At the Omaha School of Music and Dance, instructors aim to make learning fun! One of OSMD’s most popular lessons is for Guitar. Our guitar teachers go above and beyond pure theory and performance, making sure each student can channel their inspiration. Here is what you can expect in your first Guitar Lesson:
Our teacher’s main goals when instructing guitar is to make sure students are having fun, with reason to be engaged in their own development. Students are asked what songs or artists inspired the student to take guitar lessons. With this framework for inspiration, lessons move into the basics of guitar playing.
Firstly, a student learns how the guitar works, and the anatomy of the instrument. The next step in this first lesson is to address how a guitarist holds their body while playing, as well as the position of the hands.
In order to make pleasant sounds on the guitar, the student will learn how to tune the guitar. Being able to the tune the guitar is paramount to successful practice hours at home. It takes a little bit of aural training, to hear the intervals between the strings, but by the end of the first lesson, a student will know this valuable and fundamental skill.
Progressing into the actual playing of the guitar, basic picking and strumming are addressed. The student is shown exercises to help develop the coordination required for guitar.
While reading music is very important, and is a long-term goal of guitar lessons, most students will first learn how to read a chord chart, which addresses finger positions on the fret board. Students are taught a few chords, unlocking a number of simple yet fun songs to be played. At this point, the student will have covered all the basics of guitar playing—an excellent foundation on which to grow, but fun, too!
As an example of what can be expected, students in Introduction to Guitar (ages 7-10) master all of the technical aspects to holding the guitar, and by the end of the second lesson left being able to playing simple Beatles’ tunes.
While the year is still young, the Omaha School of Music and Dance encourages you to consider guitar lessons, group or private, for you or your child. Be the inspiration rock, jazz, or classical guitar, give us a call to schedule your first guitar lesson at the Omaha School of Music and Dance.
