The following copyrighted methods booklet was developed and is being sold commercially in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the degree of Master of Music at Utah State University. The instruction book was designed to be used in teaching guitar classes at the University because after a review of many teaching materials, one was not found to be suitable for the purposes of teaching beginning and intermediate group classes on a university level.
This is a beginning method for group or individual guitar instruction which will present several ways in which the guitar may be used as an accompaniment instrument. If the test is used for group instruction the student may progress at his own rate of speed. Each concept in the book is a “follow-up” of a previous skill. The book is designed so one type of accompaniment leads to a more difficult one. The student should feel comfortable playing one accompaniment before trying the next. However, in a group situation all of the students may be playing the same piece using different accompaniment styles.
In many music books and much sheet music the guitarist is provided with the chords, but no indication of how the song is to be strummed or picked. This book provides many types of accompaniment patterns which can be used to play not only the traditional songs contained in the book itself, but also songs from music books and sheet music.The book also contains a section which enables the student to transpose or change the chords of a song. Many chords are dra1m in the book and one section enables the student to learn many chords from memorizing only a few patterns. There is also a portion of the book which aids the student in ear development and playing “by ear.”
The Guitar as an Accompaniment Instrument
