Beginning Guitar Curriculum

 The guitar curriculum contained in my book, Beginning Guitar for the Classroom, A Comprehensive Approach, focuses on three distinct areas of study: popular-style, classical, and guitar ensemble. All three of these areas are integrated into every lesson, each reinforcing the same objective of that lesson.  Below, you can download a pdf of the entire beginning book or, utilize the eBook, which  includes audio recordings of all the exercises, songs and repertoire (as well as  a few tutorial videos).   All gratis.
        "I want to take a moment to say thank you for the expertise, thoughtfulness, and generosity you have shared with all music educators by publishing your curriculum online for free use. Thank you for your holistic approach to guitar music education. Your materials are such a powerful tool in my classroom. My students are reading better than they've ever read, playing better than they've ever played, and enjoying music they never imagined they'd enjoy. Your love for guitar and music education are so evident in the pages you've written. Thank you so much for sharing it with us." – Kelsey Snyder, Maricopa High School 
        "You have created some really awesome curriculum for guitar! I am a super fan and you have helped me transform my guitar classes immensely by keeping students super engaged. Thank you so much for creating and sharing your work! – Kathleen Dolan, Collegiate Academy, Northwest Pennsylvania
        "Let me thank you for creating this amazing curriculum for guitar classrooms. It is very rare you find a guitar book that is designed for group lessons. I have been using your book for three years and it still amazes me how well-written this method is. Because of this book, the number of students interested in playing the guitar and music, in general, has increased greatly!" – Akzhol Issin, QSI International School of Astana
        "I just discovered your beginning guitar materials, but from what I can see so far, your approach is fantastic.  It's sequenced perfectly and I'm really grateful for the way that you provide a musically meaningful context for the beginning player.  Your website is just a wealth of materials and it's organized so easily.  I'm excited to explore some more.  Grateful."  – Jill Reese, PhD, Associate Professor of Music Education, The  State University of New York
Beginning Guitar for the Classroom, ​A Comprehensive Approach
pdf Version

       The beginning book below is designed for a one-year, two-semester class.  As stated above, it integrates popular-style, classical and guitar ensemble into each lesson. Popular-style skill is developed by learning basic chords and strumming technique in the context of learning popular, mostly classic rock songs. Each song is presented as a song chart so that students immediately begin the music-reading process. By the third lesson, the concept of beats, time signatures and basic rhythms are in place. Students will then begin to learn how to read standard notation, one string at a time, and always in the context of learning and performing teacher/student duets. These duets are important not only to develop reading skills, but also so that students learn how to listen to another player and to a common beat. Most importantly, duets allows music-reading development to be relevant, engaging and fun. By the second semester, students will prepared to begin learning classical guitar as well as guitar quartet music.
       By the end of the school year, students have will have learned a substantial amount of skill and musicianship in all three areas. In the area of popular music, the class final is  Stairway to Heaven. The classical final is Estudio, by Francisco Tårrega. Both of these pieces are quite impressive for a first-year student to learn and play.

​Note:  Stairway to Heaven is a demanding song to learn, especially for beginners. Early on, when rock was far more popular than it is today, most students had heard this song and were greatly motivated to learn it.  More recently however, I've found that significantly fewer students listen to rock, let alone heard Stairway. Without an awareness of its popularity and relevance to guitarists,  the drive to learn this song is greatly diminished, and therefore, success is less likely. As a result, I've been teaching only the first page (Letters A (the forbidden riff) and B. This has worked out great. Student success is much higher than if they tried to learn the entire song.  More importantly,  like all the other classic rock songs in the book that most students hear for the first time, students learn to love this song.

​Note: Feel free to supplement or replace the popular songs in the lessons, if you've found better choices. (I'd be interested to know of your choices!) Also, it is not necessary for students to learn all the classical guitar pieces in each lesson.  Learning one is adequate. Lastly, and as already mentioned above, all of the music and exercises have been recorded for your convenience and are located below in the eBook. (Recordings of the classical guitar and guitar ensemble pieces are also located on those corresponding pages.)
Restrictions of Use
Below is a pdf of the Beginning Guitar Book for you to download for free. You have permission to distribute this book to your students as digital or hard copies. However, ​you are strictly forbidden from receiving compensation in any form or context from this book or any other material on this website. This includes your recordings of my compositions and arrangements.  Thank you.

