Beginners

What will we be covering?

The over-arching aims are to:

• get everyone playing together
• learn a few tunes to take away and finesse
• have some fun!

We’ll literally start at the beginning with the basics:

• getting a good set-up
• reading chord boxes, TAB, song sheets and basic rhythm
• forming essential open chords (and a few other cool ones!)
• creating a solid strumming groove
• learning how to change between the chords accurately and cleanly
• maybe touching on some very useful and practical theory aspects to help put things into context
• looking at how to practise
• arming you with a wad of great songs to work on

And if we get time:

• looking at options for playing barre chords but without the barre
• introducing you to fingerstyle and trying some fingerpicking patterns over familiar chords with rhythms you’ve already looked at
• delving into the Blues: chords, shuffle, 12 bar form, basic intro/turnaround, etc.

The course generally has a smaller class size compared to our others in order to  allow more one-on-one time and we take things at  whatever pace suits the group.

The course will set you off on the right path but the main work is done at home. We provide a comprehensive set of lesson materials to help this process. Beginners gets you ready for Strugglers which is our entry-level course for players who have a few years under their musical belt.

Who’s this course suitable for?

It’s suitable for all beginner levels of acoustic, electric and bass guitarists e.g.

• just starting on the journey
• been playing for a year or so but hitting major road blocks

But also for people who have played for years but don’t really feel that you’ve got a map or your engine is stuttering or you’re just stuck in a musical rut – you need an MOT or bump start. You might be at the low intermediate level (this is where our Strugglers course comes into its own — check it out)

What’s included in the price?

There are a number of ways of attending our courses: residential, non-residential and sharing with a spouse/partner.

Our price for players is all-inclusive:

• tuition and materials
• accommodation and breakfasts (double en suite room whether single or sharing), dinners, lunch and morning/afternoon refreshment breaks)

Our prices for following are also available:

• Non-residential players excludes B&B.
• Non-playing sharing spouse/partners excludes: lunch and refreshments.

Materials

• Course sheets will be handed out over the weekend.
• Revision and practice materials will be made available to you after the course e.g. audio/video recordings, any supplementary PDFs and photos of flip charts.

And finally

Our weekend courses are teaching/playing guitar-fests but they’re paced to suit the group so they’re as much about having fun and enjoying a sociable time with fellow hobby players.

Playing together as a group is the best, and most enjoyable, way of learning and experiencing music. The courses have limited numbers to ensure the correct tutor-to-group ratio – book early to avoid disappointment.

Make a weekend of it!