BEGINNER SERIES The Guitar Anatomy Headstock Nut Neck Frets Truss Rod Body Pickups Pickup Switch

up Switch Knobs Volume Tone Bridge Saddles Tremelo Bar Pick Guard Tuners Have the student touch each part and identify it. Strings E A D G B e Have the student recite each string at the beginning and end of practice. How to Hold the Guitar Standing Ideally at a 45 degree angle to the floor or whatever feels most comfortable for your wrist Sitting Cutaway on your right leg with the neck held in a comfortable position Strumming Rest Stroke Use thumb to strum and rest on the next string Practice this in time with a metronome for each pair of strings Strumming with the Thumb Strum all the strings with the thumb Practice this with the strings muted and with a metronome Strumming with a Pick

IMPORTANT: watch for potential bad habits, make sure to touch upon economy of motion, fluid movements, and maintaining relaxation by starting slowly and building up speed naturally. Fretting First, identify frets Next, show how to fret a note, where to press, with how much force, and with the correct part of the fingertip for each finger Make sure to touch upon using a light touch and practice moving fingers slowly up and down on the string, next with enough pressure to fret a note Then, fret one note per finger Chords Show the student how to play D and G. Teach them the correct fingers to use, and have them strum. There will be clunking notes so ask Am I using my fingertips? Am I just behind the fret, not on top of it? Are the strings against the neck? Show them how a chord diagram relates to the neck. Once they can play the D chord and G chord and strum it cleanly. Have them practice moving back and forth between the two. IMPORTANT: watch for bent wrist while trying to play, there should be no wrist pain, fingertip pain is normal and will subside with time and as you develop calluses. IMPORTANT: emphasize the importance of accuracy of playing while practicing. show what will happen as a result of not doing so (brain gives you the wrong chord while playing some percentage of the time because you practiced incorrectly)