​By downloading this curriculum, you understand and agree to the above terms.​

(Updated 2/24)

Beginning Guitar for the Classroom
eBook Format

Below is the Beginning Book in an interactive eBook format, with audio and video recordings of the material.  
This format is highly recommended for teachers to use in the classroom as well as for students to use while practicing.​
            "Everything I need is right there, step by step, page by page, lesson by lesson, click by click! I don’t know how you came to develop your curriculum but it strikes me as very
​             intuitive and peaceful." – Sarah Dawn, K-8 Music Teacher
          "I used your online book and curriculum last year with a first year guitar course and I cannot express how effective this system is.  Even after one year, I was being asked to add  
​           another section of guitar after the word got around!"  – James Mock, Ed.S., Richmond Hill Middle School
Note: Recently, the audio playback element in the eBook has not been working properly for some iPhone and Android users. The host of this site, has not been able to determine the reason for this technical mishap. There's been no audio issues for anyone using other devices, such as laptops, desktops and tablets, nor has there been any issues reported on other pages on this site. ​My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. I hope the issue will be resolved soon.

1st Semester

Lesson 1
Pace of the Book
I've been asked by other guitar educators how to pace the book. First, since the book is divided into two semesters, the long-term goal is to complete each half of the book by the end of the fall or spring semester, respectively. Within each half, the pace really depends on a few factors. How often does your class meet per week? How long is each class session? Are the students able to practice at home?  In my school, each class session is 1.5 hours long and will rotate between meeting twice or three times a week a week. I expect my students to practice at home, particularly on days class doesn't meet.  In that context, I am able to comfortably get through the book at a relaxed pace. 
Part 1 – Overview of the Guitar
Part 2 – Lesson 4 Walk –Through


​A & D Chords, The Beat
Lesson 2

The E Chord, Rhythm

The students  should first become proficient in transitioning between the E and A chords before playing the following strumming patterns. I suggest that they at first learn Hollywood Nights on page 8.  

Songs

I introduce Hollywood Nights by the third class session to help prepare them to transition between the E and A chords in the strumming patterns on page 7. I wait until the fourth class session to introduce Chasing Cars and  No Rain. All three songs are reviewed in each class while in this lesson and I make it a point to come back to Chasing Cars (one of the student's favorites) even in subsequent lessons. Note that while I introduce Chasing Cars in the fourth class session, I will postpone the 8th-note strumming pattern in the final chorus until the fifth or perhaps even the sixth class session, when students will have had more practice strumming eighth notes to a bit. Barton Hollow, on the bottom of page 7, is an ideal, one-chord song, that allows students to practice eighth-note strumming without being distracted by chord changes. 
Lesson 3

The G & C Chords, Reading Music

This lesson introduces the G and C chords. Below is an exercise and three songs to help facilitate proficiency in these two chords. 

Reading Music

This lesson also introduces the student to reading standard music notation, which will prepare them to play classical guitar and ensemble music in the spring semester as well in subsequent years in my guitar program, which is heavily dependent on students having solid music-reading skills. Students will begin by learning the natural notes in first position, one string at a time, and always in the context of learning duet melodies.  In this lesson, students will learn the notes: E, F & G on the first string.  When playing the duet melodies, it is important that students use a rest stroke and alternate between the index and middle fingers.

While the duets in this and subsequent lessons in the first-semester portion of this book are an effective and engaging way to learn to read music, they are not reliable when assessing music-reading ability. Keep in mind that the goal of learning these duet melodies is not necessarily to have students play these melodies, but to read them. Since these duets are learned and reviewed during class, there is no way to determine if the student actually learned them by reading them.  Because of the repetition of the review and the reinforcement of hearing other students playing the melody,  some students could easily have learned the melody by ear or even by placing tablature indicators in their music. Therefore, in order to  accurately asses true music-reading ability, I've found that a sight-reading test, with no more than 5 minutes of preparation, is the most effective and reliable gauge. 

