Bath Guitar School offers a wide range of teaching styles that is tailored to suit you, the learner. Below is some basic information about what you can choose to learn. This is an example of the lesson content that can be fitted in and around what you want to learn and be adapted to fit the style of guitar, be it acoustic or electric guitar, or the musical style that suits you, i.e. blues, rock, funk, jazz, metal, or whatever you want to learn!

If you would like to book a guitar lesson please contact us to make arrangements.

Beginner - Novice - Early Learner (0-3 years)

Your guitar lessons will be aimed at helping you, the beginner learner, to get started on the right foot by covering all the fundamentals of the electric or acoustic guitar. At the end of each guitar lesson, you will know your instrument a little better than before, and you are going to be making music with it!

Expect to learn:

• The parts of the electric guitar
• Learning the notes of the strings
• Tuning your guitar
• Planning the perfect practice routine
• Ear training
• Basic Music Theory
• Simple open chords - Major, Minor, Dominant
• Shortcut chord positions, such as partial barres and power chords
• Left-hand dampening
• Basic blues shuffles rhythms
• Alternate up-down picking as well as all-downstroke picking strokes
• Making the right-hand (rhythm hand) the “drummer”
• Hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides
• Pentatonic and blues scales
• Popular rock and pop songs
• ...and more!

If you are a beginner learner and would like to book a guitar lesson please contact us to make arrangements.

Guitar lessons for the intermediate learner (3+ years)

As an intermediate learner you will know the basics and have an understanding of how to play the guitar - some scales, chords, power chords, rhythm playing, improvised soloing.

Expect to learn:

• Barre chords
• Major 7, Minor 7, Dominant 7 chords
• CAGED system
• Pentatonic legato phrases and runs
• Staccato and use of dynamics
• Minimising your finger movements
• Scales: Major, Minor, Pentatonic variants
• Music Theory
• Playing with a metronome
• Inventive rhythm guitar playing
• Double stops, bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, trills, legato
  
• Blues playing - expression, feel and groove
• Improvised solo/lead guitar techniques
• ...and much more!

If you are an intermediate learner and would like to book a guitar lesson please contact us to make arrangements.

Guitar lessons for the advanced learner (5+ years)

As an advanced learner you will know most, if not all of the above, and be looking for a challenge to take your playing to the next level. Perhaps you're looking to take a Rockschool Grade 8 exam and achieve entry into university or one of the many music institutes and colleges in the UK.

Expect to learn:

• Full usage of the CAGED System
• Chord extensions: 7, 9, 11, 13
• Altered dominant chords: 7#5, 7b5, 7#9, 7b9
  
• Major and Minor arpeggios - 6, 5, 4, 3, string shapes
• Extended arpeggios
• Superimposing arpeggios - creating 7, 9, 11, 13 sounds
• The Modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian
• Altered/Hybrid pentatonic scales: Hindu, Lydian, m6, m9, m7b5
  
• Expressive solo guitar
• Effortless technique (left and right hand)
  
• Picking styles: alternate, economy, sweep, hybrid, chicken-picking, travis-picking
  
• Learning to improvise in all styles and genres
  
• Performance skills
• ...and much more!

If you are an advanced learner and would like to book a guitar lesson please contact us to make arrangements.