Teaching Ukulele to Children

The ukulele is a wonderful instrument and kids really enjoy both listening and playing it. Since it is making a comeback in a huge way, it has also become cool to be a ukulele player, which can only increase the demand for a ukulele teacher among children and their parents. It is also highly suitable for children, as explained in this article: http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/why-are-ukulele-lessons-suitable-for-children/. If your aim is to teach ukulele to children, you need to keep certain things in mind in order to cater to the specific needs of youngsters.

Marketing

If you are not already established as a ukulele teacher, then the first thing you need to do is to market yourself. If no one knows you can teach the ukulele, they aren’t going to approach you. You could distribute leaflets in your community, to start off. Contacting the local schools and public institutions and leaving your contact details are not a bad ideas either. Schools and libraries usually are happy to give such music programs a boost. If you know other ukulele teachers in the locality, contact them and let them know you are happy to take a few students if they find their workload too high. For all this, networking is essential. Consider it a business, so marketing has to be done accordingly. After all, you have to convince both parents and children!

Providing materials

It is expected that the student will bring his or her own instrument. But as most parents have no clue what kind of ukuleles to purchase, it would be appreciated if you can assist them. Apart from the instrument, you will have to provide all the other materials required for ukulele lessons for kids. These would include sheet music, books, chord charts, etc. They can be quite expensive, so budget for them.

Setting a price

Find out the going rate for ukulele lessons by the hour and schedule your fees accordingly. If you are a professional with a lot of experience, then you must be compensated for your time. Don’t be afraid of asking for what you are worth. It is, after all, a full-time career for you. If you are an advanced student, then you can lower the rates a little. But make sure you don’t take in students who are of a level close to yours. You need to be really well ahead of your class or you will not be able to do them justice.

Dealing with students

Once you start lessons, you will discover that the kids all respond to your teaching in different ways. Some will pick up things much faster than the others. You will have to give individual attention to each student for this reason. Just because you are teaching a group does not mean that each person in the group will progress at the same level. You teaching method will have to make allowances for this fact, and at the same time you have to ensure that every student is gaining something.  In the end, you need teaching skills to teach children.

If you want to start giving ukulele lessons to children, your best marketing tool will be your students and their parents. Do a good job and they will recommend you to others. In a couple of years, you would have established yourself. For more information on teaching ukulele and guitar, refer to: http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/.

Selecting an Electric Guitar Teacher

There are always musical geniuses who start playing the guitar (or any other instrument) at a young age and go on to take the world by storm. But since this is not true for everyone, it makes sense to spend some time and thought on deciding a good guitar teacher. A good teacher will bring out the best in you and will make a competent guitarist out of you. They will also pave the way for you to join the world of music by helping you with networking and encouraging you to participate. For more information on why a good teacher is essential for electric guitar lessons, please read: http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/why-to-take-electric-guitar-lessons-from-a-good-teacher/. In this article, we will see what a good teacher must not do.

• When it comes to learning how to play the guitar, you can learn a lot from the internet for free. The reason why you choose physical lessons with a good teacher is because you want to learn the right techniques so you can benefit the most from your lessons. Your teacher must teach you how to hold the guitar properly and help you develop a comfortable posture. If they tell you to just do whatever is natural to you, be wary.
• If your teacher is the type of person who schedules classes and then consistently turns up late or is on the phone when they should be teaching, drop them. Your teacher owes you respect. Remember that you are paying for their time and your time is valuable too. If they want to be on the phone, then they should reschedule your class and not waste your precious time.
• If your teacher tries to convince you to do something you don’t want to do, such as switch the genre of music you want to learn or force you to take certification exams, they are probably not the best fit for you. Your teacher must be able to accept the goals you have for yourself, and not force other things down your throat. They must understand your long-term and short-term goals and help you work towards them.
• If your teacher hasn’t written any music of their own, then consider it a red signal. If your goal is to be able to write your own music and set your own tunes, then you need a good deal of guidance to enable you to do so. He or she doesn’t have to be the best guitarist in the world, but they ought to be able to play something more than just cover songs, even if they happen to do it very well.
• If the teacher is rude or makes you feel inadequate, they are a bad teacher. Yes, you are a beginner and yes, you probably don’t know anything. But if the teacher is unable to encourage and motivate you to continue learning, then it’s time to seek another teacher who can do it. Never accept bad treatment from a teacher, and immediately seek out another teacher if this happens.

Your aim in going to a teacher is to learn how to play guitar lessons, so make sure that your teacher does exactly that. If you are not satisfied with them, then you are free to move on and find someone else. With so many guitar teachers around, you have a number of choices but it also becomes slightly complex to figure out who is the best one for you. So keep the above points in mind and check out our website www.guitarlessonssingapore.com for more information.

