General+Information

1. If the student does not already own a guitar then make sure they purchase one from a music store. Avoid buying musical instruments from toy stores, department stores, etc. Go to an actual **music** store. Speak to a person there that plays guitar (not a drummer working the counter), and see what the guitarist would recommend. You can usually get something pretty good to start with for around $200.00. This will not be a throw a way instrument. If the students sticks with it, he/she will eventually upgrade, but this $200.00 instrument they started on will be a great guitar to take to the beach, or on a camping trip, or for a younger sibling to start with. For $200.00 you we be getting more than a toy.
 * __ Basic Suggestions __**

2. Get an electronic tuner. You can get an inexpensive one for about $20.00 at any music store. This is very necessary if you have a class of students. You might need several of them. I recommend the [|Intellitouch] tuner. With this tuner you can tune in a noisy environment (such as a guitar class). This is slightly more expensive. A tuner is a must for a beginning student. Of course, you'll have to teach them how to use it.

3. Get into chords and strumming patterns right away. I'll make many suggestions for easy repertoire.

4. My belief is that students must be able to read standard notation and tabulature. There are many great guitar tabulature sites on the internet. [|Ultimate Guitar Tabs] is a good resource. A good guitar primer is the [|Alfred Guitar Method] (book 1). This will get the student started on reading standard notation.

5. It is essential that guitar students listen to music. iTunes store is an excellent resource. If you're working on //Horse With No Name// by America, then, the student should know the original and the sound he/she is shooting for. They should be encouraged to download it from the iTunes store.

6. There are so many great publications and other learning tool available today. I'll suggest them as they occur to me. If you are teaching guitar class and are not a guitarist it is helpful when a publication specifies a strumming pattern to go along with the chords. This gives a beginner a very specific goal to work toward. You do not want your explanations to beginners to be nebulous. Be concrete. Be specific.