Guitar Instruction

• The primary emphasis is on acquiring a working knowledge of "jazz harmony" on the guitar. "Working Knowledge" means the ability to spell any letter-named chord and its extensions from memory, and to be able to instantly play the several common positions for any such chord without hesitation.
  
  We are not jazz players, nor do we have much interest in jazz style above any other music, BUT the system of letter-named chords with numerical extensions IS the foundation of all popular music of the last hundred years, and is the main indispensable thing which is MISSING from the usual classical guitar education. We explain the 3 major historical systems of harmony: (1) figured bass (17th and 18th century), (2) the 19th century theory of chord roots as derived from Rameau and taught in Aldwell & Schacter (a conventional classical-music-program harmony textbook) and (3) the system of "jazz" harmony based on letter names: how the later two systems are built on and relate to the earlier systems, and what this means to the guitar student who aspires to be a professional.
  
  40 years of experience and observation has shown that classical music students who are trained in the classical 19th century method of harmony (i.e., Aldwell & Schacter) simply do not have the tools to play popular music, and experience embarrassment and loss of opportunity because of not knowing the "newer" system (which is already about 100 years old.)
  
  We use classic Mexican pop songs which are part of our performance repertory for study texts.
  
  
• Guitar technique as necessary. The primary emphasis of the instruction is on musical issues, but of course technical questions will be answered and advice offered as necessary. We use all five fingers of the right hand and have various specialized techniques which are not essential but which we share freely with our students.
  
  
• Scale practice is actively encouraged, and up to an hour a day is recommended. Our system of scales goes far beyond the "Segovia Scales" and is intended to support an active improvisation practice as well as to serve as the most basic foundation of the knowledge of fingerboard harmony. We practice scales in all keys and in all possible positions as a matter of course, in a variety of rhythmic configurations, as well as related extension-arpeggio patterns.
  
  
• Counterpoint: our own system of counterpoint practice applied directly to the fingerboard both as a written practice and as an improvisation practice. There is currently no available textbook for applied counterpoint on the guitar as we teach it. The excellent book by Dusan Bogdanovic has merit (i.e, it's worth studying along with the classic texts such as Fux), but the fact is that "species counterpoint" is based on vocal music and is not very "guitar-friendly"; hence we have developed a new approach.
  
  (But, this is the most advanced level of musical thinking; we won't even approach the subject unless the student has the necessary background already.)
  
  
• Music as an element of a classical education: the ancient roots of music theory in the classical "Quadrivium", and why a modern musician should know the history of music theory.