To improvise over major chords, a very popular scale of choice is the major pentatonic. Read More.
How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, Part 4 – How to Write A Melody
There are probably dozens of approaches and techniques for writing a melody. The technique I would like to focus on works well with young students and offers a step-by-step approach to early endeavors in composition. Read More.
How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, Part 3 – Composition Form
In this installment of How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, classroom guitar expert, Mike Christiansen, discusses 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 together to make sense and have direction…Read More.
Teaching Beginning Composition
Classroom Guitar pedagogy expert Mike Christiansen gives tips for teaching beginning composition with guitar and ukulele. Read More…
Private Guitar Teachers: What to Look For
In this video blog Guitar Pedagogy Expert Mike Christiansen gives you tips on what to look for in a private guitar teacher. You can also find a link to our self-study site where you can continue your guitar or ukulele studies with access to all the courses we offer. Read more…
Classroom Guitar: Tips for Tuning the Class
Classroom Guitar expert Mike Christiansen gives you tips and tricks for tuning your classroom guitar class. Quickly tune your class with the included video. Read more…
Memorizing Music
In this video blog Classroom Guitar expert Mike Christiansen gives you tips and tricks for memorizing music. Watch the Video…
Classroom Guitar: How, When and Why to Use a Capo
In this video blog, Consonus Classroom Guitar Curriculum author Mike Christiansen discusses how, when and why to use a capo. Probably the most common use of a capo is to change key but when teaching very young classroom guitar students… Watch the Video…
Classroom Guitar: Silence is Golden
When teaching classroom guitar or classroom ukulele having some tools to get your class to quiet down can be essential. In this video-blog Mike Christiansen teaches the concept of “rest position” and gives you some tools to help calm the chaos. Watch the Video…
Blues Licks for Classroom Guitar
The blues song form, chord progression, and signature melodic motifs are elements that inform many genre’s of music including jazz, rock & roll, country, and gospel music. The blues is of particular interest to guitar players as as it originated on the instrument. The tradition of guitar improvisation started with the blues and many of Read the Rest…
