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Home
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Which Order Should You Teach Things In?
First Eight
Guitar Lessons
For A
Total Beginner
How Good Do You Need To Be To Be An Effective Guitar Teacher?
You Might Be Surprised?
Printer Friendly
Blank Fretboards
And
Guitar Necks
Teaching Guitar
To Children
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and More Than 40
Student Chord and Scale Handouts
Guitar Teaching
Tips and Tricks
How To
Teach Guitar?
The Big Picture?
Guitar Teacher's
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Home
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Which Order Should You Teach Things In?
First Eight
Guitar Lessons
For A
Total Beginner
How Good Do You Need To Be To Be An Effective Guitar Teacher?
You Might Be Surprised?
Printer Friendly
Blank Fretboards
And
Guitar Necks
Teaching Guitar
To Children
Download
20 Backing Tracks
and More Than 40
Student Chord and Scale Handouts
Guitar Teaching
Tips and Tricks
How To
Teach Guitar?
The Big Picture?
Guitar Teacher's
Toolkit
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Print 20 Free Giant
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Which Order Should You Teach Things In?
First Eight
Guitar Lessons
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Total Beginner
How Good Do You Need To Be To Be An Effective Guitar Teacher?
You Might Be Surprised?
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Blank Fretboards
And
Guitar Necks
Teaching Guitar
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and More Than 40
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Guitar Teaching
Tips and Tricks
How To
Teach Guitar?
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Guitar Teacher's
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As you continue down this page you will find a whole load of Free kid's guitar lesson plans, teaching aids and certificates to download that will allow you to start children off playing guitar the right way
Rule Number One.......
When teaching children to play the guitar the emphasis needs to be on the word "play"
Teaching kids to play guitar requires a slightly different approach to instructing older people.
Children are less likely to take on board the notion that they have to practice technical elements of guitar playing for their own sake or for some reward (a better technique) at some indeterminate point in the future. Basically.....
Guitar teachers all over the world use this sequence of lessons to get their students off to the best possible on the instrument
Something that can become a lifetime skill rather than just another 'thing that they tried to do when they were young but could not make any real progress with"
Whan they can move between the chords they should then be presented with more "challenging" backing tracks that require them to move between shapes more rapidly. It really is that simple! Oh, and along the way they will have loads of fun (the only thing that they care about!)
The certificates of achievement that accompany each session are a great way to keep kids motivated and "on task" during the early and intermediate stages of playing guitar. Without wanting to resort to "psychobabble" folks of any age (as evidenced by the quest for "likes", "retweets" and "employee of the month" awards) respond well to such external recognition of their achievements that can serve to spur them on and increase their effort and commitment. After many years of teaching guitar to younger kids even I was stunned at how popular the certificates proved to be upon their introduction to my lessons (and how much some students focus and application went through the roof when there was something to "win" at the end of a lesson)
click the box below to....
As you continue down this page you will be able to download a whole load of lesson plans and certificates designed to help take a child from where they may never have even touched a guitar to a place where they can move quickly and confidently between the eight chords that any beginner (not just children) should learn first in time to music
Click above to download this Free Kid's Guitar Teaching Guide that comes complete with the first five Children's Guitar Lesson Plans
The plans (like all of the many freebies on this site) will come straight down to your phone, tablet or PC. You won't have to register for anything or give us your email address so that we can chase you all over the internet and clutter up your inbox trying to part you from your hard earned money.
This site is built on a very simple premise. We give away free stuff and if you like the look of it you can buy the entire paid for package for less that you can earn in an hour as a guitar teacher
The handout above shows the eight chords that any beginner should learn first with the three "reduced" shapes towards the top of the sheet
Experienced guitar teachers know that in the early stages (usually only the first few weeks) of teaching a child to play guitar it is a great idea to present three of the chord shapes to be studied (G, Em and C) in a "reduced" one finger form. By doing this they ensure that a child produces a "good" noise from the very first lesson.
It is very important to realise that the one finger shapes presented are not alternatives to the full chords which would require a child to learn a new shape later in the course of study but are instead "reduced" versions of the chord shapes. This means that in order to play the full chords a child need only add "new" fingers to the shape that he or she is already playing.
