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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Saturday, Febrary 8th
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
–Learn to play the SENTENCE we created this week all in one shot
–Be sure to count aloud while you play these rhythms
Aleksander
Warmups (30 sec each) goal tempo 80bpm playing four notes per beat:
–Singles, Doubles, and Paradiddles (four counts each for 1min)
–Flams, flam triplets
Drumset Musician: Sixteenth Note Ride Patterns (in your gdrive folder)
–Drill ex. 1-4, 2 min each
Lenny Kravitz: Are You Gonna Go My Way up until Chorus 2
–Page 2, second line, last measure: use the written sticking (flam, flam, LRLR R) to help coordinate your bass drum. Practice this measure along 2min before each runthrough
–p2, line 6, last measure: drill this 2min each time, making the bass drum land tidily on the “3 +”
Jonah
==Xylophone==
Warmups: see Xylophone Warmup Sheet in the Google Drive PLEASE PRINT
–This week, add in Bb Major and D Major
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 (90bpm***)
—-Play each exercise 4 times
Igoe’s Groove Essentials – Groove 1 slow (track 1)
–Same assignment, but now move the RH to the ride and put LF hihat “chick” on a) “2” and “4” (b) “1 2 3 4” and (c) “1+2+3+4+”
Funk Groove Eleven SLOW
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
Queen: Rock you
–Filling in the empty “4”
Joan Jett: Rock ‘n Roll
–Watermelon-watermelon fill off the top
–“apple pineapple” fill before chorus
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) **pulling your thumb back:
–8 on a Hand
–Single Stroke Roll (RLRL…)
–Double Stroke Roll (RRLL…)
Drumset Musician p27, ex. 7-9**
–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
–count aloud!
Tommy Igoe’s Groove Essentials, Groove 1 SLOW
–Drill Variation A this week, making it fit tidily along with the recording
NEW SONG Audioslave: Like a Stone
–This week, work on playing the main groove (same as exercise 3 from Drumset musician)
Tuesday, February 4th
Lila
Warmups:
–8 on a Hand
–Single strokes
–Double strokes
–Paradiddles
Review of grip: good. Keep skin contact with stick
Basic Beat Level 3** same as level 2, but BD plays all four beats (1, 2, 3, 4)
Step 1) Count “1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ”
Step 2) Play the Hihat with your Right Hand (RH) on all the counts
Step 3) Add in the Bass Drum with your Right Foot (RF) on “1”, “2”, “3”, and “4”
Step 4) Add in the Snare Drum with your Left Hand (LH) on “2” and “4”
Visual Drumset Method: exercises 5-7**
–You can find this in the google drive>Frequently Used Resources (please bookmark for future use)
–Aim for four repetitions of each exercise without hiccups or hesitations
Fruit Salad Game
-Create three of your own fruit salads using the four fruit-rhythms (in your notebook)
Josh
Warm-ups:
–Hand and foot coordination (see handout): playing steady beats on the bass drum, play singles, doubles, and paradiddles with your hands on the snare drum. There should be two snare notes (ti-ti; eighth notes) to every bass drum note (ta; quarter notes)
Groove Essentials Rock Groove 5
–Play the VD ex. 10 beat for this one!
–Let’s work on getting some fills together for it
White Stripes: Seven Nation Army: DONE!
Myles
20250204
Drumset Musician p81 ex. 9-12
–Polish these off this week
Weezer: My Name is Jonas
–Finishing page one beats
Drumset Musician p83 Twelve Bar Blues playalong
–We used this as a way to learn drum fills
–Next week let’s learn about the 12 bar blues as a form
==Xylophone==
Warmups (***F Major):
–Scale, one octave, ascending and descending, saying the note names as you play them (F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-f)
–Arpeggio (F-A-C-f-C-A-F)
–Broken thirds (F-A G-Bb A-C…), ascending and descending
Cirone Book: “Step Six” ex. 5-8
Eartraining: identifying thirds and fifths
Francisco
Warmups:
–Stick Control first page ex. 14-18 (4x each, 120bpm goal tempo)
–Play eighths ca. 120-160 bpm (gradually building up the speed) using accents on the beats to help with the push-pull strokes
Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials book: Groove 1 FAST
–This week, we’re trying to get used to playing these grooves up to speed
–In your practicing, add in crashes on the “push” shots
Noah
Warmups (1min each per practice session):
–Paradiddle combo exercise with bass drum on quarter notes
Paul Simon: Late in the Evening
–Use a metronome (I use the Tempo app by Frozen Ape) to help you lock the sixteenth-note
Mozambique pattern into the grid
–the fill before Verse 1: needs to lock in. But, because of all the space, it’s hard to do. So, make sure to drill it slowly, counting along.
–Make sure the beat three BD-LH line up perfectly
Aviva
Warmups (1min ea)
–Single strokes (LRLR…)
–Double Strokes (LLRR…)
–Paradiddles (LRLL RLRR…)
Drumset Musician p11, ex. 1-7 a)
–Find the PDF for these in the “Frequently Used Resources” folder linked below
–This week, keep polishing these off. Practice playing them along with the play-along track below
Igoe Groove Essentials Groove 1 Slow (backing track and chart in Frequently Used Resources folder)
–Learn basic beat (at top of page) and play along with the backing track
–Add in the drum fills we learned (on the handout) at the end of four-bar phrases
–Once comfortable, begin learning Variation A. Careful to count the sixteenth notes as “1e+a 2e+a…”. So this beat will be counted something like “1 + 2 +a 3 + 4 +”
Bookmark the following google drive links:
—Your personal folder
—The “Frequently Used Resources” folder
Preferred Books for Gergely’s Students
Click to buy them here, and they’ll come right to your house! What could be easier?
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
