Beginning Guitar | We, Montana!

DESCRIPTION
12 weeks. This course is for true beginners—or for those who wish to refresh their skills and who are patient enough to start over at the beginning. It’s for ages 10 and up, and parents are encouraged to sign up, too. It will be a very fun-yet-orderly class with lots of humor. Yes, they’ll be learning to play guitar, but along with that also comes a lot of basic musicianship skills, from steady beat to following the Director, and so forth.

We’ll start with the basics, and we’ll be strumming at least two chords by the end of the first class. We’ll also learn to sing along as we play, and we’ll do mostly common folk songs for that. Further, we’ll be learning to play individual notes on the guitar, and not just playing chords—and that’s the difference between being a musician, and being “just a guitar player”!

PERFORMANCE CLASS
While this is certainly not typical or our choral or skits groups, this is a performance class. The entire class will perform as a large ensemble at a semester-ending show on the date listed below.

CODE OF CONDUCT
A Code of Conduct agreement is required for this course. This helps to ensure the positive environment in each class. This document is being updated and will be published this summer.

SCHEDULE
Class meets Tuesdays, 1:05pm – 2:05pm
11 January through 28 March–with a concert to follow as below:

CONCERT DATE

Public Speaking and Class Guitar Recital (One night only)
Thursday 31 March, 2022
Performers report at 5:00
House opens at 6:00.
Show is at 6:30 pm.
Location to be announced

MATERIALS/INSTRUMENTS NEEDED
Each student must bring a guitar (see details below), soft or medium-soft guitar picks (grab a handful because they break and get lost easily), a method book (see below), and a portable music stand. See the images below for details.

This single volume ($24.99 at Hansen’s) contains all three levels–
and we should cover at least two of these in this two-semester course.

You’ll need an acoustic guitar in good condition (including new-ish strings) for this class. Either a “Classical” (top photo) or a “Folk” (bottom photo) guitar will do, provided it’s of average quality. If it’s a discount guitar, such as from Walmart, it may not hold a tuning well enough. Sorry, but electric guitars, cool as they are, are just too difficult for this class, given their instrument cables and amps and power cords and extra set-up/take-down time. Hansen’s is great for guitar advise and maintenance, if you’re not sure. Also, be sure the guitar is big enough for the student. The guitar Grandpa bought him when he was 8 is likely to be too small for him once he’s 14!

This is a professional Manhasset stand that will last for years. It’s a pain to transport compared to a collapsible stand. Prices range from around $50 to $80.

Collapsible stands of this sort sell for around $15 to $20, and may last anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 years, depending on how they are used and cared for.

POLICIES
The following policies must be read and understood to enroll in this class. This is a lot of stuff because it takes a lot of details to run an excellent organization for everybody. Please invest the time to study all this. You will be asked at registration to give your word that you have done it.

House Rules
Communication Policy
Code of Conduct
Performance & Rehearsal Attendance Policy
COVID-19 Policy
Special Needs Policy
Spring 2022 Performance Schedule

PERFORMANCE DRESS CODE
For our semester-ending performance, everyone should dress “really nice”. Please, no shorts or tank tops.

CAPACITY
Maximum 30 students. Minimum 12.

LOCATION
This course meets, as do all our courses, in the We, Montana! Great Room.

INSTRUCTOR
Jack Pelham

FEE $70 for the semester.