Four of the five lessons outlined below have backing tracks to go with them (lesson five is a recap session designed to monitor and ensure progress before the next stage of study). Each backing track is a couple of minutes long and features a simple rhythm section accompaniment which cycles around the chord sequence used in the course of the lesson You can hear short samples of each of the backing tracks below
It is important to realise that what we are trying to do here is to use backing tracks and handouts to help kids to learn the eight chord shapes that are best for a beginner When they can form the shapes then other backing tracks are introduced which require them to move between the chords more quickly in order to increase fluidity and technical ability
We now take a more detailed look at our effective series of guitar lessons for younger players
This first kids guitar lesson involves a child in changing between the chords of G and Em in time with a backing track which provides a very simple bass and drum accompaniment This first lesson is used by guitar teachers around the world to get their younger students off to a flying start on the instrument. The graphic above shows the lesson plan that you can screenshot or download now by following the link below
If you look closely at the illustration above you will see that the two chords (G and Em) are presented as "child friendly" one finger chord shapes Using these "reduced" shapes during the first few weeks of playing can be a great way of giving a child belief and confidence and can help set them up for a lifetime of guitar playing
The graphic also shows both the lesson plan and the certificate that you can download free designed to accompany this lesson
If you follow this link to a detailed description of a child's first guitar lesson you will be able to download the certificate designed to accompany the lesson. You will be invited to inspect pages for the next four kid's guitar lessons and be able to download and print a free certificate for each of the next four lessons. An effective and structured start to any child's guitar playing career
Here is a short snippet of the backing track that we have put together to go along with this lesson. The track is a simple bass and drum accompaniment which goes around and around two bars of each chord. It is deliberately simple (some of the other backing tracks that you can hear samples of on this page are way more "produced") and is designed to allow kids and those instructing them to focus on the sounding of the chords
The section of video above looks at how a guitar teacher may build upon the progress made during lesson one by introducing two new chord shapes
The second kids guitar lesson makes use of the two chords (G and Em) studied already and adds two new ones (C and D) to the mix. The backing track goes around and around the four chords leaving plenty of time (two bars) between each chord change to allow students to get used to forming the shapes
Here is the "at a glance" lesson plan for this session for future reference
There is also an opportunity to award this certificate of achievement recognising the child's ability to play the full Em chord shape if you choose to introduce the shape during this lesson
The reality is that no matter how small their hands are kids will have no real problems playing the Em chord shape as there is no "stretching" of the fingers involved when playing the shape
The backing track for this one is similar to the first in that it features two bars of each chord with a simple bass and drum accompaniment. Again there is plenty of time to change from one chord to the next
Take a look at the video footage above to see how this first children's "Rock" Guitar Lesson lesson will look and sound
Lesson three (download the lesson plan here) is very popular!
A new chord (A) and one they already know (G) over a lively rock backing track (take a look at the video above to see how it works in practice)
This lesson can provide an ideal opportunity to introduce the "full" G shape which requires a little more in the way of stretching with the fretting hand
At the end of this session you can award another certificate of achievement (shown above - just click the text to get it now) recognising the child's ability to play the full G chord shape if you choose to introduce it during this lesson
A driving bass and drum groove and a rock vocal intro and outro (which lets everyone know that its about to end) make this one a favourite with both youngsters and older learners alike. During guitar lessons kids often request this one for the sheer fun of it. This is the last bass and drum only backing track for a while as the ones which follow on from this one often feature a keyboards player too
The fourth children's guitar lesson features the final three new chords (Am, Dm and E-none of which require a great deal of stretching) that a beginner needs to learn and features a slightly "funkier" backing track
Here is the lesson plan (shown above left) that you can print or screenshot if you prefer for this session. As with the other lessons up to this point there is also a certificate (see illustration above) recognising "officially" the child's progress to this point.
