Guitar for Adult Beginners

A beginner program for adults who’d like to learn the guitar. It prepares students for intermediate topics and courses. It focuses on classical technique and learning to sight-read standard notation. The content of this program is versatile. It develops a base for any style of playing. Our goal is to give you the building blocks to perform and create any music you wish. Including composing, improvising, songwriting and creativity. Once your technique is properly set, you’ll gain confidence and control of the instrument. Exposure to music theory will open opportunities to be creative later on. You will establish a work ethic and practice habits that will serve you for the rest of your guitar journey, and beyond.

Acoustic Guitar Lessons Online

Program Overview

This program runs online in four consecutive courses. Each course spans a 12-week semester. This is a private-tuition and method-based program. You’ll follow a set syllabus and submit weekly assignments to your instructor. You’ll be expected to take part in an online class, meeting weekly on a live video call. Several enrolment options are available. It’s up to you to decide if you wish to receive group instruction or one-on-one lessons. Our student advisor will help you consider which enrolment option is best for you. To meet with a student advisor, book a trial lesson.

This program is for students of various musical backgrounds.

  • Are you completely new to music study, and would like to play guitar?
  • Have you taken other instrument lessons in the past, and now would like to pick up the guitar?
  • Even if you are self-taught, this program will tweak your technique and patch up any playing and learning gaps.

Guitar for Adult Beginners covers the fundamentals of guitar playing and music theory. It begins with how to choose the right guitar type and size to get started with good playing form. It goes over posture and hand position for fretting and picking. Technical development of the hands is fundamental for long-term success on the guitar. Fluency, smooth chord changes, rhythmic accuracy and a clear tone are the outcome of this study. Along the way, you’ll set long-term and short-term playing goals and establish a practice routine that will serve you for years to come.

In this program, we showcase various guitar styles in the classical and modern acoustic genres. Learning contemporary and traditional approaches will help you develop a broad understanding of what is possible on the instrument.  While you learn the basics, you’ll start to form preferences and explore what is possible on the guitar. This program is a jump-start for any guitar style, especially for those who’d like to compose their own music on the guitar.

In this program, we’ll cover the following topics:

  • Overview of classical and modern acoustic guitar
  • Posture and hand position
  • Focus on technique and proper technical development
  • Reading and writing standard notation
  • Reading and preparing lead sheets, charts, TAB
  • Practical music theory for guitarists
  • Ear-training for creativity
  • Pentatonic scale, major and minor
  • Scales and Modes of the Major scale
  • Tools for improvisation
  • Chords and chord progressions
  • Composing and arranging with Triads (3-note chords)
  • Improvising with a 12- bar blues and blues scale
  • Strumming patterns
  • Composing on the guitar, melody and harmony basics
  • Creating song arrangements and accompaniments
  • Solo guitar playing
  • Playing with others in ensembles or bands
  • Exploring acoustic guitar styles for future study
  • Musicianship, work-ethic, practice routine, mindful practice techniques, and goal setting strategies for musicians.

This course has no prerequisites. If you’re completely new to music (never had any kind of music lessons before), you may wish to start with the short course: Introduction to Basic Musicianship. The introductory course is not necessary.  It will help very thorough learners who easily feel overwhelmed with new concepts. It offers a gentle immersion into music study and gives more time with basics such as choosing the right guitar, and sitting and holding the guitar in proper position.

  • A nylon string classical guitar. If you don’t have a guitar yet, please speak to our student advisor before buying one. If you already have another type of guitar (not classical), you can use any guitar to get started. We recommend a nylon string guitar, regardless of which style you’d like to play later on. Starting with a classical foundation has many benefits.
  • Guitar pick (medium/medium-soft thickness), guitar tuner and metronome (both available as free apps for smartphone)
  • Meeting live on a video call with your instructor (regular 30-60min weekly lessons)
  • Ability to record and submit video recordings of your weekly assignments. Smartphone video recordings are easy to make and share.
  • Having the time to devote to guitar study. 30-60min once a week for a live class, and about 30-40min a day for daily practice. (A total of about 5-6 hours per week)

FAQ

We operate on a semester based tuition model. Each semester has two terms. Each term is 11 weeks. (A program is four 11-week quarters or two semesters.) You and your instructor meet weekly for one-on-one lessons or in a group class. (depending on the enrolment option you choose.) Payment is completed on a quarterly basis. The cost of your tuition will depend on the enrolment option you choose. For details on payment and enrolment, please book a trial lesson with a student advisor.

A program can run anywhere from one to four years. Our beginner and intermediate programs are usually one year. Our advanced programs are usually two to four years and are considered a pre-conservatory level. That means the programs resemble a music conservatory (music university) but are designed for a gentler pace so that anyone can follow along. You can be enrolled in several programs at once, that way you have an “online conservatory experience” and will complete your programs sooner.

You don’t have to complete the full program. You are committing one term at a time. Your commitment to the program is for 11 weeks, the duration of a program term. Depending on your goals, you may stop after one term, or complete the four program terms. A program certificate is issued upon completiong of the program and level and is a prerequisite for our other programs.

We are an international online school established in New Zealand. Our teachers and students are from all over the world. We don’t offer accredited certificates for any particular country. As an online guitar pre-conservatory, we offer our own exams and certificates based on global standards. Teachers around the world use our method and curriculum for their lessons. When you complete our program, you get a Gentle Guitar Program Certificate. A PDF document comes with your certificate listing the qualifications of your study for the program and level.

Program Courses

Guitar for Adult Beginners 1

Duration: 12 weeks
Level: Level 1
The first course in a series of four.

Guitar for Adult Beginners 2

Duration: 12 weeks
Level: Level 2
The second course in a series of four.

Guitar for Adult Beginners 3

Duration: 12 weeks
Level: Level 3
The third course in a series of four.

Guitar for Adult Beginners 1

Duration: 12 weeks
Level: Level 4
The fourth course in a series of four.

Program Instructors

Inga H. (New Zealand)

Lance (Canada)

Maddie (USA)

John B (Mexico)

Student Showcase

Gentle Guitar Level 4 Student Showcase: Students who have completed this program share their results. These are final program projects and student elective projects.