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Guitar Fundamentals Receives Highest Recommendation in USOE Review

December 18, 2013 by Mike Christiansen

On December 12th 2013, The Utah State Office of Education released  the results of its  Fall 2013 Instructional Materials Review and Consonus Music Institute’s Guitar Fundamentals – Beginning Course was given the highest  adoption recommendation of Primary Curriculum by the review commission.  As a Primary Curriculum teachers in Utah public schools may adopt the CMI courseware as the sole curriculum for a guitar class they may teach.

The text of the USOE Review is published below:

“This is a blended learning (book and internet) beginning guitar program. The program is easy to access and simple use. The lessons are sequential with an internet menu that is easy to navigate. The information concerning guitars in general, replacing strings, and other tips is very helpful. There are video clips of professional players as role models. These clips are also readily accessible to motivate and inspire students as well as provide a benchmark for students to strive for. The internet instructor is concise and uses student friendly language. Pacing and explanations are clear and focused. Each lesson lists the specific skills to be learned as well as practice material. The classroom teacher can instruct with the internet videos and lessons and students can also access this site at home in order to practice or to make up lessons.

The lessons are sequential and cover the state core for guitar. A PDF file is available for teachers that specifies the objectives and topics for each lesson. The program is quite comprehensive covering a broad amount of chords, note playing, and specific guitar playing techniques. It also covers a good variety of literature and genre for solo and ensemble playing. The accompanying student book provides for written music and samples of the songs used in the internet lessons. It also has supplemental material that further explains the skills. The book also includes blank staff paper, tablature paper and blank chord charts that teachers can use for various purposes including composition and assessment. The program also logs how many times the student has viewed the lesson. This can be used for tracking purposes.

The internet componenet tracks student progress and practice. A teacher can upload a file to the system for supplementary materials. It also has a teacher forum (blog) for sharing and discussion purposes. It also has a calendar so students know when assignment are due. The lessons themselves can be used as assessments and also as intervention for students who are struggling with a skill. Pricing options are available and seem reasonable for this product.”

Here’s the link  to the official review on the Utah State Office of Education site. Click Here

Filed Under: News, Uncategorized

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...

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What Teachers Think

"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

"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

"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

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

Richard Langham Chaparral Middle 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

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

Cami Jensen Utah Valley University

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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