On the bottom of page 13 below, there are  sight-reading exercises that will  closely resemble test examples (see Appendix). All the examples are four measures long and incorporate the rhythms discussed in Lesson 2 and 3, including quarter, eighth and half note rhythms. 

Duets

Below are two recordings of each duet. One is the melody and metronome only, the other is melody with accompaniment. ​ In order to grasp a better understanding of rhythm, I suggest that the student  first learn to play these melodies in the context of a beat only.  At this early stage of music-reading development, the accompaniment can sometimes be a distraction from the student truly understanding the rhythmic component of the melody, which could create a significant deficit in the student's music-reading skill.

​

Duet No. 1

Duet No. 2

Duet No. 3

Duet No. 4

Sight Reading Practice

lesson 4

The Minor Chord, Notes on the 2nd String

Melodies With Notes on the 1st & 2nd String

In this lesson, students will learn the notes in first position on the 2nd string. The first three duets use notes only on the 2nd string so that they begin feeling comfortable with these notes before playing melodies that combine notes on both the 1st and 2nd strings.  Students are also introduced to pickup measures and the 3/4 time signature.

Dust in the Wind

2nd String Player

The Beast Ring

Melodies With Notes on the 1st & 2nd String

Note: In some of the duets, such as BE BE String and Dance de las Hachas, the accompaniment track will not have a metronome.  In such tracks, the beat should be clear in the accompaniment.

BE BE String

Dance de la Hachas

Pavana III

Andantino in C

Study

Sight-Reading Examples

Again, if you are interested in assessing your student's music reading skill and would like a copy of my sight-reading tests for this and/or other lessons, send me an email, and I will be happy to send it/them to you.

Lesson 5

F Chord, Notes on the 3rd String

Melodies on the 3rd String Only

Air on the G String

Dance on the 3rd String

Melodies on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Strings

Allegro in C

Menuett

Spanish Dance

Lesson 6

Am & Dm Chords​

Again, page 33 below has a note review as well as 4-measure sight-reading examples that closely resemble the examples in the actual sight-reading test for this lesson. If you would like a copy of the actual test, send me an email.

The two duets below are no longer contained in the book, but I kept it here in the eBook, just in case you find it useful.

Duet 1

Duet 2

Lesson 7
Lesson 8
Lesson 9
Lesson 10

Adding Notes to Chords​

The Allegro duet below, which was in older editions of the book, is no longer in the current edition. However,  I've kept this duet in the eBook just in case it might be useful to you. ​

2nd Semester

Lesson 11

Rock
Sus4 Chords​

El Condor Pasa is a song I used in older editions of the book. I've kept in the eBook in case it's useful to you.

Classical Guitar
​p-i-m Pattern

Guitar Ensemble
Ode to Joy - Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

Lesson 12

Rock
Sus2 Chords​

Classical Guitar
​p-i-m-i Pattern

Teachers: It is not necessary for students to learn all three of the pieces below. Depending on your time, one or two is fine.

Guitar Ensemble
Finale - Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
arranged by Lou Warde

Lesson 13

Rock
Add9 Chords​

Stairway to Heaven

       Stairway to Heaven will be the final for the rock portion of the class. Each lesson will tackle one section of the song as it correlates with the objectives of that lesson as well as the technical abilities of the student at that point in their skill development. For instance, we cannot begin learning the intro of Stairway yet since students have not learned bar chords, nor do they have sufficient finger style skill yet. At this point in the curriculum, students have learned the sus2, sus4, and in this lesson, add9 chords, and they should be adequately proficient in their strumming technique. Therefore, they are prepared to begin learning rehearsal letter E of Stairway, the section just before the guitar solo.
       Admittedly, Letter E is a rhythmically-demanding section. There are time signature changes in every measure and there are a couple of spots that will be particularly challenging. It will take awhile for most students to get this section down. I've intentionally left out rock and ensemble material in the next lesson so that time could be spent on this section of Stairway to Heaven.
       To the guitar teacher, I've found that by breaking this section down into smaller segments, isolating those trouble spots, and going over these sections daily will be most effective in getting students proficient as quickly as possible.  Also, to assist you in helping prepare your students, I've provided three recordings of this section. The first is with acoustic guitar and click track only, and is at a slightly slower tempo than the actual recording. The second is the same version as the first, but with the recording added, just so they can begin hearing and playing this song in the context of the band. The third is the actual recording of this section of the song at normal tempo.
     Lastly, it is completely fine not to learn the whole song, including Letter E. Most players are satisfied learning only the Intro (Letters A & B). If you find yourself in a time crunch, or, if this song is a bit too much for your students, I recommend to at least learn the Intro.

