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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Thursday, April 9th
Josh
We continue working on Wonderwall today. Our goal for next week is to play through the first eight bars until the first fill. Note that this first phrase doesn’t follow the standard eight bar phrase, apparently because the drummer who initially played with the band forgot to come in at the right time, and the brothers liked it and kept it in the final version. Apply the same principle of practising small chunks and expand.
Aleksander
Bring Me to Life is coming together nicely. My goal for Aleksander this week is to play through first page with the goal of playing with the music. The section after bar 38 will make more sense if practised with the recording. There are drastic energy shift from time to time, and the drumming should match that, especially when it contours the guitar riff.
Zico
Zico did a great job playing through Sir Duke at almost performance level and I would like for him to eventually make a video recording of it. We then picked The Trooper by Iron Maiden as the next song. For this song, it requires a lot more tom then a regular set will have, so I have asked Zico to try to group the toms up and place them on the three toms. That is my main goal for him this week and also read as much as he could since we are starting it new.
Noah
We continued working on Smooth Criminal. We are working through these pretty slow compared to the concert speed, and Noah is now able to play things at around 85 bpm. Stay at that tempo while we work through these material. My goal for Noah this week is the pre chorus section. The biggest challenge will be the coordination between bass drum and pedal hi-hat. Get that under your belt before adding other things in.
Finn
We are working on the first page of handout for Otherside. I have bracked the few bars that require the most attention. My goal for Finn this week is to get a good buzz sound and have it sound somewhat similar to the half open hi-hat. By doing that, we get the cohesiveness between bars when the groove is being repeated. Our goal next week is to play through some sections of the song with the music.
Mateo
Huge progress with the song Labios Compartidos this class. We are seeing major improvement with not being tunnel visioned on a certain passage as well as relaxation in general. For this week, I would like Mateo to focus on page two of the song. Some of the tricky bars to note are bar 57 and 53. Note that in this part of the song, things are developing similar to the beginning, but as we reach chorus again, it is twice the length and has same slight change in the groove.
Koel
We continued working on the samba section of Fools in the Rain. Koel is slightly struggling with placing the accents, and I have posted an accent exercise for him to work on before going into the material. Master the part played on sticks before adding in the pedalled hi-hat and bass drum. Also reminding him to bring his class mallet material next class so we can take a look at it together.
Assignments from Thursday April 9th
Hello Everybody!
I hope you all had a great Easter weekend!
Georgia
Because of Georgia’s busy schedule, please encourage her to practice at least 5 minutes everyday. Even briefly reading over the notes on the page should help Georgia’s memory throughout the week and ensure she feels confident with the material for our next lesson. For this week Georgia should warm up by reviewing her C Major and G Major chords both broken and solid and all their inversions. She has a sheet that shows her how to do this. We will add more chords next week. She should practice “The Rainbow” hands together, and both “Good Morning to You” and “Happy Birthday to You”. These two new songs are very similar, but Georgia should make a note of any differences between the two songs. We will look at these more next week.
Noreet
For this week Noreet should practice her scales out of key order. She likes to play each scale one after the other, adding sharps and flats as she goes. This week, to help her memorize each key signature she should play scales randomly from the list to challenge her and to make sure she knows which sharps and flats specifically belong to which key signature. You can help quiz her. Refer to the sheet of scales and randomly choose one for her to practice. If she needs to refer to the Circle of 5ths to double check the key signature of the chosen scale before she plays, she should do so. She can also practice Kitch-iti-Kippi hands together. She should pay close attention to which chords are Major and which chords are minor in the B section of the song.
Andrew
This week keep singing Empty Chairs at Empty tables. Focus specifically on the end, making note of any part in the song you would like to look at together. You can warm up with the 5 tone scales ascending and descending. Also try the faster repeated 5 tone scale (5 tones ascending and descending 3 times) to train some agility in the voice. This scale will work best on forward, narrow vowels like an E or A. This scale will be easier to sing in your lower range. As you ascend, you might find that your throat starts to grip at the notes and might feel more tension the higher the notes get. Your singing straws should help alleviate this tension. Finally, make a list of songs you would like to work on so we can start something new next class!
Thank you Everyone!
Enjoy the fresh spring weather and I will see you all next week!
Efe: Homework for the Week of September 13th-19th
- find the guitar strap and always practice and play the guitar with it on. (If it’s lost, then please get a new one.)
- get a capo.
- find the notebook for class for next week.
- if you don’t already have these, then please buy the following books and bring them to class. These are the Amazon links for them.
Elementary Music Theory Book 1
RCM Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests Level 1
- only practice with a guitar pick (for now). Bring a guitar pick to class next 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
