M.Mus (U of T)
B.Mus (Oberlin)
Guitarist Gergely Szabo has an Advanced Diploma in Music Performance from Cambrian College where he majored in the classical guitar. Over his time there, he completed 2 years of comprehensive pedagogy courses. He also gained well grounded vocal skills, as well as basic knowledge on the piano. Outside of classical music, he exhibits a repertoire of skills and knowledge in playing the genres of rock, blues, and heavy metal music. He has experience in teaching the guitar and the ukulele to a range of people aged 6 to 54.
Gergely’s teaching methods include both the use of books and digital methods. The three main books he uses to teach guitar are as follows: “Guitar Method Book 1 by Will Schmid and Greg Koch,” “Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests RCM Level 1,” and “Classical Guitar Repertoire and Etudes RCM Level 1.” For teaching ukulele, he uses the book “Ukulele Songs for 1, 2, or 3 players by Elizabeth Ragsdale.” Aside from these, he frequently uses the Muse Score application as a play-along practicing tool.
Gergely’s passion for music and his dedication to growing the love of music in others are the biggest reasons why he teaches guitar and ukulele. His approach to teaching involves learning through play. The material he covers with his students is always delivered in a way that is highly interactive. Most of the assigned exercises he gives involve the elements of play that students can enjoy both in class and as homework.
Get to know Gergely…Beyond the Bio!
Coming soon!
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Musical influences:
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Least favourite food:
Favourite music:
Favourite album:
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Latest Homework from Gergely
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Efe — Jun 27th
Hi Efe!
I know your life will be full of fun things this summer so go enjoy those! When you do have a minute, look at the following material.
Jazz guitarists
Check out some jazz guitarists on YouTube. There is no shortage of them! Django Reinhardt, of course, is a great place to start.
Here’s a huge list of other players: Wikipedia
In September, we’ll definitely be able to choose a song with jazz guitar in it and work on that. — I can rearrange the songs into simpler versions so that they’re much more doable for you to learn and play.
E to D to E game
See below the video of the chords game we were playing in class.
— Jump in. Feel the rhythm. Do your own rhythmic playing alongside mine.
— Here is your video: YouTube
— Here is the PDF of the music score in the video: E to D to E
Backing track
Play this track at 0.75x speed. Jam to it. Blues track
— Chords
- Play the powerchord version of whatever chord you see here. Don’t worry about the numbers. Just the letters. That will work for this track.
- To locate any powerchord: take the letter name. Find where to fret that note. Then put finger 4 two frets up, on the next string closer to the floor.
— Scales
- Em pentatonic will work to jam with.
- Only do this if you want. It’s more important that you work on the chords for now.
Spanish Fly by Van Halen
Listen to this song. A couple times. — The idea is to know it well enough in your head that you know what we’re talking about when we look at it next year.
Next year, we should be able to work on parts of it. It will be great to build up some more techniques in your guitar knowledge.
That’s all. Have a great summer Efe!
Homework for June 18-24
Maya
Great work Maya! Here’s this week’s homework:
Recommended minutes to practice: 10-15 minutes per day
What to practice: Autumn Song, Hiking
How to practice:
Autumn Song- review rhythm in third bar so that it is done correctly. 4 straight quarters followed by two halves. Repeat correctly until fingers learn it.
Hiking- notes in third bar, both lines. F is only played in the first bar, not the third bar. Practice the C-D-E-D in the third bar. Fingering is like this: 1-2-3-2
How parents can support practice: Supervise practicing, make sure she repeats the rhythm in Autumn and notes in Hiking correctly. If she reverts back to the original way, she has to start again. Make sure she unlearns the mistakes, which is sometimes harder than learning a brand new piece.
Efe — Jun 27th
Hi Efe!
I know your life will be full of fun things this summer so go enjoy those! When you do have a minute, look at the following material.
Jazz guitarists
Check out some jazz guitarists on YouTube. There is no shortage of them! Django Reinhardt, of course, is a great place to start.
Here’s a huge list of other players: Wikipedia
In September, we’ll definitely be able to choose a song with jazz guitar in it and work on that. — I can rearrange the songs into simpler versions so that they’re much more doable for you to learn and play.
E to D to E game
See below the video of the chords game we were playing in class.
— Jump in. Feel the rhythm. Do your own rhythmic playing alongside mine.
— Here is your video: YouTube
— Here is the PDF of the music score in the video: E to D to E
Backing track
Play this track at 0.75x speed. Jam to it. Blues track
— Chords
- Play the powerchord version of whatever chord you see here. Don’t worry about the numbers. Just the letters. That will work for this track.
- To locate any powerchord: take the letter name. Find where to fret that note. Then put finger 4 two frets up, on the next string closer to the floor.
— Scales
- Em pentatonic will work to jam with.
- Only do this if you want. It’s more important that you work on the chords for now.
Spanish Fly by Van Halen
Listen to this song. A couple times. — The idea is to know it well enough in your head that you know what we’re talking about when we look at it next year.
Next year, we should be able to work on parts of it. It will be great to build up some more techniques in your guitar knowledge.
That’s all. Have a great summer Efe!
Efe — Jun 20th
Hi Efe!
Here’s what to work on this week.
Em pentatonic jam
Over this year, we’ve covered most of the guitar positions of the Em pentatonic scale. You can use anywhere within this scale to improvise alongside a track. For this week’s track, use “Lonely Boy” by the Black Keys. — Just listen to the song first. Then go ahead and play alongside it.
Tips for improvisation:
- Start by using 2 notes only. Like we did in class. — You’ll soon be “bored” of it, and want to use new notes from the scale to add to your playing.
- Play rhythmically. — Even just 2 notes played in a snazzy or snappy way can make for a good rhythm. You’ll be able to feel it when playing alongside the above track.
- It would help to start on only one string at a time. For example, frets 3 and 0 on the high E string.
Scale positions:
Look through the past homework notes of the year. You’ll find pictures on Google Drive that include the positions of the Em pentatonic scale.
New shape:
See the attached PDF. It has the new scale shape. Same notes, different shape. Let me know in the Client Comments if it refuses to open. EX 1a & 1b
- Play random notes on it for fun.
- Use this shape to help yourself improvise, too.
Our aim:
For you to start feeling the music and being able to do simple improvisation. I want to grow your ability to jump in and play alongside if you hear something playing. Without this, you’ll feel lost on the guitar for way longer.
Memorize the chords C, A, G, E, and D
By now, you’ll know these chords. If you need references, there are pictures throughout our past homework notes and/or the Google Drives therein. I want you to be able to play them when I name them. I’ll test you on this next class ;)
Thanks Efe. See you at 10AM next week!
Preferred Books for Gergely’s Students
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Hal Leonard Guitar Method
The second edition of this world-famous method by Will Schmid and Greg Koch is preferred by teachers because it makes them more effective while making their job easier. Students enjoy its easy-to-follow format that gives them a solid music education while letting them play songs right away. Book 1 provides beginning instruction including tuning, 1st position melody playing, C, G, G7, D7, and Em chords, rhythms through eighth notes, solos and ensembles and strumming.
Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests
