Would you like to: 

A) Recruit new music students?
B) Create broader support from parents and administrators?
C) Take on a new and interesting professional challenge?

If so, consider adding a guitar class to your music program next year. You might ask: “How does a non-guitar playing teacher teach a guitar class?” Essentially you will be teaching what you already know – music is the subject, and guitar is simply the medium. Students will also respect the fact that you are learning along with them.

Some of the additional skills students will learn from guitar class are to:

• Sing and accompany themselves.
• Play solos and in ensembles.
• Listen and perform music in many styles.
• Work with electronic instruments, MIDI, and computers.
   

A number of resources are available to help you get started, including the Summer Teaching Guitar Workshops sponsored by the Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association (GAMA), the International Music Products Association (NAMM), and MENC. These workshops provide you with one week of instruction, a free guitar, various guitar publications and accessories, and three graduate credits. Visit 2009 Teaching Guitar Workshops to find out when and where the workshops are held and how to register.

Suzanne Shull, chair of the MENC Guitar Education Teaching Guitar Workshops, said, “The guitar is the most popular and versatile of instruments. It has become an integral part of music programs around the nation, by increasing the number of students who are actively involved in music making. From upper elementary grades through high school, the guitar is a proven vehicle for navigating the richness of music education propelled by the National Standards of Music Education.”

Already teach guitar? Did you know that you can log on to My Music Class and access guitar lesson plans? Keyword search: Strategies for Teaching Guitar.

-- Nicole Springer. March 24, 2009. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education.