Notes or Chords?

[nafmeadmin]

What is the first thing you do with your kids in your guitar class? Do you teach note reading or playing chords first? Why? Does it matter if you’re teaching elementary, middle or high school? Does it matter if it’s an introductory class or a full year?

[nafmeadmin]

I teach note reading first to my beginning middle school students, for two reasons. The first being that I want them to know that you can read music and play melodies on the guitar, that even though the perception that most people have is that guitars are good for strumming, it can be used for both purposes and music literacy/reading music is important for any and all instruments. The second reason is that I think it helps to develop some familiarity and comfort with the instrument before moving onto chords. By teaching notes in the first position on the first string, I can get students started playing and creating music fairly quickly. By the time students can play music on the first four strings (usually after about a month and a half, seeing them twice a week), they are comfortable holding the instrument and pressing their fingers into the fingerboard to get a good sound, and then are generally pretty ready to jump into chords. I spend about 15 minutes teaching them a few half chords just to get the idea, and then jump right in to a I-IV-V7 progression in the Key of D!

[nafmeadmin]

What do you mean by a half chord?

[nafmeadmin]

In an ideal world, I would teach notes only at first. If the student is patient, they will inadvertently be playing chords after mastering the first position. In a song like “Greensleves”, students begin to play an A minor by following the melody, at which time it can be pointed out that they are playing a chord. This approach works well with younger students who are far more likely to let you guide their instruction, but can be a challenge to sell to older students.

In a survey type class, many students have a strong desire to play their favorite tune and will want to learn chords as quickly as possible. (And if they don’t get it from us, they will inevitably do it on their own after spending some time on Youtube.)

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