Two bars of Am followed by a single bar of Dm and E (see chordsheet in the illustration above). A funkier groove and supportive keyboard pads to let your young students know where they are in the progression. This is a great one for the "sausage-egg-and-chips" strumming pattern (see the video above if you have not got a clue what I am whittering on about)
The fifth kids guitar lesson is recap session where progress so far is assessed and provides teachers and learners with an opportunity to refine and reinforce skills and capabilities developed during the course of the first four sessions
If you elected not to introduce the "full" chord shapes of G,C and Em this session provides an ideal opportunity to use the backing tracks etc again in order to ensure that kids are familiar with the full chord shapes before moving on to the next stage of guitar playing
Here is the "at a glance" plan for this kids guitar lesson This lesson provides an ideal opportunity to award the certificate (shown above right) which recognises the end of this "first phase" of children's guitar study (where all eight basic beginners chords have been mastered) It is a great place to take stock of progress before moving on to the next stage of guitar playing
The graphic below shows the certificates that can be awarded to your younger guitar students during the early stages of playing They cover the period of time between when they have mastered two simple one finger chords right through to where they can play the F chord (where they will be required to hold down two strings with a single finger) This is the point where a beginner can be regarded as being an intermediate player
After the material (learning to move between eight chord shapes) in the first five lessons has been effectively covered then the remaining backing tracks can be used in the service of the following two objectives....
and
There are a series of other useful chords (A7 D7 G7 Cmaj7 etc) that have more complicated sounding names but which are no more difficult to play for a novice player than the ones covered up to this point Lessons during this "second phase" of learning should be concerned with making sure that playing starts to feel "natural" and with introducing students to new chord shapes and musical styles and genres
An example of this "changing between chords more quickly" thing can be found in this backing track (which also features in the video above) which uses the A chord shape alongside two other chords (D and G) with which the child should also be familiar. The chord changes come more quickly now and when a child can play along with this one they will know that they can play the guitar.
You can download a free copy of the full backing track and the handouts that go along with it if to your PC, tablet or phone you go to our guitar teacher's backing tracks page
You can hear a short extract of the track here....
A lot of the other backing tracks (we now have 35 backing tracks and over 80 chord charts/handouts to go along with them) give a teacher the opportunity to help their students (both young and old) to re-inforce and refine the skill of being able to change between appropriate guitar chords fluently and in time to music as well as to take them on to more advanced material with relation to bar chords and single note/solo guitar playing
Here we take a look at how we can effectively ensure that a child learns to move between chords quickly and "in time" to music while still making them feel that they are just having loads of fun.
I like to use the following track which features all of the Major Chord shapes (C,G,D,A abd E) covered to this point to help my students get used to changing chords quickly The great thing about this progression for me is that students are obliged to work hard (moving between the C,G,D,A and E shapes) for the first two bars before being given a "rest" during the second two measures (when they stay on the single chord of E) before being plunged back into the "tricky" bit again The fact that it does not sound a million miles away from a Jimi Hendrix "classic" does no harm either
If you can take a student from the point where they can't play the guitar at all to a situation in which they are playing along with backing tracks in the style of Jimi Hendrix in just a few short months then I think you are entitled to a pat on the back
Above you can see a bunch of blank tab and chord grids especially produced with kids in mind which allow you to introduce them to single note riffs and figures that you (and they!) want to play A lot of the resources can also be used as colour in activity sheets if required I often send children home with them instruction to learn the tune and colour in the sheet (the one judged the best gets a plectrum as a prize)
You can download everything that you see on this website(chord sheets, handouts, backing tracks, giant chord grids etc) for a single payment of $25.00
There is no "club" or organisation to join and no annual subscriptions to pay I will not "drip feed" you the resources over a period of time in return for a monthly or yearly payments. I have been advised many times by people much wiser than me to change my business model in order to "maximise income" and while it may make perfect sense in some ways I reckon life is complicated enough without all of that. Just check the stuff out, buy it if you like it and then use it for the rest of your life
When a child can play and move between the chords covered up to now they can be said to be ready to leave the "beginner" stage behind. The next phase involves mastering more technically demanding chord shapes (like the F shape which is the first chord that they will have encountered in which they are required to hold down two strings with one finger) and bar chords (where all of the strings are held down in a variety of "moveable" shapes)
On the left of the graphic above you can see a certificate that marke the end of the first stage and the start of the next phase of guitar lessons
A wise old guitar teacher once shared his "secret" with me he said that "Teaching guitar is like throwing mud at a wall" (I would like to point out in the interests of accuracy that he did not actually use the word "mud" but a less pleasant word for a much less pleasant but often similarly textured substance but for the sake of decency I have paraphrased a little)
"Some of the mud sticks to the wall and some of it falls to the floor" he went on "Our job is to work out what has stuck and what has fallen Then we fling the stuff that has fallen down back onto the wall until its all up there"
Not the worlds most pleasant analogy (especially if you factor in his original choice of substance) but after all these years of teaching it remains the single best definition of guitar teaching that I have ever come across If you examine this notion on a deeper level it gets to the very core of what we do as educators Its about the wall (the student) its about the "mud" (the subject) It is not about the teacher
