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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Homework for April 22-29
Nova
Rec min to practice: 15-20 per day
What to practice: Ode to Joy for concert
How to practice:
Song structure:
Theme x2
Bridge
Theme x2
Bridge
Final Theme
Continue with the dynamic buildup. For the beginning, play the softest you can without losing sound quality. By the second theme, it should already be in the moderate loud range. Make the final theme a 10/10 on a scale from soft to loud, so that it’s epic. Practice the final chord.
Eighth notes in Bridge: Practice with funky rhythms both ways a few times and then do it normally. Round fingers will make for greater control.
How parents can support practice: Listen and guide as needed. Specifically give feedback on gradual buildup of dynamics (soft to loud) in Ode to Joy.
Maya
Rec min to practice: 10-15 min per day
What to practice: C-D-E
How to practice: Remember that notes with white heads have two beats. Count out loud while practicing, and use a metronome to make sure you are playing the correct rhythm.
How parents can support practice: Make sure she uses the metronome, and help her with rhythm, especially when it comes to fixing the half notes. Make sure she understands the difference between half notes and quarter notes.
See you next week:)
Thursday, April 16th
Josh
We worked on a beat to play with his sister for the song Baby Bear. The rhythm that I would like Josh to pair it with, is the Carol of the Bells rhythm, with bass drum and hi-hat played on left and right foot. I have come up with a small fill for Josh to end it with, however he needs to workout how to cue his sister for the end of the song.
Aleksander
Aleksander has been making good progress playing Bring Me to Life. However I would just like him to isolate troubling bars more often in practise rather than playing through phrases. We will look to play through the whole song with music next week.
Finn
We worked on Otherside this week. We have now notated how many times each bars are being repeated and how one transition to the next. One thing that I am noticing is that Finn is moving his hands away after playing a buzz roll on the drum. Remind him to stay in place after doing a buzz, so that he can play those bars on repeat. We will look to go from verse into chorus next class. Also since he is looking to play Clocks for recital, I will like to give it a listen next class.
Mateo
Mateo has been making major progress on Labios Compartidos particularly on page 2. We played with the music today for this page, and I would like to remind Mateo to not try to start quarter note sections too fast, as that will give him a hard time when he has to play 16th note fills. Again, focus down bars that are giving you trouble and be clinical with how you approach practising. Give page 3 a read and we will look to complete the song soon.
Koel
We talked a lot about his band class experience and I shared with him a lot about the proper ways to play orchestral instruments. I have also notated sticking for his band class assignment for him to practise it with. When approaching mallet rolls, think of it as playing fast 32nd notes, but play odd numbers of repetition (3,5,7 etc.) We will go back to working on Fool in the Rain next week.
Efe October 11th
Hi Efe and family!
Here is the rundown of today’s material from class.
Efe has done well with maintaining proper posture on the guitar. Keep it up!
Buy this book
Homework
- Page 10 of the above book.
— Songs 17 & 18. These two pieces have all the single notes that we have covered in our lessons so far.
— Practice them at a maximum speed of 65BPM. 1 quarter note per beat. Alternate pick both pieces (down-up-down-up). The only time you down pick two consecutive notes is when you see the half notes at every fourth bar of the Blues piece.
— Outside picking — Song 17 Bar 3, 7, 10, 11, 15-16 and Song 18 Bar 1, 3, 5, 7, 11.
Hard transitions. Pay close attention in these bars. Here, we see examples of what is called outside picking. We discussed this in class. You pick down on the lower pitch string, and up on the higher pitch string. This is hard, because it is a bigger jump to play the higher pitch string with this odd way of picking, rather than inside picking. (Inside picking is when the pick doesn’t leave the area between two strings.) This feels odd right now, because it is a new movement. I want Efe to get used to this type of picking, as well. The reason you must play it like this because you must maintain the alternate picking technique described above.
— Commit to practicing these pieces for 30 minutes a day.
- Chords. Practice all the chords we have covered so far. Both standing and sitting.
— No specific tempo is required for this.
— Continue to be mindful of the posture of the body (including the hands and the arms).
— I want Efe to get used to the shapes of the chords we’re covering. They will soon be ingrained ins muscle memory if he sticks to it.
— Commit to playing this for 15 minutes a day.
Additionally
— I understand if a full 45 minutes of practice is not possible everyday. Do as much as possible. Mainly on the single note pieces.
See you in a week, Efe!
Efe October 4th
Hi Efe and family! Here is the material to work on for this week.
Aim to do this practice routine once a day leading up to our next lesson. I’ve written out ideally how long Efe should practice these items in a day. If practicing in these time-lengths is not possible, then do as much as is possible in a day.
- Play everything here with a metronome. Tempos are listed for each item.
- Practice both standing and sitting. Maintain proper posture as we discussed in class. For classical positioning, have the guitar head high up. For casual positioning, have the guitar head far forward. Remember, we’re always aiming to make both wrists fairly straight.
- Please get the Guitar Method 1 book this week. The Amazon link is attached. The videos of the scales we covered today are accessible in the homework post from 2 weeks ago.
- Practice the following pieces from the Guitar Method 1 book:
Alternate pick the following pieces (picking Down-Up-Down-Up):
- Page 8 #11. 55BPM. One quarter note per beat. — 5 minutes.
- Page 9 #12, #13, and #14. 55BPM. One quarter note per beat. — Make sure to read the paragraph at piece 14. — 10 minutes altogether.
- I want Efe to start getting into the habit of alternate picking things. This will be done in countless other guitar playing he will come across.
Down pick the following piece (only pick down):
- Page 9 #15. 55BPM. One quarter note per beat. 5 minutes.
- C major scale. 45BPM. One quarter note per beat. — 10 minutes.
- A minor pentatonic scale. 45BPM. One quarter note per beat. — 10 minutes.
- Chords. Keep playing all the chords we have covered so far. Just play them freely, to a tempo no faster than 60BPM. — 5 minutes.
You can do this, Efe. It will only get easier with time. 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
