Guitar Class

---

 The guitar class in one of the electives a student can take in order to fulfill the diploma requirements for graduation. Most of the students who select this class do so because they truly wish to learn how to play the guitar. Here, students with or without prior musical knowledge or experience get the opportunity to learn how to play the guitar. During the first few sessions, the students are taught how to read and interpret written music. In addition, they are taught the elements of music, such as:

melody
harmony
rhythm
meter
tempo
dynamics

At first, the students learn to read notes on the staff and locate them on the strings. They are taught what open strings and fretted strings are. Once they are on their way, the students are introduced to playing lead guitar (playing the melody). After a while, the students are then introduced to harmony (chords). They are taught major, minor, dominant 7, major 7, minor 7, diminished, and augmented chords. The next unit introduces the students to several rhythmic strums. The final unit introduces the students to finger picking and various fingerpicking styles as well. By the end of the semester, the students are proficient enough to perform with confidence and pride.