The material on this part of the site sets out how a guitar teacher might go about teaching a child (or a group of children) to play guitar from a standing start and it is (almost) that simple! The only thing to remember is that they are kids! They forget stuff Sometimes they dont get to practice (quite rightly) because it is sunny outside and they have "better" things to do. It is important not to obsess over how much they retain information Typically I find they can often forget the names of chords that they have not played for a couple of weeks although when prompted they are able to play the shapes relatively easily rather than having to re-learn them This is real progress although it may not look like it They are developing the motor skills required to operate a guitar
Studies have shown that a child's effective atttention span in minutes is roughly equivalent to his or her age in years and armed with this information we can help them to progress without really practicing too much formally. You can get to see great progress in playing by simply encouraging kids to practice guitar during the commercial breaks on TV. When the adverts kick in they should mute the set and play or better still the adults in the room can play with them by using the "Simon Says" game outlined below Without wanting to go "over the top" about spending "quality time" (rather than everyone just poking their phones) with children its got to be a whole lot more fun than staring at a screen thats firing new ways to part you from your money at you.
A trick for teaching small groups of younger kids is to "spread the chords around". Get each student to hold down a single chord, turn on the backing track and point at the relevant player when it is time to change. The more able guitar players can still change chords as required but everyone gets to stay involved and (hopefully) encouraged.
Below is an image showing our range of letter sized mini-posters that you can print for your teaching studio wall and/or distribute to your younger students. Two of the chords (C and G) require relatively large stretches in order to sound the thicker (lower pitched) strings and as a consequence are often presented in a "reduced" one finger form during the first few weeks of guitar lessons.
Below are some of our printable sheets that show the "reduced" one finger versions of three of the chords. The links below the image will allow you to download free samples of some of our resources aimed at guitar teachers with younger students.These resources are easy to photocopy and I have had great results with groups of kids running informal competitions with children competing to see who can do the best job of colouring in the sheet between lessons (first prize a free plectrum!).
These resources seem to go down very well with kids and parents alike and help to keep children engaged with the instrument even when they are not playing it.
The download features literally hundreds of sheets and more than 35 backing tracks. I'm not going to bang on about what incredible value this represents as the internet is awash with people who bombard us with offers that are "too good to miss" or are there "for a limited time only" and all of that sort of thing. This is a long established website that has been helping guitar teachers to go about their business for more years than I like to think about. Just take a tour of the site and see for yourself before thinking about using our materials(or just download a whole load of free stuff if you like?)
Included in the download are a whole set of resources designed to help those who use ukuleles as part of their daily teaching activities and to offer guitar teachers who do not yet teach the ukulele but who may wish to make use of an opportunity to "branch out" into what could prove to be a lucrative and rewarding area
We offer (among other things) chord charts and backing tracks for this versatile and increasingly popular instrument. The materials are designed so as to allow a teacher to teach ukulele and guitar players within the same group session. Follow the link below to find out more
Click to listen to a snippet of the backing track
Click to listen to a snippet of the backing track
We're really motoring now and this fourth in a series of kids guitar lessons introduced the final three chord shapes (Am Dm and E) that a young guitarist needs to master during the early stages of playing. The chords are getting closer together now and if you look at the video further up this page you will see that more "complicated" strumming patterns are now an option. Even though there are three new chords in this lesson no "reduced" one finger options are used because there is no real stretching required to play any one of them. When playing the three shapes (Am, Dm and E) the left hand fingers are grouped very closely together and even the smallest of hands should be able to master the shapes with a little practice. Like the other lessons this one comes with an "at a glance" kids guitar lesson plan that you can print and position conveniently in your line of sight (or just put it on the screen of your phone, tablet or PC to make sure that you don't get lost when teaching individual youngsters or groups of kids to play guitar) As these are the final three chords that a child beginner needs to learn in the early stages of playing guitar this lesson provides an ideal opportunity to show your students the younger guitar players certificate of achievement that they will be awarded in return for learning to form and sound the eight chords that form the basis of study to this pointThe first section the video outlines a lesson featuring the chords of G and Em. Even though there is no stretching involved in playing the Em chord and most children would have little difficulty in forming the full open chord shape (being as the notes to be fretted are within easy reach of each other) it is a great idea to have a child's introduction to the instrument be as simple as possible.Things dont come much simpler than putting a finger down and then lifting it up and placing it somewhere else
Even though the approach to giving kids guitar lessons differs slightly from working with older students the basic objectives with regards to chord work are absolutely identical. Guitar playing is stripped back to the basics. During these earliest lessons there are no bar chords,palm muting or solos going on (that comes later when a child is confident and at ease with the instrument) In the early stages all we need to do is get kids to a place where they are able follow these simple two steps....
