Based on years of working with children, ALL are highly motivated to play the guitar, and ALL can succeed using the GUITAR BARRE® METHOD. If we continue to rely just on beginning traditional fingering methods, 95% of these children will never play.
Learning to play a musical instrument does not have to be difficult, require years of practicing, or even necessitate reading notes. We ALL are musical, and we need simpler ways of accessing our innate musicality. Using "open tunings" and a tool like the GUITAR BARRE® (most accomplished guitar players use"open tunings" and two similar tools, the "capo" and the "slide") makes the guitar an extremely easy instrument to play, just for the fun of it. So easy that most adults find this method very appealing as well (even music teachers and music therapists - most who are taught traditional fingering methods in school never feel comfortable enough to continue to play that way).
For any child or adult who wants to learn traditional fingerings, the GUITAR BARRE® METHOD is an excellent success oriented way to begin and greatly enhances the probability of succeeding with fingerings. This method is being used in schools and music studios throughout the US and Canada. The GUITAR BARRE® works on all instruments and with all hand sizes, right or left. This method can be taught to large groups by anyone with a musical background - no prior guitar playing experience is necessary.
Our purpose is simply to empower ordinary children and adults to be able to make their own music at anytime they choose, over a complete lifetime, on an instrument they really would like to play.
We can now empower every teacher and child to chord the guitar in 3 easy group lessons! We can give them a simple musical skill that will last for a lifetime! And no prior guitar playing experience is needed to teach this revolutionary new method to others.
Fact: 90% of teachers and children who want to play the guitar never do so using existing beginning methods.
With the GUITAR BARRE® METHOD everyone succeeds, and more go on to learn fingering methods.
Children begin in 1st grade with "open strumming", accompanying any song in any key with no chord changes, using open 5th tuning. At the 4th grade level, they are ready to barre most multi-chord songs easily.
The GUITAR BARRE® METHOD has already been taught to thousands of children, and pre-school and music teachers, through Artist-in-Education grants, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
For piano players, the GUITAR BARRE® METHOD is a snap, because:
CHORDS along OPEN TUNED GUITAR FRETBOARD,
are the same as NOTES along PIANO KEYBOARD.
Carl Orff used Open Tunings extensively. For minor chords, labeling system automatically substitutes "relative major chord", and most songs come out sounding just fine. Can move on to optional LEVEL II METHOD to barre ALL major, minor dominant 7ths (no fingerings).
The GUITAR BARRE® is another tool, like a CAPO or a SLIDE, and is similar to methods used by BARRE, DOBRO, SLIDE, HAWAIIAN SLACK and PEDAL STEEL GUITAR PLAYERS.
Half as many guitars as your largest class (share in teams of 2), GUITAR BARRE® for each guitar, one LEVEL I METHOD BOOK with VIDEO and one GROUP TEACHING BOOK with VIDEO. You can purchase labeled classical guitars with straps (no one else has these) directly from the CENTER for MUSICAL EMPOWERMENT (quantity discounts available).
Call us for details at 804-725-0355
or email us at dickbozung@guitarsimplified.com
Note: All elementary music ed and music therapy majors should be taught this method (and early childhood teachers as well). Most who are taught traditional fingering methods are not continuing to play the guitar. Using the GUITAR BARRE®, they would at least be playing and empowering others to do the same!
WE HAVE A CLEAR VISION,
OF YOU AND OF ME,
EACH PLAYING THE GUITAR,
SO HAPPILY!
TEACHERS AND CHILDREN,
BOTH YOUNG AND OLD,
JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT,
LETTING OUR MUSIC UNFOLD.
GIVING TO ALL,
OUR INALIENABLE RIGHT,
TO PLAY THE GUITAR,
ANY DAY OR NIGHT.
MAKING IT SIMPLE,
HELPING OUR FRIENDS ALONG,
THAT OUR DREAM MIGHT COME TRUE,
TO STRUM OUR OWN SONG!
'tis better to make small compromises, than to have never played at all!
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