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Learn How to Play Guitar & Bass

Why Take Guitar Lessons?

Becoming a good guitar player requires proper instruction with weekly lessons from an experienced guitar teacher.  Some people think they can teach themselves how to play.  All they have to do is buy a book or look at the internet and they’ll become a good player.  Perhaps if you are a born musical prodigy this will work for you, few people are.  People need teachers to learn, which is why we go through high school and beyond for an education.  From what we’ve seen, trying to self teach a musical instrument doesn’t work well.  Many of our students started out trying this and gave up because it didn’t work.  Without a good teacher, a person can develop bad techniques and bad habits which become very difficult to change later.  Proper technique (how to hold a pick, use your fingers, etc.) is extremely important in the beginning.  A good teacher will have a plan for your development. 

Why Select a Guitar as Your Instrument to Play?

The guitar is one of the most popular instruments anywhere.  Many people think it is the coolest instrument in the world.  The guitar is lightweight, portable and relatively inexpensive.  It’s a great instrument for virtually any genre of music.  It’s featured in rock, jazz, blues, country, classical, latin and other music styles.  We teach all of these genres.  It can play chords (many instruments cannot), melodies, and the chords can be combined with melodies for a beautiful chord-melody style.  It’s a great outlet for creativity.  You can play rhythm or lead with it.  It’s available as an acoustic or electric instrument.  With a variety of guitars available, many different sounds can be obtained. 

What Type of Guitar Should I Get?

There are three basic types of guitars. They are acoustic, electric, and classical.  An electric guitar simply amplifies the instrument through an amplifier. An acoustic guitar and most electric guitars have steel strings. Classical guitars have nylon strings. A pick is used (known as flat picking) or fingers (known as fingerstyle) to pick the strings. Smaller sized guitars are available for children. If you do not already have a guitar, it’s best to call us to discuss what works best for you.  We can help you in this area for places to find a guitar.

What if I Want to Play a Bass Guitar?

The bass guitar is a different instrument.  It has a much lower tone than the guitar.  It’s played in a different clef than the guitar.  It has four strings instead of six.  Some people play bass to expand their musical knowledge.  It may help improve your chances of getting into a band, as there are fewer bass players.  If you like getting into a rhythm groove, the bass is a good choice.  It can help you be a better composer if you want to write songs.  It can be played in many genres of music.  It’s also fun and cool!  Bass guitar lessons and guitar lessons are needed to learn to play either instrument.

How do you teach guitar and bass lessons at the Mequon Music Academy?

The guitar can be taught with traditional music notes (where you learn to read music) or with tablature (known as tab).  Tab is a chart type method of lines and numbers, where you can see where to play notes without learning how to read notes.  This method is good for anyone who does not wish to learn how to read music notes.  Both methods will be discussed with you when lessons start.  We teach both flat picking (using a pick) and fingerstyle (where fingers are used to pluck strings) for the guitar and bass.  We teach different genres of music such as rock, jazz, Latin, country, blues, classical and others.  We start out with the fundamentals and technique to get your fingers and coordination working.  We teach how to play rhythm and lead (chords and melodies).

 

Lessons are 30 minutes, once a week, and students must practice if they expect to play well.  Daily practice is recommended.  Our goal is to learn songs and have fun with your lessons.  Lessons are individualized to your needs, skill level and desires.  Longer lessons are available for an additional cost, if desired.  We emphasize playing songs, not just doing scales and exercises.  We also teach music theory, improvising and chord-melody arrangements.

 

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We provide guitar lessons to students from Mequon, Cedarburg, Grafton, River Hills, Bayside, Glendale, Thiensville, Brown Deer and Fox Point.

HOURS

 

Monday - Saturday:

By appointment only.

SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES

ADDRESS

 

11516 N Port Washington Rd

Suite 9 (Lower Level)

Mequon, WI  53092

mequonmusicacademy@gmail.com

Tel: (262) 241-5332

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© 2020 by Mequon Music Academy.

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