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, April 25th
Jack
Jack has been making good progress with Seven Nation Army but just at times lacking focus. I am ready to move him onto a new song as he has been able to play with the music and displayed the ability to change from pattern to pattern.
Nova
Going forward Nova’s assignment will always be in three part: a reading exercise, a rudiment page from stick control or other method books and section of the song we are working on. The rudiments assigned this week focuses on triplet and is geared towards learning our new song Sparkles by REDWIMP. Practise the triplet exercise pulsing every beat on the bass drum, so they know they are playing the triplet accurately. For the reading exercise, I would like Nova to work on two lines each week. We did the first two line this week. I told Nova they have the choice of either practising it at home, or we will do it as sight reading during lesson. Either way I would like them to read more. As for the new song, I have showed the first phrase. I will like them to try to read the song until bar 52 this week.
Adam
Since Adam has no drum set to practise on these past few weeks, I have resorted to giving him more rudiments exercise to work on. On the Stick Control book, he did a good job on the 16th notes exercise, and I would like him to try the page next to it which will introduce him to double strokes and roll in general. On top of that, I have assigned him several two bar drum patterns from the Drumset Musician book. This will get him well prepared to approach Under the Bridge when we are back to working on the song.
Jonah
We played through Superstition this week with the music, and Jonah did a superb job despite all the crazy transitions and how complicated the rhythms are. I have assigned Super Bad by James Brown to him this week. Please print it out and I would like him to first only work on the main pattern which is the first bar. That bar gets repeated a lot until the bridge section.
Thursday, April 23rd
Josh
After briefly taking a break from Wonderwall, we went back to it this week. However it seems like Josh didn’t practise it at all and has completely forgotten the pattern. By the end of the class he was able to pick it back up. I talked to him about the importance of even just practising a short 5 minutes everyday, as that goes a long way, even just for remembering what we worked on in lesson.
Aleksander
We worked on playing Bring Me to Life with the track. Overall he did very well observing the guitar riff and playing with it, and the half time section at bar 46 is the part that he found challenging. We will try to play page 2 with the track next week.
Francisco
We worked on The Trooper and talked about the kind of exercise he should do to get himself up to speed. The tip here is to use the pinky finger to tap the stick back when playing fast 16th notes as well as triplets. Try to work till bar 24 for this week.
Finn
We worked through Clocks today in preparation for the recital. We did several play through, and talked about performance etiquette and the mental preparation before starting and not to try to rush to the end when close to it. The song is in a ABA structure, meaning it returns to the beginning theme at the end. I told him when the beginning theme returns, he should treat it like the beginning, and mentally prepare himself the same way. Try doing some performance simulation at home this week in preparation for the performance.
Mateo
Mateo has been making great progress with Labios Compartidos and this week we ended the class with a play through of first two pages. He made great progress this past week tackling those tricky bars and getting in and out of it. My goal for him this week is to finish the last page and we will move on to a new song next week.
Koel
We briefly tried out Superstition this week because Koel told me he won’t have too much time to practise these coming weeks due to exams. I gave the song to him hoping to challenge him to read some rather unconventional rhythm pattern, while also adapting the swung 16th feel. I would like for him to try reading those patterns whenever he has time these coming weeks.
Efe November 8th
Hi Efe and family!
Here is Efe’s homework for the next 2 weeks.
Little Drummer Boy
- https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1cURXZdyFoL_6FZX5V4COTxCljwXKq8wO — check out the video and pictures I have for this piece. They should help you practice it
- The pictures are of the pages I’ve written out for the chords and the strumming pattern of this song
- Remember, check out the Pentatonix version of this song. It’s not in the same key, but the melody sung here is the same
G to D chords exercise
- 50bpm, 4 beats per bar
- 1 bar of G, 1 bar of D. Looped (as in repeated over and over).
- When transitioning between bars, leave out beat 4. That’s the “cheat beat.” This is when you switch to the next chord
- Leave finger 3 on fret 3 of the B string
- Refer to the chord diagrams below for the correct fingerings. Memorize the fingerings of the D and G chords
Blues, page 10
- Keep going with this piece
- 5 minutes a day
- The point of this one is so that you don’t forget to keep honing your alternate picking and outside picking skills
Ode to Joy, page 10
- Just do as much of this as you can. But it’s the least important thing on this today’s homework
In due time, we’ll get to looking at the work of Metallica and Pantera :) In the meantime, keep exploring the genres of music with guitar.
See you in 2 weeks Efe!
Efe – November 1st
Hi Efe and family! Wishing you a great weekend!
Below are the items I’d like Efe to work on this week.
Ode to Joy
- The circled areas on the sheet music only. I’d like these played more fluidly.
- 68bpm.
Blues
- I haven’t revealed the note names or the frets for this piece. The exercise is to locate the notes on the guitar. We did this in class and Efe did well on it. Doing this at home is a fair challenge for him.
Little Drummer Boy in D Major
— Listen to this. (This line should provide you with a link. If it doesn’t, then search up Little Drummer Boy by Pentatonix.) This is a modern version of the song. The key they perform it in is different from ours. Ours is in D Major. (I’ll talk about keys in more detail next time.) I just want you to get to know how the song is supposed to sound when sung with at least one voice.
— Play this song at both 70bpm and 115bpm.
- The video within this Google Drive link is of me demonstrating the strumming pattern and some transitions of the song at both tempos. https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1cURXZdyFoL_6FZX5V4COTxCljwXKq8wO
- It may be helpful to practice alongside the video; in that you do what I’m doing in the video.
— The 2 pictures in the above Google Drive link have the strumming pattern and the sequence of the chords.
- I’ve shortened it; this way, you’ll be learning the main parts of it.
— The strumming pattern is the exact same all throughout. Every chord has the same strumming pattern. The only difference is the last bar, which is just an open D chord; I’ve highlighted this in green.
— The first strum is circled. It should be the loudest one for each bar; so, strum it the hardest :)
— The only tab I’ve written is the frets for each chord. We looked at each of these 3 chords in class today so holding them down properly should not feel new.
— Try this song both standing and sitting.
- In both ways of playing, remember to push the guitar head outward from your body. (Or as I usually say, forward.) Remember the triangle analogy from today. Point your guitar and your left hand out from roughly the centre of your body. Doing so will help you maintain proper posture in both of your wrists.
Good work this past week, Efe. Keep it up! See you in a 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
