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.
How to Teach Composition to Guitar Students, Part 2 – Chord Progressions
In the first blog on composition, Classroom Guitar expert Mike Christiansen talked about finding the chords in major and minor keys by using the chord clock found in the Consonus Guitar Fundamentals: Beginning Guitar Complete book. In this post Mike talks about chord progressions…Read More…
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 on how to sequentially present composition skills to Read the Rest…
Beginning Guitar: Getting Rid of the Buzz
Classroom Guitar expert Mike Christiansen gives tips for beginning guitar students to get rid of string buzz. String buzz comes from a number of common…Read More…
Teaching Beginning Composition
Classroom Guitar pedagogy expert Mike Christiansen gives tips for teaching beginning composition with guitar and ukulele. Read More…
Basic Ukulele – Announcing the Release of a New Consonus Ukulele Method
Basic Ukulele is a new Ukulele Method authored by Consonus Music Institute Director of Curriculum Mike Christiansen. This method is particularly appropriate for Classroom Ukulele teachers and students. Read More…
Classroom Guitar Curriculum Change Up
Classroom Guitar Pedagogy expert, Mike Christiansen, discusses reasons to change to Consonus Music Institutes Blended Learning curriculum for classroom guitar and ukulele.Read more…
Teaching Classroom Guitar – Flipped
Consonus Music Institute’s Classroom Guitar and Classroom Ukulele curriculum provides everything you need to “flip” your class. In fact, this is one of the most productive uses of technology in the classroom. We asked David Jackman, a teacher in the Apline School District in Utah to tell us about his experience using CMI’s classroom guitar curriculum to “flip” his guitar class. This is his story. Read the Rest…
The Muted Strum
Sometimes it’s the small things that make the biggest difference. In the world of guitar accompaniment techniques good time and rhythmic feel can make you sound like a pro when playing even the simplest strumming patterns. One of the easiest ways to develop that feel is by adding muted strums to your playing. It’s the percussive pop Read the Rest…
