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Consonus Music Institute

Professional Development & Curriculum for Classroom Guitar

Professional Development and Curriculum for Classroom Guitar
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Latest Post

Guitar Improvisation with the Major Pentatonic Scale

Improvisation with the Major Pentatonic Scale

March 18, 2019 By Mike Christiansen 4 Comments

To improvise over major chords, a very popular scale of choice is the major pentatonic. Read More.

Hot Topics

Classroom Guitar: Warm-up Exercises for Every Level

By Mike Christiansen

Classroom Guitar: Warm-up exercises for Every Level Warm-up exercises should be on the agenda for the beginning of every class. Most likely, many of you have created … [Read More...]

 

Classroom Guitar: Can Always Play Open – Using a Capo

By Mike Christiansen

CAPO is not an acronym for “can always play open.” But, a capo can make it possible to transpose (to change the key) of music that contains open chords, without … [Read More...]

More Articles

how-to-write-a-melody

How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, Part 4 – How to Write A Melody

Many Approaches to Teaching Students How to Write a Melody There are probably dozens of approaches and techniques for writing a melody. These methods range from starting with chord tones, to having the melody drop out of heaven and land on your ears. Many, if … [Read More...]

music composition with guitar

How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, Part 3 – Composition Form

Writing a Story In this installment of How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, I want to discuss composition form, the form of the song you are writing. Writing a song is like writing a story. Like writing words, the melody and the chords have to work … [Read More...]

How to teach music composition to guitar students - chord progressions

How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, Part 2 – Chord Progressions

The Progression of Chords In the first blog on composition, I talked about finding the chords in major and minor keys by using the chord clock (a modified circle of fifths) found in the Consonus Guitar Fundamentals: Beginning Guitar Complete book. In this … [Read More...]

music composition with guitar

How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, Part 1

How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students Some of you may have been to one of my sessions at an MEA conference where I discussed methods of teaching music composition in guitar classes. In this series of blogs on composition I'm going to go into more detail … [Read More...]

beginning guitar - finger placement

Beginning Guitar: Getting Rid of the Buzz

Shouldn't Take a Light Year to Get Rid of the Buzz String buzz can be one of the simplest things to diagnose and solve for beginning guitar students. I say "can be" because the problem may be with the guitar and not the fingers. However, I would say … [Read More...]

Beginning Composition for Guitar and Ukulele

Teaching Beginning Composition

Tips for Teaching Beginning Composition for Guitar & Ukulele Start Early I have my students compose from very earlier on in their instruction. Teachers should have their students begin composing by writing chord progressions. The first chords students should … [Read More...]

Basic Ukulele - A Classroom Ukulele Method

Basic Ukulele – Announcing the Release of a New Consonus Ukulele Method

Basic Ukulele - Addressing The Ukulele Explosion If you haven't noticed, the popularity of the ukulele is taking the country by storm. The only way you wouldn't have noticed is if you lived on a secluded island. Even then, a ukulele could have easily washed … [Read More...]

Change Your Classroom Guitar Curriculum

Classroom Guitar Curriculum Change Up

Why Change Your Classroom Guitar Curriculum? Changing the way you do something, or the way you teach something, is scary. It's comfortable to continue teaching the same way and using the same materials. So…why change your classroom guitar curriculum? Changes … [Read More...]

Finding Private Teachers for Guitar by Mike Christiansen

Private Guitar Teachers: What to Look For

With summer coming on and your classroom guitar class winding down you may be interested in continuing your guitar studies with a private guitar teacher. In this video blog Guitar Pedagogy Expert Mike Christiansen gives you tips on what to look for in a … [Read More...]

Classroom Guitar: Tips for Tuning the Class

An Easy and Fun Way to Tune Your Class One of the most fun ways to tune is with the video at the top of this blog post. This video, called "Tuning Pitches," is also found in the video library that comes with every course in the Consonus courseware library. … [Read More...]

View more of our latest posts >>

Mike Christiansen – Curriculum Author

Mike Christiansen classroom guitar and ukulele curriculum authorMike Christiansen, classroom guitar & ukulele curriculum author, is Professor Emeritus in the Music Department at Utah State University. Mike founded the guitar program at USU and was Director of Guitar Studies at USU for 39 years. Read More...

Upcoming Events - featuring Mike Christiansen

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What Teachers Think

"I am an experienced guitar player, and yet CMI has provided me with a valuable resource in my beginning classroom guitar class. The sequence of concepts, structure of lessons, and choices of music are all well thought out, and the engaging blended learning platform allows me to provide more individual and small group support."

Richard Langham Chaparral Middle School

"We really like the Consonus Music Institute product and … I anticipate using this classroom guitar curriculum for quite some time."

Dwight Dodd Bartlett High School

"The developmental sequencing is the best of any published classroom guitar curriculum I've used. I love the emphasis on technique building."

David Jackman Alpine School District

"The Consonus Music Institute Classroom Guitar Curriculum guides the students to become better guitarists and musicians. It enables them to take responsibility for their learning."

Karen Straus Carrolton Christian Academy

"I love how Consonus classroom guitar curriculum starts with tablature and incorporates chords from the beginning. The way the tablature incorporates aspects of standard notation, making that a little less scary when we get to it about halfway through the book."

Kelley Neudecker Fulton High School

"Consonus has the best 'pre-reading' guitar TAB approach for classroom guitar I have seen. Transitioning into standard notation is actually smooth. Kids quickly feel successful and motivated. I'm a fan."

Chris Frazer Pueblo Middle School

"The classroom guitar course is very well organized and easy to comprehend. The students can work ahead as fast as they are ready with the help of the online resources."

Spencer Jensen Legacy Preparatory Academy

"This classroom guitar system will make my job as a teacher so much easier."

Cami Jensen Utah Valley University

"The level of accomplishment of the class has certainly increased since I began using CMI's classroom guitar material."

Richard Langham Chaparral Middle School

"I really like the way tablature is introduced in this classroom guitar curriculum. It looks more like real music. I think it sets up the students for success when learning how to read rhythms and standard notation."

Brian Parker Granite Park Junior High School

"I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed your classroom guitar curriculum and classroom ukulele curriculum here at Lakeview Academy. The kids stay engaged and have progressed much farther than I could have ever taken them on my own."

Ruth Young Lakeview Academy

"As a brass player and band teacher who has been asked to teach classroom guitar this curriculum is a life saver. Using video instruction to demonstrate guitar techniques and musical examples allows me to put my focus on helping the student’s with their performance."

Paul Dewey Legacy Preparatory Academy

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