the lessons unbearably boring.

[Tungsten,]

Oh your gonna have to teach them Dog and Butterfly by Heart.

[liar]

Ive bought some of the grandkids guitars and got them started . Some are still playing , some lost interest . But the drum sets , lets just say kids love to make noise . They even like the lessons and home work they get . The kids(parents) not so much !!

[Bushleague]

Same way I started. Sort of like instant gratification rather than excruciating musical math. Some people thrive on that but not me. Tommy Emmanuel can't read music. Good enough for me! :)

I actually taught myself to read music half decent, not once but twice. Because it really had no practical value in my day to day playing I forgot pretty quickly both times. And after the second time I realized that for me it was just a colossal waste of time.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Started all of the kids on guitar, the oldest son would wander away, then just dance around with his guitar and pretend to play.

The others eventually lost interest, and suddenly the oldest son decides to learn a few chords - now the student is rapidly becoming the master!

Even funnier, I'll see him occasionally teaching the others a lick or two. He has a great teaching style and is very patient.

[tullfan]

I’m zero musical but have always been fascinated with blue grass, soooo. I bought a banjo and started very basic. One string at a time, 4 notes at a time, finger position, using my other hand on the neck.
I’m not gonna lie. It has been one of the most challenging things I have done in my life. I concentrate so hard I’ve drooled on myself, lol.
That being said, 20 minutes every other day and its getting better and I still am in love with it. I won’t be in any band soon, but for now my fiance indulges me while I murder a couple songs..
Tullfan

[DisplacedCaper]

I’m zero musical but have always been fascinated with blue grass, soooo. I bought a banjo and started very basic. One string at a time, 4 notes at a time, finger position, using my other hand on the neck.
I’m not gonna lie. It has been one of the most challenging things I have done in my life. I concentrate so hard I’ve drooled on myself, lol.
That being said, 20 minutes every other day and its getting better and I still am in love with it. I won’t be in any band soon, but for now my fiance indulges me while I murder a couple songs..
Tullfan


Sounds like you’re on your way. I tell everyone I teach it’s about self enjoyment. Learning an instrument has so many benefits outside of actually playing a tune, but that’s pretty great too. It’s a stress reliever, just zone out and focus on playing, and that reward when you get something you thought you could never do. Time well spent.
I picked up a fiddle last summer and am plugging away at that and loving it. I won’t be bowing any tunes for an audience anytime soon but after almost 30 years on guitar it’s a nice challenge:)


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[270person]

Good job. My younger brother used to grab moms old Harmony hollow body and plink away trying to mimic his records when he was just a little guy. We all thought it was pretty funny until one day a few months later he was actually starting to get really good. When he was around 11 I bought him albums I liked by Jeff Beck, Alvin Lee, and John McLaughlin so he could gravitate to the style he liked.

Kid had a band at 15 playing at high school dances with my dad hauling he and his buddies around southern Saskatchewan towing a UHaul full of gear. He ended up going to Berkley school of music in Boston, tore it up there, came back to Sask, opened up a recording studio, and taught guitar while continuing to pick up gigs all over western Canada. He's played with some big names live and done a lot of studio session work. Owns so many guitars I couldn't count them and thinks nothing of dropping $5-10k on an Ernie Ball, Paul Reed Smith, etc etc just because he likes the tone of it.

Asks me all the time why I have so many guns. I ask him why he has do many guitars. He says good point.

A couple of samples, rock and classical just because I'm a proud big brother.

https://youtu.be/zWvJRjJZqyY

https://youtu.be/LJrXT5RS-_8

[270person]

Sorry for the rambling derail Bush. My whole point was to just keep encouraging your girls. You never know where they'll take it and music and being able to play an instrument is a gift.

If the rest of my brothers and I had teased this one hard at the start he may never have found his calling.

[Snowdog2112]

Good for you, man! I, too, decided to use the pandemic time to learn some chops, and bought myself an electric.

Compared to when I was a kid, and trying to learn to play, I can't believe how many resources we have! There's a tuner on every phone, and multiple instructional videos and articles out there for pretty much whatever you want to know.

I've also read that learning a skill like music is good for keeping the brain young an elastic. Whatever the case, it a fun and rewarding hobby.

[Red Bullets]

Kids and music should be mandatory. It's like learning a second language that anyone can understand. The free online resources for learning instruments makes it that much easier too. Some talented kids have put some good videos on youtube.. Let your kids watch them to inspire them. Unfortunately some kids might give up or get discouraged after watching some amazing kids.

Good to read that there are a few string wobblers here. Would be fun to have an AO campfire hootenanny. We should start a thread just for us amateur musicians to post some homegrown music. Would be nice to hear more raw uncut local music. Kids included.

