Private Group Classes

I thought I'd share a little about my teaching outside of the school system.  Currently, I'm teaching a beginner guitar class with the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, here in Oxford.  On Tuesday, I'll the last lesson in an eight week class that I did for them.  I have students of different ability levels in this class, although they would all consider themselves beginners.  It has been a good exercise in planning and really thinking about what to teach in groups where you know that you'll have to simplify for some and enrich the material for others.

This has involved things such as simplifying or adding complexity to rhythm elements as we play chords, having beginner students omit certain chords, or simplifying chords for beginners.  Chords can be embellished for more advanced students, and more specificity can be required in things such as picking/strumming technique, or muting in the left hand fingers etc.

I'm also currently signed up to teach a few classes for the Oxford Park Commission and First Baptist Church of Oxford.  I'll update more on these once they're underway.

It's been fun teaching classes even if it's outside the context of a school environment.  For those of you who teach private lessons in addition to your normal school day, teaching private lessons in groups, whether it's in pairs, trios or larger groups, can greatly free up your already busy schedule and greatly increase the value of your after-school time.  For the student, it also provides interaction that individual lessons can't provide.

I've also launched a business website for my private teaching.  You can find it at OxfordGuitarLessons.com.