Gentle Guitar™ is an Online Guitar Curriculum Specifically Designed For Children
We all know that the best time for a child to learn a musical instrument is as early as he or she is able to attend and understand. It’s a shame that school systems wait so long to introduce music lessons to children.
One of the benefits of Gentle Guitar™ is flexibility in scheduling. We are a family of early risers and so on this particular day, our lesson was scheduled for 6:30 am. T was able to have a guitar lesson before catching the bus!
WHAT DID THE 7 1/2-YEAR-OLD THINK OF GENTLE GUITAR?
Leo is 7 1/2-years-old and has been taking piano lessons since he was 6 1/2-years-old, so he went into these lessons with a musical background.
Leo had a blast! He thought it was fantastic that he was chatting with an instructor in New Zealand! During his first lesson, he reviewed some music theory concepts and notes. He also learned the parts of a guitar and how to properly hold and strum the guitar.
Now, as the parent of a gifted child, I thoroughly appreciated how our instructor, Inga Hope, was able to zip through the parts that Leo already knew. There was no drill and kill with Gentle Guitar, but rather if he demonstrated that he knew something, he moved on.
At the beginning of our lessons, our instructor said the guitar would be fine for the first several lessons, but Leo zipped through his lessons and needed an actual guitar (read: one that could hold a tune). It was clear the child-sized guitar pictured above was not going to cut it.
We initially tried the lesson with one of Schizz’s old guitars, with little brother happily playing back-up, but our instructor did not want to continue with a steel stringed guitar, as it is too hard on little fingers. As a parent, I appreciated that our instructor was on top of this and concerned for my child.
The moral of this story is to try to stay one step ahead of your gifted child. Leo has his sights on a real, kid-sized guitar for Christmas, and assuming Santa delivers on this hope, that’s perfect timing in order to take advantage of Gentle Guitar’s February 2016 online guitar course start!
WHAT DID THE ALMOST 6-YEAR-OLD THINK OF GENTLE GUITAR?
T was thrilled when she learned that she could finish up our Gentle Guitar™ lessons. She had been watching Leo’s lessons and was anxious to get started. At almost 6-years-old, T has yet to take music lessons of any kind so these were her very first lessons!
1.T’s first lesson started off with an introduction to quarter notes. She learned what quarter notes look like and how many counts they have. After tracing the notes herself, it was time to try them out. First, by clapping and, later, by strumming the guitar.
2.Next, it was time for T to learn about half notes. Then, it was time to mix it up. T was asked to look at this page and fill in the number of counts below each note. When she was finished, she followed along by clapping.
3.At times, my sweet T got nervous. Our instructor, Inga Hope, handled this beautifully. She encouraged my little two to sit together. There is safety in numbers!
It is safe to say that Miss T loved her first music lesson. And, do you want to know a bonus? We had a blast eating breakfast together, chatting about New Zealand and geography. T was over-the-moon that she had Skyped with someone on the other side of the globe!
