how to teach beginners

[bin4christ]

guys what do u first teach someone who has 0 knowledge of the guitar? i was taught C,D,E,G,A and i played nothing else for 6 months. r there any of u who started by playing songs straight away?

*also, has anyone ever taught a person with small hands? like so small that he/she cant play 1-2-3-4 on the 6th string. the person i'm talking about is a female adult, not a kid, so there's almost no chance of her hands growing bigger..

 

[popeye]

*also, has anyone ever taught a person with small hands? like so small that he/she cant play 1-2-3-4 on the 6th string. the person i'm talking about is a female adult, not a kid, so there's almost no chance of her hands growing bigger..

I don't think there is any adult that the hand is too small to do that.
It must be the position of handling the guitar. Just adjust the position to get the comfortable angle to reach it

 

[lester_music]

yeah...it is all in the mind...

I have seen people with small hands...shredding like nobody's business...
& people with big hands struggling


If usually that person can't do it with small hands, giving the same person a bigger hand does not help, but rather a mind that plays music that will help....

To teach beginners, teach the right things, that is all, cause many beginner "guitarist" learn all the wrong things from the wrong player...

 

[kuang89]

try putting the thumb behind the neck on a lower position rather than high up and sit the classical guitar position or any position where the headstock is about as high as the shoulder wif the guitar on ur laps...if cannot reach 1-2-3-4 frets on 6 string try starting on the 5th fret as the 1st fret...i learn a classical guitar, so my scales i mainly play on the 5th fret for start...

 

[pianomankris]

It isn't about size of hands - it is about technique.

Sometimes bigger fingers can be a hindrance, as it is more difficult to be accurate with bigger hands. It's all a balance.

Think of it like rock climbing. Some small people are great rock climbers, as they have had to devlop good technique, otherwise certain climbs are impossible. So it is with guitar.

PS please tell your pupil this - it will help her confidence!



If she is a beginner, she shouldn't be doing anything on the 6th string yet - it is too much of a stretch on the wrist.

Finger independence is more important at this stage than actual hand span.

Ask her to place her left hand on a flat surface (e.g. a table) with the fingers arched as they would be on the guitar. Make sure the thumb is also down.

Tell her to lift one finger without the other ones moving. You can do this with combinations of fingers (the fingers only needed to be lifted a little bit. Try tapping each combination/finger a few times).


here are the combos:

individual = 1 2 3 4
groups = 1&2 2&3 3&4 1&4 1&3 2&4

It is difficult to lift finger 3 on its own, as there is a tendon joining finger 2 to finger 3 - lifting both finger 2 and 3 is far easier than liftig finger 3 on its own.





These exercises are great for beginning, as the problem at the beginning isn't playing the guitar itself, but rather, developing the neural pathways between the fingers and the brain - this can be done away from the guitar.




This is also the biggest problem with older students, since they have spent an entire life using their hand as a unit, rather than thinking of the fingers independently. Most of us don't even use our 3rd or 4th fingers, as gripping something is primarily done with the thumb and fingers 1 and 2 - fingers 3 and 4 are used primarily for balance (think of holding a remote control).

PS please tell your pupil this - it will relax her a little and make her realise that she can manage to play the guitar! If she understands why it can be difficult, shwe will be more encouraged, rather than feeling as if she isn't making any progress, and not knowing why (which can make people quit. But this is the teacher's fault, rather than the pupil's).



She also shouldn't begin with chords, but rather, single-note tunes. This also helps independence. Don't worry about this not being considered 'music', or 'proper' guitar playing - for beginners, even getting a single-note tune out of the instrument is a huge accomplishment - and rightly so - they have went from being mere music listeners to actual music performers - make sure you emphasise this, and compliment her on her achievement when this happens!

 

[Ikiru]

Perhaps teach him or her a scale, like.. C major? Then allow him or her to figure out simple tunes from there, like twinkle twinkle little star or something... It helped me a little in familiarizing with the different notes.

I think it'll be useful to pick out some songs (or just one song) for them to play, ones that require certain techniques bundled together like bending, hammer on/pull off, or fingerstyle... etc.

Let her build on her technique and generally getting used to playing a guitar first before anything else.

I have small hands too, like even smaller than an 11 year old's. But with enough practice and exercises, they'll be able to play chords and do solos with time, if that's what they want.

Patience goes a long way, but the results are fruitful.