Acoustic Guitar Lessons For Beginners: How To Break Bad Habits

Guitar players admit that their flaws and weaknesses in guitar playing usually stem from bad habits.  Beginners normally make mistakes. But when left uncorrected and carried out over and over again, students of acoustic guitar lessons for beginners find it really hard to shake it out of their system. These bad habits may seem harmless at first.  It may start out as a simple mistake; or a beginner who has not yet been able to properly execute a particular playing technique.  However, failure to nip it in the bud could hinder your progress in learning to play the guitar properly.  A bad habit is hardly recognizable until it is deeply ingrained.  It would be a real and difficult struggle to unlearn and blot them out of your consciousness.

Before these bad habits become a major pain, here are some ways to identify and correct them:

1. The Thumb Position. Beginners are usually awkward in holding the guitar. Their fingers are usually tensed.  Thus the tendency is to grasp the neck of the guitar, with the thumb extending towards the top of the neck. This would distort the sound of the top string, and it would be difficult for you to play other chords. The correct way is to be relaxed and place your thumb at the middle area at the back of the neck.

2. Out of Tune Guitar. New guitar students may not yet be able to tune their guitars; hence, they just mindlessly press the chords and strum away.  This habit could lead to disastrous results.  Remember that playing the guitar is not just about training your muscle memory to finger the right chords.   It involves training your ears and brain as well to remember the correct sound of a chord.  Apart from sounding horrible, playing out of tune can possibly discourage or make you quit playing the guitar later on.

3. Rushing and skipping ‘the boring stuff”. The over-excitement to become rockstars overnight could hamper the progress of students of acoustic guitar lessons.  Singapore guitar students are exposed to exercises that could enhance their discipline and control.  Rushing to be able to play a song is like being a one-trick pony.  You will lack the skills and depth to mature as a proficient guitar player.  You may still be able to learn to play guitar even if you brushed-off or skipped music theory fundamentals and essential exercises.  You may be able to play guitar fast; but it will get you mostly nowhere.

An acoustic guitar may seem like a relatively simple, easy-to-learn instrument.  Some opt to be self-taught guitar players.  Yet, guitar playing is a discipline.  It is an art-form crafted to produce masterful sounds in the hands of a fully-accomplished player.  If you want to learn the fundamentals of acoustic guitar playing and take your skills up a notch, check out: http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/tips-for-mastering-the-acoustic-guitar/

As the old adage goes:  “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.  Bad habits could be hard to break. It is best to acquire the right attitude and discipline early on.  We recommend www.guitarlessonssingapore.com to refer you to teachers who could lay down the proper guitar playing fundamentals that would usher you to fulfillment and success.

Options for Jazz Guitar Learning Lessons

When considering taking lessons for guitar at any level, there are a considerable number of options available, as can be seen from exploring the website: www.guitarlessonssingapore.com. The problem lies more in the choice than the availability. However, this can be a good thing as you can weigh the pros and cons of each choice and decide according to your needs and limitations. You can also easily switch from one option to the other if your circumstances and needs change over the course of your learning. Let us see what the advantages of each option are.

Group lessons

• If budget is a factor, then group guitar lessons will mean lower expense. Sharing your lessons with other students places less time constraint on the teacher who then reduces the price.
• You learn how to practice with others and how to perform in a group, which is important if you intend to perform gigs in a band. This will also rub out your rough patches and help in overall improvement.
• The competitive spirit remains high and it gives you an incentive to improve and learn quickly.

Private lessons

• Students having trouble in keeping pace with the rest of the class should opt for private lessons. This is also applicable to students who are far ahead of their peers.
• These are flexible and are suitable for a very busy person, who cannot commit to regular group lessons. Make sure to find a teacher who can be flexible, though.
• Travel time will be reduced, which means you can use that time for practicing. You also don’t need to lug your guitar about whenever you have to attend classes. This is especially a great plus for children.

Web lessons

• This is a great resource for those tied to the home due to lack of time or are too busy to find the time for scheduling classes. Just switch on your computer and you are ready to roll!
• You can make contacts and start long-lasting relationships with people you meet online, based on your shared interest. This will automatically improve your chances of working professionally as a jazz guitarist.
• There is a lot more flexibility with web jazz guitar lessons than any other option. You can ask for your lessons to be customized fully to your needs.