That will lead them to think..........
An important part of the $25.00 "Deluxe Guitar Teacher's Download" available from this site are a set of thirty five backing tracks (standard mp3's) with over 80 handouts/chord charts which is all that you need to get started teaching effective kids guitar lessons. The tracks are based around the eight chords that a beginner should learn first and a combination of full and "reduced" chord shapes (one finger versions of C, G and Em) can be used as required.
At the end of a lesson you can drop the backing tracks onto CD's and mp3 players or even email them to your students if you like
You might also like to take a look at our page dealing with the "First Eight Guitar Lessons" that form the basis of a teaching programme for younger and older guitar students alike.
Below are details of a few songs that I find that kids (and adults) just starting out seem to get a buzz out of being able to play (you can also add "anything by Ed Sheeran" to this list :).
"Wild Thing" (two strums on A followed by two on D two on and E chord and finally two more on A) always seems to go down well and has the advantage that there is a gap between each chord change so that students have plenty of time to move their fingers on the guitar neck.
"Rockstar" by Nickelback (one bar each of A D G and A again for the main part of the verse) and "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers (Two bars of G followed by a bar each of a C and a D chord) also seem to hit the spot. In addition I have also had some good results results teaching power chords to kids using songs like "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" by Green Day (the verse features two even strums on F followed by two on Ab, Eb and Bb repeated for the verse until you get five strums on C). This gets students used to moving power chords around the neck and prepares them for the full bar chords to come.
When first introducing Children to guitar chords it can be a good idea to speed progress by teaching them to play three and four note versions of some guitar chords suitable for kids rather than the full voicings favoured by more mature learners.
.
The teachwombat guitar teaching resources feature chord sheets aimed at guitar students with smaller hands designed to give results and encouragement to younger players. Once they have got used to the "easy" versions of common chords and their dexterity and reach improves they can be gradually encouraged to move on to more conventional shapes as appropriate
It may be a good idea (not just with children?) to teach fragments of songs on guitar rather than whole complete pieces of music? This way your customers feel as if they are learning more and are less likely to get bored and frustrated by being forced to bang away at the same thing for hours on end
Here are a few ideas that I have found effective to mix and match during recent kids guitar lessons aimed at children who are complete beginners
Its nice to have a few sheets with versions of simple tunes and figures which use only a single string for absolute novices (this also has the advantage of allowing students to get a pleasing result from a guitar that may not be properly in tune)
The theme from Shrek
Happy Birthday
Police Siren (E string 3rd fret to the E string open and repeated as required)
Smoke On The Water (single note version starting from an open A string)
The teachwombat guitar teaching resources have a range of sheets with JUMBO sized Tab and notation so that you can easily create your own "Master copies" of often used fragments or licks (these sheets have large graphics designed to be studied from a distance ideal for shorter segments of music) from there it's just a case of scanning or photocopying the originals to ensure that you have a library of material that you can add to and use over and over again.
There is money to be made (and a lot of satisfaction to be derived) from teaching guitar to children but as with "regular" instrumental instruction the key to an effective, stress free (and profitable!) lesson is preparation.