What Would Happen

If I Were To Teach

I have been asked, over the years, to teach some of what I know about music. I generally decline, but I did actually sign on to teach guitar when I was a teenager. It was the younger brother of a girl I was interested in, so I accepted the job.

I made the mistake of asking him what he wanted to learn. This turned out to be nothing I was familiar with. I never really learned the stuff most guitar players played. I am a singer who plays guitar.

I didn't even know the regular chords that guitar players played. I had discovered early, that the chords and diagrams on sheet music were there for people with high voices. I had to transpose every song into a key that fit my voice. This meant I had to learn, “Barred”, chords.

This meant that I didn't use chords with open strings. I also didn't use a, “Capo”, because it would be in the way when I changed chords. The chords and progressions I had learned were very difficult for a beginner to do.

I showed him a couple of boogie woogie riffs and told him to practice those until next lesson.

There was no next lesson.

I have tried the “take what you like” method, which is basically, if you see or hear something you like that I am playing, I will show you how I do it. That sort of works.

One of the difficulties in teaching guitar, as I know it, is I didn't really learn to play guitar on my guitar. I wanted to play the hammond B-3 organ, but I had a guitar, so I approximated jazz organ on my acoustic guitar while singing Kingston Trio songs when I first learned to play. I was in a duo with John Bradley where we sang Kingston Trio songs. At first I was singing and playing bongos, but if I played guitar, John could play solos and lead guitar.

Now it's over 50 years later and some people want to learn some of what I know about music. I think it might be helpful so that when I mention that a song uses a, “Dorian Mode”, they will know that it's from 18^th century music theory. Much of the chants and hymns that monks sing are based on this scale. If you play from D to D just using the white keys on the piano, (no sharps), that is the scale used for a Dorian mode. Of course, not all the songs will be in the key of D, so you would want to learn that scale and transpose it to what ever key the song is in.

Most of my favorite jazz musicians learned classical piano and the theory that makes it happen. It didn't matter if they were sax players, or drummers, the really good players all studied classical piano. I studied music theory, harmony, arranging and composing in college. My major was piano, but I am not a real pianist. I am a singer who plays guitar.

I think I may be able to offer some assistance to a couple of people who have asked me to help them learn more. Did I mention I was a drummer in a dance band when I was in the 11^th grade? I also played trumpet and sax in the marching band, but I am really just a singer.