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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Assignments from May 31st
Hello Everyone!
Vida:
Continue to practice Under the Sea, working towards playing the first two pages hands together! Use the metronome if this helps Vida. Start at 60BPM then slowly increase the tempo. The ideal tempo for Under the Sea is 120BPM. Review any tricky or challenging spots hands separately when necessary. Review Green Frog Hop, Home on the Range, and Mr. McGill’s Boop Sha Bop specifically to highlight the difference in staccato phrases and legato phrases. Mr. McGill’s Boop Sha Bop asks Vida to do both. Continue to read Lochness Monster hands separately. We will review this in class next week. Finally, Vida can review the F# Major, D# minor, B, and C# chords as these will be used in Ed Sheeran’s “I don’t care”. When Vida feels comfortable building and playing these chords, add in the rhythm pattern from the song. We can add some of the melody next week.
Berke:
Today we read a new song! I’ve uploaded the sheet music for “Burlesque in G Major” to the google drive. Review this hands separately, when you feel confident playing both the right and left hands separately, you can try playing this hands together. Do the same for the minor section of Mozart’s Minuet in F Major. Focus specifically on the minor section. Only when you can confidently play the minor section hands separately should you go back and add the major section we have already learned. At that point, play the song from the beginning hands together and continue playing into the minor section with the right hand only so that you can hear how the song changes. Practice the Major section and minor section hands together separately. We can try to play the whole thing together in class next week. For Moonlight sonata, focus on building the chords in bars 7, 8, and 9 while holding down the upper note. Play these chords very slowly to build and practice this technique in your fingers. You can find Burlesque in G Major here.
Great work today! I look forward to hearing how both of you progress in June!
Happy Practicing!
Assignments from Thursday May 29th
Hello Everyone!
Noreet:
Continue to practice Daydream hands together slowly. Review the third phrase hands separately when necessary. Remember the 4th phrase is identical to the first phrase! The last part has similar parts to the beginning of the song, just remember to play one octave up! When in doubt, re-read the sheet music and go back to practicing hands separate before trying hands together again. Noreet can also practice “The clock strikes thirteen”. We read this together in class together. Re-read this at home and review the song hands separately. The left hand plays the same chord for the whole song, so when Noreet feels confident with the right hand she can try to play the whole song hands together. We also learned what Crescendo and Diminuendo mean. When practicing “the clock strikes thirteen”, encourage Noreet to try playing louder and softer when the crescendo and diminuendo symbols appear in the music. We will review this in class next week.
Eva:
Continue to practice Sailing in the Sun hands together! If Eva forgets the final phrase of the song, remind her that most of the line is made of bars written in the song earlier – she’s already played them in the previous phrases! When she is ready to play the full song, encourage her to do so with as few pauses between phrases as possible. Challenge her to play as fast as she can. Review the first 2 phrases of Ferris Wheel together. If Eva gets stuck or forgets the notes, pull out the flashcards! Ask her to identify each note she sees in the phrase and to put them in order. Then go back to the sheet music and encourage her to play the full phrase hands together. Challenge Eva to read the 3rd phrase of Ferris Wheel with the flashcards as well.
Christian:
I’ve uploaded Homeward bound for you to the google drive. Review this hands separately to start. When you feel familiar with the sheet music, try playing hands together to fill in the gaps in the melody. You can also continue to practice Morning. Focus on consistency in this piece; each note is played with the same amount of pressure and played legato. You can find Home on the Range here.
Great work this month everyone! I look forward to hearing more progress in June!
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
