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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Latest Homework from Gergely
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Tuesday, October 8th
Josh
ACDC: Back in Black
–Wow! Great Work!!!
–Review the crash pattern during the guitar solo (parents, the sheet music may be helpful for you in this part (version 1) (version 2)
Myles
Warmups:
–Flam Paradiddles (rL-R-L-L lR-L-R-R)
–8 on a Hand, goal tempo= 130bpm using a metronome
Drumset Musician: Next week let’s do the remaining exercises
QOTSA: Keep Your Eyes Peeled
–great work
–Drill the tempo: LISTEN carefully–>IDENTIFY if too slow/fast–>ADJUST so that you line up with the track
–NExt week, we’ll learn the next section
Finn
Survivor: Eye of the Tiger
–AWESOME JOB! Huge improvements from last week
–Intro: we learned the intro this week. Sing along and play the crash-bass combo at the right times
–Verse: we learned the first drum fill of the song today. It happens during the first verse. To remember the rhythm, we recited “what what chicken but” (ta ta titi ta). It goes Snare Tom Snare-Snare Hihat.
Francisco
Warmups (30sec/ea., find goal speed):
–8 on a hand (140bpm)
–Singles (sixteenths at 140bpm)
–doubles (16ths at 90)
–Paradiddles (16ths at 90)
Bon Jovi: Livin On a Prayer: everything up until Guitar Solo section
–Excellent work
–Two new bars for you to work out at the beginning of the guitar solo
–D.S. al Coda: Remember to jump back to the Segno and then jump forward to the Coda on the second time through
Noah
Warmups (1min each per practice session):
–Triplet Exercise (1mm RH, 2mm LH) @ 95bpm
–Sixteenth-note Exercise 75bpm
Green Day: American Idiot–up to the second measure of p. 4 (midway through the Coda 1 section)
–try the floor-tom groove without the sixteenths so that you can develop the muscle memory of it being in perfect time
–drill the sixteenths in the Coda by starting with half as many (3e&a4) the do two beats (3e&a4e&a1)
Assignments for the week of October 3 2024
Hello! Here are the lesson notes for this week:
Chris
What we learned/reviewed in lesson:
- Sitting at the piano
- sitting closer to the edge of the seat so we can be on top of our sit bone/tail bone, spine is aligned but not hunched forward or straining back.
- Knuckles should reach the back board of the piano, when hands are brought down to the keys, there should be a gentle slope from shoulder to elbow to wrist
- Hands in a soft c shape, keeping our palm in alignment with our wrists. Palm should also be supported (not flat but also not like claws)
- Note and rest values (whole note, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth);
- Finger numbers (thumbs are always 1); relating it to clefs (treble clef = right hand, bass clef = left hand)
- Time signatures: top number indicating how many beats per measure and bottom number indicating what quality the beat is (quarter note, eighth note)
- Note names on the keyboard, D is in the dog house (the pair of black keys)
Recommended time to practice:
- 20-30 minutes 4 or 5 days of the week. Can spend more time practicing but be mindful not to put strain on yourself as you get used to fine-motor controls in the hands and fingers. As you get used to playing in the next few weeks, you can increase practice time
What to practice:
- Left and right hand finger patterns; get used to moving the fingers while keeping the palm of the hand supported. Can be practiced on a flat surface and then played on the keyboard
- Faber Method Book
- Focus on Rhythm and Blues, Exploring Seconds, and Exploring Thirds. Work towards playing them start to finish with a steady beat
- Feel free to read onwards and try out the additional exercises
How to practice efficiently:
- Be mindful of how you’re sitting at the piano, remember your alignment and how there should be no tension in the shoulders/arms/hands
- When approaching new pieces/exercises, remember that there is several different approaches you can take to practicing
- Noticing patterns and whether they repeat
- Seeing the contour of a line of notes (is the line going up? Down? By small steps? Or by big leaps?
- Clapping out the rhythm or singing it out loud
- Saying the note names or finger numbers as you play
Happy practicing!
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
