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Private Lessons
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Private 30 minute lesson $25.00
Private 60 minute lesson $50.00
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Group Lessons
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Small group lessons are offered.
Classes are one hour long.
The
price is $25.00 per class.
Classes are offered for a 10 week period payable in advance.
Beginner Class
Intermediate class
Advancing
Class
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Policy
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Welcome To The Ottawa Guitar School
I will outline several things that will be required by both
you and I if you are to meet your goal of playing guitar.
The Secret Ingredient May you come to understand that the "secret" to playing well lies with
what level of relaxation you can achieve, both physically and mentally, before you begin to play.
A wise musician said "Warm up your fingers and warm up your heart, and you'll have a warm sound".
When
we play there is no tension in either of our hands. Our fingers dance over the strings and fingerboard using what
Scott Tenant named "dynamic relaxation" which immediately returns to relaxation
after the delivery of each note or chord.
A wise musician said "Warm up your fingers and warm up your heart, and you'll have a warm sound".
Practice Routine
Beginners must be able to practice for at least one hour per
day, spread over at least three separate twenty minute focused practice sessions.
2. Second session practice any new chords you are learning related to the song of the week.
3. The third session should be spent mastering the song that you are working on.
If you have aspirations of greatness then you must increase your practice time to at least three to six hours per day, as well as doing performances.
One of my early teachers, Bob Sabourin of Ottawa, said something that became my personal moto,
Practice all day, play all night, make sure you always have a gig.
A Few Tips About Learning To Play Guitar
Lessons allow you to be with your teacher for only 1/2 hour per week, so pay close attention.
This 1/2 hour of lessons per week is not our only guitar experience for that week.
This 1/2 hour of lessons per week is not our only guitar experience for that week.
We learn from our friends that we meet during the week.
We also have several magazines that contain lessons and insights, like Acoustic Guitar Magazine, or Just Jazz Guitar for the more advanced learners.
You should seek out a guitar buddy, someone you can practice with and play songs together.
You should try to get into a band with your friends.
Reading Music
Learning music also includes
learning how to read the notes as you play them on your instrument. The guitar takes a lot of practice to learn to read
properly. Perhaps that's why most guitarists are not sooooo good at reading. However having an understanding
of musical notation, is required and with twenty minutes of daily "reading" practice you will achieve success.
Ear Training
You can
only play what you can hear!
Most important in your quest to learn music on
the guitar is to train your ears (that's your inner ear) to hear from both without and within.
"Without" training requires you to transcribe
by ear what others are playing. This is easy, just turn on your favourite music and start playing along. You can get
it if you're sincere.
"Within"
training requires you to think of a musical line and then play it, eventually thinking and playing at the same time.
Simultaneously singing the line that you're playing will greatly enhance this process and could add another technique
for you to call upon playing. This also really helps you to improvise.
Bring a recording devise to all lessons so I can record what you will need to practice.
Bring a recording devise to all lessons so I can record what you will need to practice.
Let's play a little relaxation game...
See how relaxed you can get,
without falling out of the chair!