My dad played guitar and I picked one up when I was 8. I encouraged my kids to play instruments too and two of three kids got to enjoy some stage time as teenagers in bands. Playing instruments is strong in my family and extended family too but it is sad that we rarely play music together. I will encourage my grand kids to play too.

270person- You should be proud of your brother. He's excellent in both styles. He would probably enjoy playing a 7 or 8 string. I love to hear him play a chapman stick.

[1bowhunter12]

Good guitar teachers are a thing of the past .. I got one to teach me some theory because that is extremely hard to learn online in my opinion .. good on you for getting them envilved .. keep them interested and it’s something rewarding and something money can’t buy ..

[jpohlic]

One of the best online guitar teachers is "pay what you want" for most of his lessons. justinguitar.com

I subscribe to his vids and have learned a lot

[Dewey Cox]

I saw an interview with Burton Cummings, and he took piano lessons as a child, and hated it. His mom made him stay in it.
One day he discovered that all his favorite rock songs were just a series of a handful of the same cords.
Once he started playing music he liked, his attitude towards the piano changed, and the rest is history.

[Stinky Buffalo]

My younger brother used to grab moms old Harmony hollow body and plink away trying to mimic his records when he was just a little guy.

I still have a Harmony! Bought it from a family friend who worked at the factory back in the 70's. A little worse for wear, but it's still playable!


Asks me all the time why I have so many guns. I ask him why he has do many guitars. He says good point.

Classic. The real problem arises when your guitar collection and your gun collection are constantly growing... :lol:

I saw an interview with Burton Cummings, and he took piano lessons as a child, and hated it. His mom made him stay in it.
One day he discovered that all his favorite rock songs were just a series of a handful of the same cords.
Once he started playing music he liked, his attitude towards the piano changed, and the rest is history.

Was the same for me... My brother and sister were "allowed" to quit... I had to keep taking lessons. Mad it to Grade eight piano. In the meantime, my neighbour was teaching me to do harmonic analysis on the fly from the old hymnbook that our church used. Little did I realize that she was coaching me to create my own fake sheets. :D I ended up accompanying our school choirs in grade school - it's amazing what a difference a good teacher can make.

In her case, she had an ulterior motive - I ended up doing a lot of accompaniment at church too. :lol:

From that, I just found songs I liked and made my own fake sheets for them. Ended up at Grant Mac's recording engineering program, and all of that church music training gave me a leg up for the jazz accompaniment sessions. That was a ton of fun.

[Bushleague]

I saw an interview with Burton Cummings, and he took piano lessons as a child, and hated it. His mom made him stay in it.
One day he discovered that all his favorite rock songs were just a series of a handful of the same cords.
Once he started playing music he liked, his attitude towards the piano changed, and the rest is history.

I recently saw a documentary on The Descendants, the whole thing was pretty entertaining, but one of the more interesting bits involved an accomplished Classical/ Jazz pianist turned sound engineer that worked on a few of their albums.

He said he was shocked and dismayed when he first showed up to the studio to find the whole band farting into microphones, but admitted that by the end of the recording sessions he was surprised to find there were aspects to music that that they grasped far better than he did, and had nothing but utmost respect for them. I believe he still does work in the Blasting Room from time to time.

[mooseknuckle]

I recently saw a documentary on The Descendants, the whole thing was pretty entertaining, but one of the more interesting bits involved an accomplished Classical/ Jazz pianist turned sound engineer that worked on a few of their albums.

He said he was shocked and dismayed when he first showed up to the studio to find the whole band farting into microphones, but admitted that by the end of the recording sessions he was surprised to find there were aspects to music that that they grasped far better than he did, and had nothing but utmost respect for them. I believe he still does work in the Blasting Room from time to time.


Descendents!! wow, that goes back. Saw them live at the bronx a thousand years ago they started with the song "hope" i was hooked instantly. We did a little ALL/decendants cover song event at the blackdog like 10 years ago. I still have 4-5 descendants cassette tapes.

[Bushleague]

Descendents!! wow, that goes back. Saw them live at the bronx a thousand years ago they started with the song "hope" i was hooked instantly. We did a little ALL/decendants cover song event at the blackdog like 10 years ago. I still have 4-5 descendants cassette tapes.

Yeah its kind of weird, stuff that was generally considered low-brow, skid type stuff in its day is now starting to slowly become legend in its own right. Weird to have the older kids in the Jr Forrest Wardens group I work with wanting me to talk about seeing bands like AFI, and Lagwagon in dive bars... particularly because I think that if most of those kids had actually been around for that scene they would have been listening to Ricky Martin and avoiding people like me.

Its kind of cool too, because I always felt that those shows were monumentally awesome, and its cool to see that getting some recognition.