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The young folks I teach have educated me about the kind of music they like: Jack Johnson, Wierd Al Yankovic, Theme Songs from Star Wars, Harry Potter and Spongebob, Iron Man, Metallica & other music from Guitar Hero, Allie & AJ, Weezer, Chris Brown, Onerepublic, the Beatles and many others. So I already have quite a large repertoire of music that is popular with kids and am always happy to learn a new song. I can figure most songs out by ear from CDs or Youtube, and tabs are often available online as well.
In addition to teaching kids to play the songs they like, I also try to work in some theory and ear training, so I've developed some learning games that students seem to enjoy and relate to. I usually give some practice homework; it helps if the parents encourage students to practice at home.
I encourage students to bring friends along to a lessons, or sign up for lessons in twos. I currently have several teams of kids who take lessons together and they seem to have a lot more fun, as well as additional incentive to practice, when they learn with friends.
Click here for a detailed
curriculum.
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(Student Josephine, age 5,
performing at a student recital.)
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