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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Tuesday, December 3rd
Reminder: I’ll be away until January. Lessons will continue with Jasmine as usual until I return. Happy holidays, and see you in the new year!
Josh
Warm-ups:
–Hand and foot coordination: 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 Play-alongs
–Rock groove 4 (track 7): great work! Count along as you play with the backing track. In the eighth measure, play the fill from “I had some help”
–Soca: nice work! Similar to the rock groove above, try playing along with the soca backing track and adding a three-note fill in the gap of the music. The drums come to a stop, and fill in the space with three notes.
Myles
Drumset Musician p81 ex. 9-12
–Polish these off this week
Weezer: My Name is Jonas
–Drill the intro and main groove on p.1
–See worksheet for additional exercises on Bass drum variation
–For next time, we’ll learn the other two prominent fills in this song
==Xylophone==
Warmups (***G Major):
–Scale, one octave, ascending and descending, saying the note names as you play them (G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G’)
–Arpeggio (G-B-D-G’-D-B-G)
–Broken thirds (G-B A-C B-D…)
Cirone Book: “Step Six” ex. 5-8
–Flashcards for note identification
–Next time we’ll do eartraining
Finn
Warmups (30sec each, counting aloud):
–Single Strokes
–Double Strokes
–8 on a hand
White Stripes: Seven Nation Army
–Great work! Make sure to play the regular beat during the chorus EXCEPT for that one moment when you play the triplet
Joan Jett: I Love Rock and Roll
–begins with “watermelon watermelon” on the snare
–Play the main beat (1+2 3+4)
Fruit Salad game
–Four fruits: pear, apple, blueberry, watermelon
–Each fruit has a rhythm. Experiment mixing up to four fruits together to create your own rhythms!
Visual Drummer: Drum Beats ex. 1-3
–Great work!
–This week, polish off ex. 4-6. Your goal is to be able to play them each four times in a row without breaks in between the repetitions
Francisco
Warmups:
–Stick Control first page ex. 1-8 (4x each, **120bpm goal tempo)
Stevie Wonder: Superstition
–We are going to work on finishing the remaining two pages of this song in a simplified manner. Good work so far. For this week, focus on the following two passages:
–Everything on page 3, up until the end of the second-last line. Get it up to speed so that you can play along with the recording
–Work on the new groove from the Interlude section on the next page. The first measure of that section gives you an idea for the “normal” version, which will later have some variations.
Noah
Warmups (1min each per practice session):
–Single paradiddles 75bpm
–Double Paradiddles 75bpm
–Triple Paradiddles 75bpm
–Combo exercise: four of each paradiddle w/o breaks
–This week, add an accent to the first note of each paradiddle***
Shuffle-train Worksheet
–Good work
–Now, use the accent patterns on the worksheet to create variations in your time keeping. Switch between the different exercises (or even create your own accent patterns) while playing along to the backing tracks below
–For backing tracks, try “That Was Your Mother” and “All Around the World” from Paul Simon’s album Graceland. These aren’t a perfect fit, but work well as a slower-tempo example for this beat. Give it a try!’
Paul Simon: Late in the Evening
–You’ll find the chart for this song in your google drive folder
–This week, just work on getting the groove up to speed. It is a tricky one, so be patient. Once at speed, begin playing along with the recording. Future lessons will delve deeper into the song
Homework for December 2-9
Henry
Recommended minutes to practice: 5-10 minutes
What to practice: Stepping and Skipping, Workbook page 28 (How Notes Move)
How to practice it most effectively: Make sure you play repeated notes, practice a few times a day, and have fun with it (try starting on different Cs on the piano!)
How parents can support practice: Listen to him practice, and offer guidance in the workbook if he needs it.
Great work Henry! :)
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.


