Well, I started giving lessons at church. I'm no master, but I told some of the youth that if they wanted to learn, I could get them going in the right direction. Being self taught, I began second guessing myself as to whether I can really make lessons. I just figured that I would go through the basic 12 or so chords first and not get into scales or theory at all until later. Then I began thinking that maybe I should add in a minor pentatonic scale to get the fingers moving and get them used to using their digits. That way, they won't be just strumming chords all the time and it will allow them to break it up and give them a little more to play around with.....then again should I just get them started on the chromatic scale?

Any suggestions as to how to start them out or a lesson outline you may know of online, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Also, any suggestions to any easy songs to get them started on using C, D, G, E, Am, and Em chords?

Also, one kid asked yesterday if I could recommend a good starter amp. Well, I didn't want him to have to go out and buy a blues Jr. or a Marshall stack or anything right now. What are some good starter amps?

Not sure if it would pass for a church song....but House of the Rising Sun comes to mind using Am, Em, C, D, F the "F" may be a tough sell if teaching young uns though.....best to probaby teach them church songs... "I'll fly away" is a good one using D, G, and A....simple progression. (sorry its the only one I've played ) as far as a good practice amp...as funds will be low the kid should just get what he (or parents) can afford....nothing fancy to start, in case they lose interest.. I have a (and no wise cracks guys lol) Johnson that I have used out on the road as a practice amp, and it has worked great. Best they check their local paper, or craigslist for a better deal than buying new. Hope I helped...and good luck to you, and I think it's great you are devoting your time to teach these young uns!

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I can't find the Crossroads, my GPS must be broke....


2001 Fender Highway One, 2004 Fender SE Ash, 2011 Fender 200 SCE '99 Washburn WR120Pro, Amps: Fender Stage 160, Vox Valvetronix 30, Peavey 212 400 watt, Ibanez 50 watt Toneblaster

The fender FM range are good as are the G-Dec 3 (also very versatile), the roland cube is pretty good too

Thanks Jayro. Actually, I don't have to start out with church songs. My main focus is to keep them interested enough so they don't give up. As you know, if you can learn something you know and possibly impress a friend or two with what you learned, you have a tendancy to keep wanting to learn. If church music is something they want to play once they're playing well enough, then so be it. I'm just looking for as many basic chord songs out there that will help keep them interested. We're not going to play "Shout at the Devil" or anything in the Family Life Center, but Rock N Roll is pretty much what these guys listen to and the preacher seems to like the fact that more youth are showing up and this is a cause of it.

I guess my problem is that I seem to know alot of songs that they don't. Meaning.....I'm getting old and apparently my music is outdated. I thought I was being pretty good by bringing up "Every Rose has its Thorn." They had never heard it. Although it did warm my heart when my 16 year old son not only knew it but brought up a beatles song to play. At least there's one teen that knows his music. Anyways.......any songs you can think of.... old and new are appreciated.....and any other suggestions.

Hey Jack,
Im sure you can go online or to a music store an check out "Church friendly" tunes for beginners They usually have 2 or 4 open chords as well as the lyrics

Also check out justinguitar.com he has very good lessons as well as hoe toos!

Good luck

Bill

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Thanks Bill. I'll do that.

It's a really good deed you're doing there, Jack. Wish I could have somewhere to go to be taught when I started out. Again, glad you're doing this. Being 16 myself, you may call it odd, but there's little of today's mainstream music scene that I'm into, and my taste almost solely lies within artists such as Dylan, Young, Clapton, John Mayall (it's his birthday today!), Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Who, The Animals - you get the picture. So in addition to give them a start off of how to play, you might find that you're actually introducing them to music they're unfamiliar with at this point, but will turn out to like after all. I mean, any boy with both a sense of reason and the slightest interest in guitar will feel eager to learn by just seeing how Hendrix, Townshend etc. work.
So don't be afraid to teach them music strange to their ears, it might just add up to a little bonus. Start them off with easy 2/3 chord strummers, then introduce the dreaded F chord after a while, then maybe move on to some simple picking etc. (Wish You Were Here?). I heard House Of the Risin Sun being mention, great tune to start off with, pick it the Animals way or beat it the Dylan way.
Btw, you might want to check out what Justin Sandercoe does. http://justinguitar.com/
No advertising here, just wanting to say that his lessons on everything is basically what it took for me to learn how to play. Still doing them, day after day.

Good luck!

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When 900 years you reach, look as good you will not!
- Master Yoda

Thanks Boffer! As much as a diverse amount of music that I play and listen to, that's a great idea of giving them a wide variety of music to learn. It's great to hear another young man that likes real music. My son gets a lot of looks when he drives to school listening to the Beatles, Smashing Pumpkins, Hendrix,Vai, Gvt Mule etc. He's better for it too. I'll make a cd with the songs that I'll teach first which will give them an idea what the songs sound like and so they can play with the music later.

Oh and to all that mentioned it, Justin's site was a good idea. Been reading that site for a few years now. Thanks for the idea of using some of his information.

I think when someone is just learning guitar, teaching them chord triads (G, C, D etc.) as well as the notes on each string, each fret up the neck.
Very first though would just be teaching a few chords that can be played together and having them work on basic 1,2,3,4 strums. YMMV but that's where I'd start.

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That is very nice of you. Wish you a success.

As for song suggestions, I would recommend you talk to your students and find out what songs get them and search google "insert song name tab chords" for the beginning. Later once they get comfortable with their axes get them to listen the song of their choice and try to find chords themselves.
In my opinion, the ear (brain) training is more important for music than the more mechanical aspect of guitar playing. If you know the music, with steady practice of instrument mechanics, for a lack of a better term, you can learn to play comfortably fairly fast.