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.
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Latest Homework from Gergely
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Homework from January 18th 2025
Hello! We had a very productive class today!
Berke:
We reviewed the C Major and D Major scales. For this week please practice with a metronome. This is available online for free via google. For the D Major scale please practice these hands separately at 75BPM (75 beats per minute). We also reviewed the C Major scale and tried playing it hands together today. Continue to practice the C Major scale playing both hands together at home slowly. Use the metronome and play at 60BPM. We also discussed intervals, triads, and chords. I’ve sent Berke home with a sheet with information on intervals and triads, this will also be uploaded to the google drive in Berke’s file for reference if need be. Practice playing all 8 intervals on the piano with both hands. Berke can also continue to practice the C Major chord “broken” (all three notes played individually) and “whole” (all 3 notes played at the same time). Finally, Berke has expressed interest in learning Mozart’s Turkish Waltz. I think this is a great goal to work towards. Please check online if there is sheet music available to download or purchase online and I will do the same so we can work on it next week.
Great lesson today! Happy practicing!
Assignments for the week of January 15th, 2025
Hakim
Technical Exercises – Continue practicing D Major scale
- 1 octave hands together, especially focusing on stepping down in the scale
- Practice as solid blocked hand positions, and stepping legato, staccato, and detached
Bartok Exercises – Working through #7 and 8
- Make sure you are confident of starting notes/hand positions
- Watch out for changing hand positions and new key signature in #8
The Calico Cat – Practicing hands separately to the end
- aiming to have measures 1-9 somewhat comfortable hands together already
- make note of the pattern in our hand position changes, our RH is focusing on an A minor hand position throughout the entire piece!
- Counting through dotted quarter rhythms in measures 9-14
Bizville – Continue practicing our LH “groove” in the first phrase, watching out for large leaps between B flat and F!
- Practicing our rh on its own, making sure you can confidently clap and count our RH rhythm in the first two measures
- Try fitting our first two measures hands together – watch out for when our hands line up when we count through
Clara
Technical Exercises – Continue practicing our C Major 1 octave scale
- Hands separately and together
- Practicing with legato, staccato, and detached articulations
- See how quickly you are able to comfortably play through this scale hands separately, and hands together. Check with a metronome to see what your top speed is!
Lesson Book
- Allegro in C Major
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- Continue slow hands separate practice all the way through, watching for patterns and things that repeat
- Once you are fully comfortable hands separate, break our music into smaller chunks (2-4 measures) and practice slowly hands together
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- The Juggler
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- Practice playing all the way through hands separately
- Counting out loud to keep track of all of our rests! This will make fitting hands together even easier for us
- If we are feeling comfortable hands separately while counting out loud, practice hands together while counting out loud very slowly
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
