The prospect of creating a guitar course may fill the guitar teacher with dismay, particularly if the teacher has considerable knowledge of guitar playing, including many guitar chords, different scales, fingerpicking techniques, chord progressions, strumming patterns, guitar styles and guitar maintenance. Formulating a course plan on guitar may seem impossible with so much to consider.
Becoming a Guitar Teacher
But implementing Ausubel’s Subsumption theory could prove invaluable for the guitar teacher hoping to create a coherent course plan for guitar students.
David Ausubel (1918-2008) was an American cognitivist and psychologist who discovered that students learned more effectively if information was presented in a certain way. His subsumption theory is defined by a teaching method where lessons within a course plan begin with the shortest, most familiar and simple tasks, and gradually progress onto more difficult, complex and lengthy tasks. Furthermore, new information presented must overlap familiar information in order to make it easier to remember. Learning reinforcement in the form of regular recaps and reiterations will ensure that the new information sticks. Advanced signposting will also help students mentally prepare for what comes next.
The Best Acoustic Guitar Module
With the subsumption theory in mind, the guitar teacher must firstly think about the sort of course he or she wishes to design. Conducting an initial assessment of the guitar students will help the guitar tutor formulate the most effective guitar course. The following must be established.
- The ability of the guitar students, for instance, if any are absolute beginners, or if some have been playing for years.
- Areas for development, such as fretting techniques or barring chords.
- Presence of disabilities or special needs, such as left handed guitarists, or those with tendon problems of the fingers.
- What each student hopes to gain from the guitar course, such as to develop better technique for rhythm guitar for a band, or simply to play for pleasure.
Course Design for Guitar
The guitar lesson plan must take into account the results of the initial assessment, but using the subsumption theory, the guitar lesson plans may go in the following order:
- Lesson 1: Introduction to guitar, health and safety and ice breaker.
- Lesson 2: Guitar care and how to tune the guitar.
- Lesson 3: How to position the hands correctly on the guitar for correct strumming and fretting technique.
- Lesson 4: Basic chords in major, A, C, D, E and G.
- Lesson 5: Chord transition practice, introducing minor chords, Am, Dm, and Em.
- Lesson 6: Barring chords, B, Bm, Cm, F, Fm and Gm.
- Lesson 7: Developing smooth chord changes and simple strumming technique to a metronome.
- Lesson 8: Introduction to fingerpicking.
- Lesson 9: Tutorial and recap on problems areas.
- Lesson 10: Final assessment.
As can be seen from the scheme of work on guitar, Ausubel’s subsumption theory has been implemented in that:
- Activities within the guitar module begin with the most simple tasks and progresses onto the complex.
- The tasks within the module begin with the shortest and progresses onto lengthy exercises.
- Each lesson begins with the most familiar and moves onto the unfamiliar.
- New information overlaps the old information.
- Advanced signposting helps students mentally prepare for the next lesson.
- Regular recapping and backtracking when necessary will help reinforce what has been learned so far.
Learn Guitar Tuition
Formulating a good guitar course is possible with the use of Ausubel’s subsumption theory, which helps guitar students learn guitar more effectively. An initial assessment is essential in order to establish the learners’ profile, and create a guitar course to match. Beginning with the most familiar, simple and shortest tasks, such as playing a simple chord sequence consisting of four chords, and ending with fingerpicking techniques, will make more sense for students. Frequent recapping, signposting and overlapping the information presented, will also help facilitate learning.
Rachel Shirley - I have written and illustrated several art instruction books entitled Oil Paintings from your Garden and Oil Paintings from the Landscape ...