Books & Videos

• Books and videos covering important topics on techniques and basic skills are essential for any musician. As important as a teacher is, there is simply no way to proceed without a good explanatory resource which you can consult whenever you like.
• For those unwilling or unable to find the money for regular classes with a decent teacher, books and videos can to some extent assist you in learning, especially once you have a good basis.
• Good learning videos or books usually have a large number of examples that will help you learn well. It is unlikely you will be able to find such an extensive resource anywhere else.

You can also check out some web resources for learning the guitar. This article has a wealth of information on this subject: http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/guitar-resources/. Irrespective of which option you are choosing, it is important to remember that you choose a good teacher or resource for imparting you with the knowledge properly and sufficiently. At the same time, you too need to put in some decent practice in order to show ongoing improvement.

Why Take Ukulele Lessons?

In the recent years, ukulele has established a stronger presence in the music world than ever before. There are uke classes, uke websites and even uke fests! Big names like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton have been uke lovers. Even George Harrison declared that ‘everyone should have and play a uke’. But let’s not take his word for it. Let us find out why exactly the ukulele is so popular, and why it is a good choice to take up ukulele lessons for budding musicians everywhere. Check out our website for more information on learning the guitar and ukulele: www.guitarlessonssingapore.com.

It’s Cheap!

This might not be the most interesting reason ever, nor is this a reason that many people would admit. But you have to be practical because you cannot live on music alone, as much as you would like to. If budget is a constraint, then the ukulele is a great place to start your journey with musical instruments. Cheaper than most other instruments, a good ukulele can be obtained at affordable rates.

It’s easy to carry

The ukulele is much lighter than the guitar and hence makes a good instrument for those who are unable to or don’t want to use heavy instruments. This is especially true in the case of children who might prefer the ukulele to a guitar just because it’s so much easier to handle. It is easier to develop the right posture for beginners with the ukulele because of it weighs less. It is also useful when you want to transport the instrument to classes and gigs. This is one of the reasons ukulele lessons for kids are very popular as can be seen in this article: http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/ukulele-lessons-are-easy-for-your-children/. 

Only four strings

If you have the talent for stringed instruments, the ukulele would be the simplest of them all. With only four strings in the instrument, it is far easier to learn than the guitar which has six strings and can produce far more sounds than the ukulele. It is a common belief that learning the ukulele first paves the way for learning the guitar at a later stage. So even if your main aim is to learn guitar, you can still start with the ukulele. Many guitarists are also great ukulelists.

Popularity

This should not technically be a factor, but since most people learn music because of what they see and hear around them, the ukulele becomes a primary choice. With it being such a popular instrument, the chances of finding a good teacher also increases, which means that you could gain a better grounding of the basics. It also increases your career opportunities since there is a good demand for ukulele players. This in itself makes choosing the ukulele a wise choice for budding musicians.

Simple to learn, easy to use, lightweight to carry and over all, inexpensive – there really is no reason not to learn the ukulele if you are looking for something that will help develop your musical skills but are not yet sure enough to commit the time and money to it. And what’s more, the soulful and beautiful tones of the ukulele might just draw you deep into the music world, developing a strong passion inside you for this instrument, and indeed music in general.

Qualities of Good Jazz Guitar Teachers

Jazz music has its adherents and many students who sign up for learning this particular genre are already well aware of the nuances of jazz music. When they seek someone for teaching them how to play jazz guitar, they need to find one who has a good understanding of teaching as well as of the specific genre of music. Many guitar teachers often have no specialized learning in the genre but tend to take up students merely to make up the numbers. So keep a few things in mind when searching for a jazz guitar teacher.

Awareness of jazz music

If you want to learn jazz guitar, you need a teacher who knows a lot about jazz. Without this, you would just be receiving a hotchpotch of different genres, which might not be helpful in the long run. They must have a good ear, great timing and what’s more, they must be able to teach you how to develop these very essential skills. The idea is that your teacher should always know far more than you do. They must have a lot of heads memorized so that they can guide you at every point. In short, your teacher must be a veteran in jazz music, and not just a guitarist with basic knowledge of jazz.

Trained as a guitar teacher

Seek a teacher who is trained in how to teach jazz guitar. Many teachers just take on students and hope to go through the motions with the help of their knowledge. Many of them have not even learned to play the guitar formally from another teacher but have learned through trial and error. While such people can have amazing talent and are to be appreciated, it does not always follow that they would be able to teach the skills to others. Formal training and being trained in teaching will ensure that your teacher knows how to impart basic skills. There are many techniques for teaching the guitar and it is only with such training that your teacher will be able to help you during your jazz guitar classes.

