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!
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Latest Homework from Gergely
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Saturday, February 1st
Jack
Warmups:
–Tragically Hip: 50 Mission Cap
–AJR: Bang!
Joan Jett: I Love Rock ‘n Roll
–Good work listening and following along with this song
–Next time, let’s try getting creative and filling in some of the natural gaps in the song
Benny Greb Rhythmic Alphabet
–Using this alphabet, create three-letter words
–Count and play the words in steady rhythm
Xylophone
–Learning the musical alphabet (ABCDEFG)
–Visually identifying C on the keyboard
–Spelling “Dad” and “Egg” on the keyboard
Nova
Warmups:
–See Google Drive (or handout if we were able to print it) with the C Major, G Major, and F Major scale warmups
Cirone Book: “Step 7” ex. 1-2
–Good work!
–Please make sure to use hand-to-hand sticking (except when indicated otherwise)
–Careful to keep the 3/4-metre examples in time
–ex. 3-4 this week***
Ear training: pitch matching
Aleksander
Warmups (30 sec each) goal tempo 80bpm playing four notes per beat:
–Single strokes (R L R L…)
–Double Strokes (R R L L….)
–Paradiddles (RLRR LRLL…)
–FLAMS*** pay close attention to the stroke setup: one hand high, one low. After the stroke, set up the opposite way
Drumset Musician p39, introducing sixteenth-notes
–Learn the different rhythms on this page (especially the three examples at the top of the page). Once you have the first three, can you think of how to play the others?
Drumset Musician p14 ex. 7-8 (2min ea.)
Lenny Kravitz: Are You Gonna Go My Way
–Add in everything until the bottom of p. 2. Today, we learned the chorus, but the rest of it is similar to the previous material we learned in verse 1
Jonah
==Xylophone==
Warmups: see Xylophone Warmup Sheet in the Google Drive
Reading exercises: please make sure to READ when we’re working on reading
Ear training:
–Identifying 3rds, 5ths, and 2nds
–Playing simple melodies back by ear
Bruno Mars: Locked out of Heaven CHORD CHART EXERCISE
–Learn the chords from the chord chart in your google drive folder
–Then, practice playing along to the Verse section in the song playing the correct chords
–We’ll take turns playing the melody and chords together with this lead sheet
==Drums==
Warmups:
–Paradiddle combo exercise with bass drum playing quarters. Accent the beginning of each paradiddle
NEW SONG Paul Simon: Late in the Evening
–You can find the chart for this song in your google drive personal folder
–This week we learned the main beat. Continue getting it clean and up to speed
Jared
Warmups:
–Stick Control ex 14-23 (70bpm)
—-Play each exercise 4 times
Igoe’s Groove Essentials – Groove 1 slow (track 1)
–Alternate between the two groove variations, with fills (max. 4 beats long) to set them up
Cold Sweat by James Brown
–Practice the various sections of the song as found on worksheet
–Polish off for next week
Koel
Warmups (1min each):
–Triplet Ex. 125bpm
–Ride pattern exercise with sixteenth exercise on the cymbal (goal tempo 90)
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials: Groove 11 SLOW (track twenty-one)
–Good work on the variations. Tidy these up this week and we’ll begin with some fills next week
Duke of Edinburgh
–Koel logs the hours
–Smart goal: measurable, achievable, and in a timely manner (end of school year)
–SMART GOALS: 1) triplet exercise up to 140bpm 2)sixteenth-note exercise up to 110bpm 3) Master six new grooves from the Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials book (2x rock, one funk, one r&b/hiphop, one jazz, one world) 4) Learn one new song
Tracie
Warm-ups:
–Triplet ex. (85bpm, 1min)
–Rhythmic Alphabet: make up your own four-letter words (x3), and write them out on the handout
Groove Essentials: Groove 1 (find chart and backing track in the Freq. Used folder)
–Basic beat with “Chad Kroeger” drum fill in measure 8
–This week, continue to learn and drill Variation A
Montell Fish: Don’t you Love Me
–see handout
–drill the main groove
Mario
Warmups (1min/ea) with Metronome at 100bpm (two notes per beat)
–8 on a hand
–Single Stroke Roll (R L R L…)
–Double Stroke Roll (R R L L…)
–Imagine the playing surface is a hot burner on the stove…get the stick down and up fast or you might get burned! Really quick contact–jump off the drum (piston/full strokes)
MGMT: Kid
–Building consistency will be key for this song. Play with your metronome (goal tempo ca. 126) to help develop this
We also played along with I Love Rock ‘n Roll (Joan Jett) and We Will Rock You (Queen)
–Developing the audiation (inner voice) and adjusting (listening and matching) these songs
Drumset Musician p27 (in google drive) – 8th-note Fills, ex. 9-12
–This week, focus on keeping the 8th-note steady through your fills
Mateo
Warmups (30 sec each):
–8 on a Hand
–Single Stroke Roll (RLRL…)
–Double Stroke Roll (RRLL…)
**Think more skin on the stick (but not squeezing)
**Let the stick bounce off the drum
**Remember to dribble the basketball
Drumset Musician p27, ex. 4-6**
–Three times through the beat, play the fill, then end with a crash
–Aim to keep the flow of the eighth-note pulse STEADY
–try looping these exercises, so that the crash after the fill becomes beat 1 of the beat again
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials, Groove 1 SLOW
–Drill Variation A this week
Queen: Another One Bites the Dust
–Make sure to follow the chart and deploy the fill at the right time
–Print the chart in your google drive folder (please bookmark for future use)
Assignments from February 1st
Hello Saturday Friends!
Great lesson today!
Berke:
We learned a new scale today! Berke can now practice G Major, one octave, hands separately. He can also practice C Major with two octaves! Please help Berke by reminding him that both of his thumbs should be on C when he finishes the first octave before he starts the second. This anchor point will ensure proper fingering. We sight read more of Mozart’s Minuet in F Major. Our focus today was proper hand placement and fingerings to allow for efficient playing. Continue to read and practice this at home. Make sure Berke is practicing both the right hand melody as well as the left hand base line. Proper hand placement and fingering are imperative with this piece, please make sure Berke is starting the right hand with his 3rd finger and that the second note in the first 3 bars is played with the 5th finger. This will ensure Berke has enough fingers left to come back down the keyboard as the melody descends. For the bass line, Berke should start with his 5th finger so that he has room to climb with the keyboard. Ensure the C in the 3rd bar of the bass line is played with his 1st finger (thumb) so that he can reach the octave below with his 5th finger. Finally please make sure Berke plays the Cadential Movement at the end of both the first and second phrase in the bass line with his 1st, 3rd, and 5th fingers as practiced in class.
Cadential Movement: Acts a musical period at the end of a phrase. Creates resolution in the phrase.
Great progress this week! I’m looking forward to hearing Berke play more 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
