basics of rhythm:

- notes and note values

- corresponding rests

- basic reading

- counting and subdividing

- time signatures

- dotted notes

- 3:4 basic polyrhythm. 1 & 2 bar phrases

- 4-bar phrases (and counting system)

- other counting systems (eastern / using fingers)

- application to guitar (each hand separately)

- basic time scale (quarters, eighths, triplets, sixteenths, etc.)

- a more in-depth look at triplets

- odd-time signatures

- counting odd times

- shifting accents / cross-rhythms

- rhythmic illusions / metric modulations

www.kirasmall.com

www.myspace.com/kirasmall

http://concertsinyourhome.com/artist/kirasmall.html

www.bryanbeller.com

Kira and Bryan featured on CNN.com

New manuscript of Romanza dicovered! 

Leading 19th century music specialists have discovered what academics have confirmed to be the original manuscript of the world’s most famous guitar solo, Romanza. Age has wearied the manuscript and the composer’s name remains lost. However, barely legible musical markings confirm that for decades the performance practices of many beginner guitarists have led the vanguard of understanding of this sometimes complex music. Classical Guitar Review would like to thank Andrew Blanch and the Sydney Classical Guitar Society, who discovered the manuscript, for granting permission to publish this invaluable resource.

Download the PDF here and share this amazing discovery with your friends!

Our ears can often play tricks on us and one of the harshest truths we have to come to terms with as guitarists is…we don’t always sound as good as we think we do. By no means should we become hyper-critical of our own playing but in order to improve we must be aware of our deficiencies. The best possible way to listen to your own playing objectively is to record yourself practicing. After going through the process of recording myself and my students I have noticed one consistent error in playing, which is to leave out notes at the end of measures. It occurs most noticeably in fast passages where there is a shift involved. Because our focus is drawn to the technical difficulty of achieving the shift the last note of a measure can often be played poorly or even left out all together.

In order to remedy this situation you first need to become aware of the dropped notes. Recording yourself or the help of a teacher will quickly highlight trouble spots take a highlighter and mark in the score all of the notes that are being left out. Once you have identified the problem areas, work your way through each section accenting the notes that are normally obscured. Through slow and mindful work your ears and fingers will become accustomed to how the music should sound. Gradually increase the tempo of the passage until you can play all the notes clearly. Another means to get a different perspective on a passage that is suffering from dropped notes is by using a metronome set to the 2nd and 4th beat or even off beat subdivisions. This works at altering our down beat inclination of accenting the 1st beat of each bar and having all other beats suffer from a disproportionate lack of attention.

Camp Hours and Information

Fall Session – September 13-17, 2010

Camp hours: Monday – Friday (9am to 4pm)

Tuition: $300 – includes: five full days of camp, GDJC gig bag (t-shirt, strings, picks, guitar strap, field trip to a professional recording studio and a professional photo shoot)

Clinics include:
♪ Guitar Exploration and Fret Board Knowledge
♪ Scales and Modes for Improvisation
♪ Music Theory and Ear Training
♪ Guitar Practice Techniques
* maximize the effectiveness of your playing
♪ Technology and Recording
* Learn to make a home recording using Garage Band and Pro Tools
♪ Musical applications for your amplifier and effects pedals
♪ Playing with a rhythm section

The GJC Experience:
Our instructors foster a positive and non-competitive learning environment through group clinics and one-on-one sessions. GJC is held at Guitar Decatur, a relaxed and comfortable setting where players can interact with other musicians and enhance their overall musical experience.

Check out the Guitar Decatur Jam Camp website for more info and to register today!

Derek McCoy has been playing guitar for 20 years, after falling in love with the instrument at the age of 11. He moved to Atlanta from North Carolina in 1999 to study at the Atlanta Institute of Music. Since graduating he has become an accomplished jazz guitarist and shared the stage with some of the best musicians Atlanta has to offer along with leading his own jazz trio. Although Derek specializes in jazz guitar, he studies and teaches rock, blues, funk and R&B among other styles.

If you would like to make a contribution to the cause please contact us at (404) 915-4599.

For more info on participating Decatur merchants and restaurants, log onto www.thedecaturminute.wordpress.com

Crate Bass amp MXB10

Remember that the lessons are about the student, not the teacher. Your job is to help your students learn, grow, and develop. It is not simply to present what you would do . . . they are not you. This does not mean that your experiences will not be relevant to them. They might be, especially your struggles and discoveries, but it helps to realize that you, as teacher and artist, exist with an entirely different sense of physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual sensitivities that have already been developed to a certain level.

Part of your job is to help your students refine and deepen the sensitivity and integrity of their abilities to respond to music on a physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual level and then to express those responses through performance in a way that is authentic and creative, rather than mannered, derivative, or manipulative. Expecting the student to be able to duplicate your positions, movements, sounds, phrases, musical ideas, or artistry, will only frustrate you both. Self-centered ability often forgets the paths that must be traversed.

Teach through positive movement. Students at all levels need to succeed. If you really know your students, you will be able to be provide them challenges that will be stimulating, while at the same time provide them with ways of successfully meeting those challenges. This is teaching through positive movement. If you do not know your students, you run the risk of giving them assignments that will teach them frustration and confusion. You can see this through your results. Over time, have your students progressed towards greater technical and artistic liberation, have they become more inhibited, or is there little perceptible change?

Good teaching means helping your students change the way they think rather than simply telling them what to do. While teaching may often consist of telling students what to do, it almost always involves helping them change the way they think. While it is folly to tell them what to think, you must provide them experiences and challenges that help their consciousness expand its current boundaries.

If you ask a student to give up something, you must replace it with something better, even if that something can only be a promise right now. During re-training it may be necessary for students to stop playing music for a period so they can focus on developing a more effective and responsive technique. Or they may need to work on easier pieces while they learn a new way of studying or approaching interpretation. Although it may be pedagogically responsible to ask the students to give up their old way of doing things, it can be difficult and disorienting for the student. This makes it imperative for you to use all of your artistry, eloquence, and patience to explain to the student why changes are needed and how these changes can lead them to a higher level of musicianship.

Students need to know five things as they work. It is the teacher’s responsibility to help their students:

? know what to do (their objective) for each task or assignment

? know why this is important .

? know how to best go about doing it.

? know how to evaluate what they’re doing to see whether they have succeeded (the ability to apply objective criteria).

? know what to change and how to change if they see that they’re not successful.

Good teaching also means reflecting back to the student the good things: ?I loved the way you built that phrase and then backed off. You really took me someplace,? or, ?Your sound is great here!? When making a positive comment, keep the tone and do not qualify it by saying: ?That was good but . . . . .? Your good intentions will disappear into the conjunction ?but.? Many teachers think good teaching is always letting the student know what’s wrong or where their performances fall short. It’s not. Help your students see what is good about their work.

To read more about “The Virtuoso Teacher” go to www.christopherberg.com

The course runs from May 10th through June 7th and will meet every Monday from 7pm to 8:00pm.

fee: $150 – must register prior to January 25th.

(includes 5  sessions and materials. You must provide your own guitar)

For more details and to sign up for the course please contact us at (404) 915-4599 or email info@guitardecatur.com