Folk and pop guitar: advanced
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
Choose a start date
- Course Code: ME619A
- Dates: 21/09/24 - 30/11/24
- Time: 10:15 - 11:45
- Taught: Sat, Daytime
- Duration: 11 sessions (over 11 weeks)
- Location: Online
- Tutor: David Harrison
Course Code: ME619A
Choose a start date
Duration: 11 sessions (over 11 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
Maintain and improve your contemporary guitar technique: finger picking and strumming patterns, scale and melody playing, and rhythm work.
This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
What will we cover?
Each song for study will be chosen to highlight a specific area of guitar technique, building a varied repertoire. Musicianship relevant to the subject is taught, e.g. to help you transpose songs, understand structure, compose or improvise.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Play in any key
- Work out chords for songs
- Learn classic and some unusual repertoire
- Demonstrate an understanding of the way chords interrelate
- Improvise over simple chord progressions
- Provide effective accompaniment, including bassline figures.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
You should be able to play a large collection of major and minor chords, including bar chords, and have a working knowledge of music theory - equivalent at least to completion of folk and pop guitar 3.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
In class you will be taught through playing together and solo, with individual attention where appropriate. Practice between classes is essential to your progress and the momentum of this course.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
All music materials and resources will be provided in the google classroom. Play your own acoustic or electric instrument.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
This course continues as B and C to span the academic year.
David Harrison studied at Oxford Brookes university before taking a post-graduate diploma in saxophone performance at Guildhall School of Music & Drama. David has been teaching at City Lit since 1994. In 2004 he wrote a guitar player’s guide for Collins and joined Music Sales in 2005 to update the famous A Tune A Day tutor series, eventually producing over 40 titles as series editor of the relaunched A New Tune A Day books, which has since become the biggest-selling music tutor series worldwide. Since 2010, David has worked freelance writing, editing and producing mainly educational titles, including Abracadabra Beginning Theory (Collins Music); The Complete Ukulele Player (Music Sales) and most recently the Bob Dylan Complete (Hal Leonard), the authorised collection of every Dylan song, together with an extensive introduction covering Dylan’s acoustic guitar technique, his song-writing and Dylan’s place in the American folk music revival. Aside from his guitar and saxophone classes, David runs a course in song writing. a series of talks on the music of The Beatles, and a series on the songs of Bob Dylan’s 1960s albums.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