Organized

A good teacher must be organized in their planning and teaching. This means being punctual whether the classes are in your home or in their studio or home. He or she must not use class time for their personal work, including attending phone calls or entertaining visitors. Remember that you are paying for their time. If you see a teacher behave like this consistently, find another teacher. A good teacher must also prepare their lessons beforehand and have a good overview of what will be completed in each lesson. They must also plan ahead on a long term basis to cover different concepts over time.

Achieving your goals

First, you need to set goals in your music learning. A good teacher will help you do this, if you are clueless or not too sure in which direction to proceed. You will need to set both your short term and long term goals and accordingly learn. It is important that you find a teacher who is able to assist you in achieving your goals by using specific teaching strategies tailored to your specific needs. Avoid teachers who use generalized teaching for all their students or force their goals upon you.

If you are living in Singapore, jazz guitar lessons are available from many sources. With the above tips, it will be easier for you to find a decent teacher who can help you along on your journey.

Tips To Supplement Bass Guitar Lessons For Beginners

For those aspiring to be ‘rock stars’, playing bass is more often an unlikely choice.  It is like taking the ‘road less travelled’.  Yet those who seriously pursued their bass guitar lessons for beginners, regard it as a truly fulfilling experience.

Mastery of the basics is crucial to your progress as a bass guitar player.  Here are some guidelines to take you to the next level:

Know the body parts.  The body, neck, strings, tune controls, head stock --- it is important you know where and how to use them even with your eyes closed.   This could help you master the different aspects of playing bass such as plucking, correct fingering for chords and scales, tuning, and other techniques.

Know the difference between electric guitar and bass guitar.  Not all guitars are created equal, literally. The most glaring difference between a bass and a guitar is the number of strings.  A guitar has six, while a bass has only four strings.  They are tuned with almost the same set of notes, namely EADGBE for guitar, and EADG for bass.  Of course, leave out the last two strings on the guitar since they are non-existent on bass.  Also, the bass is tuned one full octave lower in pitch than the guitar.

Moreover, knowing how to play the guitar is not a prerequisite for bass lessons. Singapore students often have this erroneous impression.  Your guitar playing skills will definitely come in handy as you learn to play bass, and vise versa.  You can easily switch or learn both.

Observe proper posture. Improper body position could be uncomfortable and distracting. It could also cause pain and injury.  Bad posture could deter you from proper technique execution and restrain sound quality.

Time is of the essence.  Yes, you share timekeeping duties with the drummer.  You have to learn to get a solid grip on the timing of the music.  One way to practice timing is by using a metronome.  Yet, it is more important to listen and work with your internal clock to keep you in synch with the beat and time of a song.

Hammer time!  The Hammer-on is one of the most basic and popular playing techniques in bass guitar. It gives off a smooth sound as you transition from one note to the next. 

There are various techniques you could learn in basic bass guitar lessons.  Here is an overview of the different bass guitar fundamentals for the absolute beginner.  Check this out:  http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/which-type/bass/

Average bass players still hold the fallacious notion that they should play away from the spotlight.  But great bass players know where they stand and know when to stand out.  Think of songs like: “My Girl” by The Temptations, “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi, “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, among many others.  Once you hear the bass lines, you could recognize the song a mile away, right?   Kids and beginners need not only learn technique.  They have to be fine-tuned to the right mindset and motivation to learn their craft.  A suitable and capable teacher at www.guitarlessonssingapore.com could help you in your search to find the right mentor in making those ‘rockstar dreams’ come true.

Essential Accessories for Your Basic Electric Guitar Lessons

When you first begin to learn guitar, there are many things with which you would need to familiarize yourself. These include the instrument itself, learning to read the music, developing an ear for good playing, and so on. The best guitar lessons also give an indication of the kind of accessories you would require on your musical journey and how important they are for your life as a guitarist. For interesting information on this subject, consult the website: http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/, a veritable resource of all things guitar! But for now, let us see what kind of accessories is essential for a guitarist.

