Duke of Edinburgh Awards Skills, guitar lessons

    24 Oct Completing your DofE skills section?

    Posted at 19:43h in DofE by

    DofE Gold, skills section.

    Do you want to find an enjoyable skill that will help you complete the DofE Gold awards for the Skills Section?

    Learning an instrument coupled with music theory is a fun and enjoyable way to achieve the Skills section for either the bronze, silver or gold award.

    When learning a skill such as the guitar it will naturally take time. Whether you’ve previously shown an interest or would like to improve your existing skills you can complete your DofE skill’s section online, face to face, or a mix of the two.

    Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Guitar and music theory Lessons

    Whether or not you’re completing your DofE I like to encourage my guitar students learn how to read the music as well as learning how to play. Guitarists are notorious for not being able to read. Other guitar teachers might not be able to read at all.

    There are three main approaches when learning music:

    • You could learn by ear
    • You could learn from the notation and or tablature
    • You could learn by copying.

    Music Theory ABRSM

    Purchase your ABRSM Grade 1 Music Theory book.

    My teaching method will allow you to learn how to play any song by your self whether guitar, jazz guitar, classical guitar, finger-style guitar.

    We’d all like to learn songs as quickly as possible. The reality is that you’ll want to learn a method rather than just the tune. At the beginning, you’re ‘learning how to learn’. It will take longer but the benefits are that you’ll be able to learn any tune by your self once you have the confidence..

    Who are your musical influences?

    When completing your skills section for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, learning the guitar is a good skill to choose. You’ll develop co-ordination, stamina, strength, chord knowledge, rhythm.

    Lots of beginners like to compliment their learning style with MKGTV’s bespoke streaming service. It’s a streaming service designed to help beginners learn with confidence.

    Ask yourself, who your musical influences are and what type of guitar it is they use, is it an electric, classical, or an acoustic guitar? You’ll most likely purchase your second guitar based on this choice and once you can play a few tunes to a respectable standard.

    As a beginner guitarist

    Which ever style it is you enjoy listening to, the basics are all the same. As a beginner guitarist you can expect to develop: left and right hand coordination, learning to apply the pressure on the strings correctly, understanding how to read chord charts and building confidence whilst learning and following instructions with new vocabulary. 

    Do you need help choosing your first guitar? 

    If you need some help choosing your first guitar to get started with your Duke of Edinburgh awards, here are some helpful tips and a link for you.

    Despite the style of guitar it is you’d like to end up playing, I would always recommend a classical guitar first. All guitar types have their pros and cons for beginner guitarists. The classical guitar for me wins every time and here’s why.

    Purchase your new classical guitar from PMT (Play Music Today).

    Master the basics first.

    At the very beginning of your guitar journey you’ll want to master the basics such as open chords, strength, co-ordination and rhythm. The classical guitar has a wide neck with nylon stings which will help build a solid foundation to move forward with. The beginning stages of learning the guitar are all the same and transfer into which ever style it is you want to be able to play.

    The wide neck of a classical guitar will teach you how to spread your fingers across the fretboard and help you to appreciate a different type of guitar once you’ve become accustomed to developing your hand strength and stamina.

    Classical, acoustic & electric guitars.

    A classical guitar has strings that are made of nylon which compromises the wider guitar neck.

    An acoustic guitar has a skinnier neck with steel strings that are tougher to apply pressure.

    An electric guitar has an even skinnier neck than an acoustic guitar which also uses steel strings.

    Learn the basics

    At the beginning, all guitarist learn the basics. This knowledge will include, chord charts, basic open chords and how to change between them whilst learning how to strum the guitar with a plectrum. Once these basic skills have been accomplished, you can then transfer these skills into the style of plaything that you’d actually like to play; rock, finger-style or classical for example.

    Is it possible to learn the guitar online?

    Learning the guitar online is possible, it makes you a far more independent learner overall. Face to face is more personable and useful but it depends on your mindset. I have a multi-cam set up with high audio to match.

    Do you want to learn guitar or music theory to complete your DofE?

    If you’re interested in learning the guitar or music theory for your Duke of Edinburgh either online or face to face, you are welcome to contact me. Introductory sessions take place on a Thursday with regular lessons happening between Sunday & Thursday 630pm.

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