M.Mus (U of T)
B.Mus (Oberlin)
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 May 27-June 3
Nova
Excellent work today! Here’s this week’s homework:
Recommended minutes to practice: 15-20 per day
What to practice: A minor and E minor scales, If I Were A Rich Man, Mixed up Song
How to Practice:
Scales- Be aware of which accidentals to use when. Remember that natural minors have the same accidentals as the relative major, and harmonic minors are the same except they add a raised 7th. Review the circle of 5ths.
If I Were A Rich Man- fix staccato sections. Practice the straight eighth section with abnormal rhythms and round fingers. The section at the bottom is called a sequence- a pattern repeated on different starting notes. Add dynamics.
How parents can support practice: Listen and guide. Remind them to work on staccato.
See you next week :)
Saturday, May 23rd
Jack
We continued working on Imperial March on the xylophone, but this time with a note reading component added to it. We start learning about the staff in treble clef, and drawing a connection between the keyboard and the staff. Together we notated the first phrase of the march on the staff, and will try learn more melodies, building that connection and rudimentary note reading skill.
Adam
I have assigned two new two bar phrases pattern for Adam to work on in the Drumset Musician book, as well as worked through the first page of Under the Bridge with him. Despite having no access to the drum set at home, Adam has a strong memory of the pattern, and was able to play through big chunks. The only pattern that needs slight reminding, is a pre-chorus drum solo, that has the rhythm “blue berry” starting it. We will work on to second page next week.
Jonah
We continue our journey through orchestral excerpts, working on the main excerpt of American in Paris. I emphasise the importance of getting it right the first time with Jonah for audition purposes, and how to mentally prepare for such occasions. We also slightly dipped into Shostakovich Symphony no 10 looking at the snare drum excerpt, with a brief introduction on four-stroke ruffs.
Finn
Finn’s Otherside is coming together super well, now playing the rhythm and the pattern fairly accurate. We spent most of the class connecting the main chorus pattern with the fill that ends the section. Next I introduced him to the Bridge pattern on page 2. I assigned the right hand to play all the floor tom notes with left hand doing everything else. By remembering that, it minimises any unnecessary movements.
Efe – Mar 7th
Hi Efe!
This week’s material.
The main tasks are below.
F#m scale — Go all the way up and down this scale.
- Goals: Get used to using fingers 1, 3, & 4 of the Left Hand. Get the F#m sound in your head.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
- The last link has me explaining what to do. Recent video
- The newest video is now here. As with the last one, it’s Unlisted on YouTube. It only differs from the last one because I’ve given those new frets for certain chords, and because of one new strumming pattern we went over in class today. Newest link, March 8th. This is the one to practice with for this week.
Posture related questions
Remember, the way to achieve good posture in your body and in your hands can be done by pushing your guitar pretty far forward from your left side. The right side still touches your body.
See you in a week, Efe!
Efe – Feb 28th
Hi Efe!
Here is your homework for this week.
Google Drive of last week: Feb 21st
- The drive has most of the things you need. Here’s what was missing: BOBD Feb 28th. For whatever reason, Google Drive is refusing to let me upload videos whose speeds you can change. This link is an Unlisted YouTube video link where you can change the speed to 0.75x, as my video points you to do.
- For that video: If there are still issues, then I’ve uploaded a PDF of the games described in the video that I want you to play on the guitar this week. – Play these games at 90BPM.
— Em pentatonic scale
- Keep going with this. You now have all 12 frets to improvise something on. Remember the limiting rules; these can help spur your creativity.
- Backing track. Cool blues
— F#m scale
- Keep playing this scale. Same area of the fretboard as last week.
- Remember: No finger 2, here.
— BOBD — You’ll soon see videos and pictures in the Drive that pertain to the items below.
- The melody with the octave chords we talked about in class today. — Try this melody. Make sure your Left Hand wrist is not too bent.
- The melody with the sliding single notes.
- The usual chord progression; the one you’ve been playing. — Try it both slowly and also play it at the song’s original speed.
- The powerchords of the chorus.
— Acoustic Open
- Keep trying this. But go back to the start.
- I’ve included the file for this in the Google Drive here.
— Get a capo. Here is the one I recommend: Amazon link
If it’s harder to practice on a week, then just do smaller amounts of practice each day. Even 5 minutes of practice a day is better than none at all.
Thank you, Efe. 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