• Guitar picks are essential for any guitarist. As a beginner, it is a good idea to buy the thinnest possible picks. For good measure, buy a couple of medium thickness and thick ones too. Picks are not too expensive, so if you can afford a guitar, you can afford picks.
• Get a nice strap for your guitar, especially if you are playing with the heavier guitars. This helps in developing good posture, keeping your balance while playing, handling the instrument properly and is more comfortable. You can consider purchasing a padded strap to minimise the effect on your shoulder.
• A guitar tuner is an absolute essential for any guitar beginner. Getting into the habit of automatically tuning your guitar as a part of your guitar learning experience has several benefits, the chief among them being that you will always be assured of having a well-tuned guitar! If you are practising in a group, then it is absolutely essential.
• One thing no guitarist can afford not to have in hand is a spare set of strings. Since the guitar is an instrument that has the unhealthy habit of getting its strings broken, very often in the middle of playing, there is no way to avoid this. Always keep two or three sets of spare strings so you can immediately use them as and when required. At the same time, also purchase a string winder, which will help you to get the job done quickly.
• To ensure that you develop great timing and are able to work well with any given piece, a metronome is important. It is used by musicians as a standard tempo reference and helps you work on irregular timing problems when you play. All professionals use metronomes, so for beginners, it is even more important.
• If you are buying a guitar, spending money on guitar classes and all the other accessories, it makes sense to purchase a guitar case in order to keep your guitar safe. While many people prefer to just hang their guitar on the wall, this is not good for the long life of your instrument. In addition to being exposed to accidents and being dented, your guitar is also sensitive to the weather and will develop cracks if exposed to the elements.
• Capos, footrest, strap locks, guitar humidifiers, guitar cleaning rags, guitar stands, batteries and e-bows are other accessories that come in handy for handling, playing, cleaning or maintaining your guitar.

Once you have all the accessories required to start your lessons, you are ready to face the guitar world well prepared. For an overview of what to expect from basic electric guitar lessons, check out the article: http://guitarlessonssingapore.com/what-will-you-learn-in-an-electric-guitar-course/.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Choosing Electric Guitar Lessons

When it comes to the guitar, there are so many decisions to make that it can be sometimes overwhelming and you can spend days considering the various options. Ultimately, you will have to choose one option over the other if you want to move ahead in your quest for learning the guitar. Here, we will discuss why taking electric guitar lessons might be or not the right option for you, according to your specific priorities.

Advantages

• Depending on your personality, you might want to learn what is easier first. While the acoustic guitar and classical guitar are also great for a beginner, electric guitar is far easier to master. The design is such that the strings are generally situated closer to the frets, so it doesn’t take as much effort to push it down. In short, you will be expending less energy and it is easier to pick up for beginners. The structure of this kind of guitar also makes it easier to hold and handle, and developing a good posture is easier.
• One of the main reasons why the electric guitar is often preferred is that it has the capacity to produce a large variety of sounds and can be used in playing different styles of music. It is used heavily in more aggressive music like rock and metal, but can be put to other uses as well. With the help of different electronic devices, you can create just about any sound effect you like. The use of amplifiers also helps in creating and enhancing lucid tones, making the electric guitar a popular instrument.
• If you are living in a house or a flat and face a lack of space to strum on your instrument at any time when you feel like practicing, or if you have touchy neighbours who object to any sound, electric guitar is a great option because it comes with headphones. You can just plug on the headphones and get on with your electric guitar tutorials without disturbing anyone. This really enhances the quality of your learning experience as you won’t have to face irate family members and neighbours just because you want to play.

Disadvantages

• In general, an electric guitar can cost up to double that of an acoustic guitar. This makes it expensive to most beginners who are not even sure whether they want to invest in a guitar long term. The high price is due to all the accessories such as cables and amplifiers that also need to be purchased along with the guitar.
• Another problem with the guitar is that you cannot just grab it on a whim and take it along with you on a picnic or a friend’s house, or even for a sudden jam session. You will have to ensure that there is an electric outlet at the place where you want to play and plan in advance. You will also have to take along cables and amps, which can make it a tiresome procedure. Forget one thing, and you can forget the session!

If you are a true guitar enthusiast, you will probably end up buying more than one guitar of different types. But for a start, it can be good to go to electric guitar classes. Singapore has many teachers who will help you make a decision or even help you transition from one to the other. In the end, the choice is yours.

How To Get Hired As A Guitar Lessons Teacher

“You’re hired!”, sounds like music to your years when you’ve finally landed your dream job. Whether you’re a guitar music major or a hobbyist seeking to earn from your guitar playing skills, you can definitely pursue a career in teaching guitarlessons. Singapore guitar teachers  usually apply in music schools to gain enough experience.  These schools have a steady flow of students so earnings are more remunerative.

In applying for a job as a music teacher, you need more than just an impressive resume.  Your application does not stop at acing the job interview. Here are some key items you need to build on:

Tips for Selecting Acoustic Guitar Teachers for Beginners

Acoustic guitars are the oldest type of guitars and they are very popular among modern and classical musicians alike, and there are a large number of people who learn it either as a hobby or for a long-time career potential. In either case, it’s usually a passion with them. Hence, it is comparatively easy to find good teachers for teaching acoustic guitar lessons to beginners and at the advanced level. Let’s take a look at some ways you can ensure that you gain a great experience with your teacher right from the beginning.