 

[Whitestrat]

I realised something the other day, watching some kids playing... Obviously just started out, and not very familiar with playing anything at all, much less chords. The position the guitar was being held as well as the picking were so awkward, that probably was the reason why not many notes came out nicely. Even the simple (to us) barre-chords were not sounding right.

Sometimes it's easy to forget how hard it was starting out for some people. We all take it foregranted. I think the BASICS to learn would be how to pick a string and fret a note comfortably. Begin learning on ONE string, then 2, then 3, then chords. I think that's how it should be. Step by step. playing simple songs and melodies. Like for example, playing the vocal line of "Sweet Child of Mine" rather than jumping in to play that finger-fumbling intro...

That way, you build technique, articulation, and confidence.:mrgreen:

 

[Whitestrat]

*also, has anyone ever taught a person with small hands? like so small that he/she cant play 1-2-3-4 on the 6th string. the person i'm talking about is a female adult, not a kid, so there's almost no chance of her hands growing bigger..

Sart on the high-E rather than on low E. Then work her way down the scale. She'll adapt eventually. Hand size has got nothing to do with it. If 6 year old children can do it, so can she.

 

[bin4christ]

woaho, the replies are mostly about developing technique for lead-playing, as i expected. i forgot to mention, she's aiming to be a pop-playing strummer. n actually my main question is what to teach her first, i know that the hand issue will be overcome in due time.

i realise that she's having probs playing open chords and strumming properly. i'm not sure if what i went thru is the right/ fastest approach, so care to share ur experiences?

 

[Whitestrat]

i forgot to mention, she's aiming to be a pop-playing strummer.

If she can't fret one note properly, how's she going to fret chords?

 

[pianomankris]

woaho, the replies are mostly about developing technique for lead-playing, as i expected. i forgot to mention, she's aiming to be a pop-playing strummer. n actually my main question is what to teach her first, i know that the hand issue will be overcome in due time.

No - you misunderstand.

Basic finger movement/accuracy/finger independence is necessary in order to play chords, as was pointed out on the post above this one.

You can't accurately place 3 fingers simultaneously if you can't place one finger accurately.

The steps are - basic playing/fretting of notes, then chords, then lead playing.

Basics can last years - as they should.



My advice - and don't take this the wrong way - is to advise her to get a guitar teacher - not a tutor, but a teacher - someone who is qualified to teach, and understands the anatomy of the hand/arm etc. Someone who also understands how to teach different ages/ability levels would help.

I'd advise that you yourself don't teach her - by the questions you are asking, you'll probably either put her off guitar by giving her things too hard, or, more seriously, you could physically damage her hands.

If you want to teach, you should go to uni and learn how to teach. Too much damage is done to too many people by individuals who think they can teach. You should think seriously about this.



If you are just helping her out as a friend, then let her know you can play the guitar a little, but don't know the first thing about teaching it, and tell her you don't understand the anatomy of the hand, and could potentially cause her damage.

It would only be fair.

 

[djasli]

No - you misunderstand.

Basic finger movement/accuracy/finger independence is necessary in order to play chords, as was pointed out on the post above this one.

You can't accurately place 3 fingers simultaneously if you can't place one finger accurately.

The steps are - basic playing/fretting of notes, then chords, then lead playing.

Basics can last years - as they should.



My advice - and don't take this the wrong way - is to advise her to get a guitar teacher - not a tutor, but a teacher - someone who is qualified to teach, and understands the anatomy of the hand/arm etc. Someone who also understands how to teach different ages/ability levels would help.

I'd advise that you yourself don't teach her - by the questions you are asking, you'll probably either put her off guitar by giving her things too hard, or, more seriously, you could physically damage her hands.

If you want to teach, you should go to uni and learn how to teach. Too much damage is done to too many people by individuals who think they can teach. You should think seriously about this.



If you are just helping her out as a friend, then let her know you can play the guitar a little, but don't know the first thing about teaching it, and tell her you don't understand the anatomy of the hand, and could potentially cause her damage.

It would only be fair.

Very well said and I agree with your argument completely....

 

[cold_static544]

isnt about the hands or fingers, but how the brain controls them to make music on the guitar.

basic finger exercises and basic chords would be good,

itll be good also to ensure fingertips are pependicular to the fretboard when playing, dont have to follow this to the dot laaaa, but can serve as a guideline.

and learn lotsa songs, so everything can be applied in a more musical way. learning songs are very important for strum and sing guitarists in my opinion.