I’m just putting the finishing touches on my new instructional program the Mike Op Music Beginner Guitar Series! Hopefully this online guitar course will be available for purchase before Christmas. Here’s what it’s all about:
This eight-part program is intended to get you started with the basic chords and strumming patterns and concepts you will need as you progress in your exploration of the wide world of guitar.
This course is intended for adult and young adult learners. It is appropriate for anyone ages 13 and up. You can expect to spend between one and three weeks absorbing and mastering each lesson.
The focus of the Beginner Guitar Series is to develop a student’s tactile ability to play the guitar, impart a thorough vocabulary of the basic open chords, and to provide guidelines for playing rhythm guitar in a variety of musical styles.
Each lesson follows a standard format. The first part of each lesson introduces a new chord and a new strum pattern. These materials are presented in the form of a song. The second part of the lesson introduces a more complex variation of the same tune, utilizing greater rhythmic or chordal variety. The third part of each lesson is a final comprehensive variation of the tune drawing on concepts from the current and previous lessons. The final segment of each lesson is a set of “Finger Gymnastics,” or technical exercises, designed to develop finger dexterity, independence, strength, and speed.
The instructional materials consist of notations in downloadable pdf format and video lessons. All of the music and chord charts are included in the notations. The videos provide more in-depth discussions of chord fingerings, technique and strumming tips, and performance examples of the songs being taught.
The repertoire for the Beginner Guitar Series consists of many variations of the standard twelve-bar blues form and commonly heard folk songs. Upon completion of the program, you will be able to play confidently in the keys of A, D, G, E, and A minor in a variety of time time signatures and rhythmic styles.
The full listing of songs taught is as follows:
Blues in A – Traditional Twelve-Bar Form
I’ll Fly Away – Key of D
Blues in A – Quick-Change Blues
Bury Me Beneath the Willow – Key of G
Whiskey in the Jar – Key of G
Blues in G
Nine Pound Hammer – Key of E
Minor Blues in A