Classical Guitar
​p-i-m-a Pattern

Note: I use Prelude in A as the primary piece to learn in this lesson. Prelude in C is a good "extra credit" piece.

Guitar Ensemble
Finlandia - Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
arranged by Lou Warde

lesson 14

Rock
Bar Chords​

Stairway to Heaven
F

Classical Guitar
​p-i-m-a-m-i Pattern
Bella – Guitar Quartet (Guitar 4) 
Note: This is supplemental and not found in the Beginning Book.
lesson 15

Rock
The Am Formation Bar Chord​

Classical Guitar
Combining Patterns

Stairway to Heaven
D

Guitar Ensemble
Be Thou My Vision - Traditional Irish Melody
arranged by Lou Warde

lesson 16

Rock
The A Formation Bar Chord​

Stairway to Heaven
 B

Before learning the B section of Stairway to Heaven below, I suggest first learning one of the classical pieces on pages 86 or 87. 

Classical Guitar
Two Notes Played Together, Pedal Notes

Again, it is not necessary to learn all four pieces below. One from each page is fine.  If you are restrained for time and only have time for one, I suggest learning Andantino on page 87. It's short (only 8 measures of material), and technically, the easiest to play.
lesson 17

Rock
Syncopation
Stairway to Heaven (C & G)

Guitar Ensemble
Here is Love - Traditional Welsh Melody
arranged by Lou Warde

lesson 18

Classical
Patterns Emphasizing the Ring Finger
Classical Guitar Final

Estudio and/or Prelude are the last classical guitar pieces to be learned in the beginning curriculum, and thus, I treat these pieces as the classical guitar final, as Stairway to Heaven is the rock final.

Rock
Stairway to Heaven (A)
lesson 19

Fingerstyle Patterns in Popular Music
(Optional)

Travis Picking

Below are a couple of songs utilizing the Travis picking pattern. (The pattern in Freight Train is a slight variation to that in Dust in the Wind.) Besides a recording of the songs at normal tempo, I've created a Travis picking exercise as well  slower versions of the songs to help prepare students.

Dust in the Wind

Freight Train

Hallelujah

Guitar Ensemble
Yosemite – Lou Warde

lesson 20

Stairway to Heaven
Rock Final

       Led Zeppelin's recording of Stairway to Heaven is over eight minutes long! In the context of testing students individually, it's not practical or necessary to have them perform the entire song. Since the ​length of the song is due largely to the multiple repeats of most sections, reducing the number of repeats will shorten the length of the song without altering its basic form or material. Note the places where the repeats have been reduced: i.e. "(Final: 4x only)"
       In the recording of the Final Version below, the repeats at letter F & G are not reduced, as it shows in the music. (I had a hard time justifying cutting short Jimmy's guitar solo.)  So, with the solo at full length, it made structural sense to also keep G full length too. Therefore, if the student will be testing with the recording, they will play letter F (10X) and letter G (7X), as the full length recording.
     Lastly, as time moves on and styles in music changes, the popularity and relevance of rock music has diminished, as have the staples of the "classic rock" era. I've found this to be true with Stairway to Heaven. This is a tough song to learn for a beginner. Without a strong desire to learn this song (which most of my students in the past four years have never heard of), it has not been worth the effort to teach the whole song. Therefore, I've only taught in first page (Letters A & B), which most people only play anyway,
Below are two recordings of Stairway to Heaven. One is the full length and the other is a reduced, class final version.
appendix
The Appendix includes a chart of all the chords in first position, a guitar fretboard correlating all notes in standard notation to the fretboard, another chart showing all the notes in first position and for guitar educators, my grading rubric.