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 April 17th
Hello Everybody! Happy Easter!
I have a few updates and reminders for this week. First, progress reports have gone out this week! Please review these with your child at home and let me know if you have any questions next week. Also, please see the note on the bottom of the reverse side of the report for information about summer lessons and fall registration.
Second, our student recital is in two weeks! It will be at 1:30pm on May 4th! While not everyone will be performing, we do consider attendance mandatory as we find this is an important opportunity for students to meet their peers, and for students and families to experience and hear live music together. If we have talked about possibly participating in the recital, feel free to continue this discussion with your child at home. Have them choose one of the songs we have learned and encourage them to perform it for you for practice.
Noreet:
Today we reviewed our time signatures and where the big beat lines up in 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 time. When practicing Mr. Haydn’s theme, use the metronome to ensure all quarter notes are played for their full value; specifically the 3 D’s in the 3rd bar of the song! This week, start trying to play Daydream hands together! Start by practicing the right and left hands separately at least, play both the right and left hand lines at least once before going back and trying to play them together slowly. Practice as much as you can from now until you leave for Europe. Have a great trip! I hope you and your family have lots of fun!
Vida:
Today we reviewed Mr. McGill’s Boop Sha Bop and Under the Sea. Please continue to work through Under the Sea slowly. Ask Vida to sight-read a phrase, then go back and review any challenging parts. Break down these challenging points into smaller chunks – even if that means practicing only 2 or 3 notes at a time – then go back and play the whole phrase again. Take breaks when necessary. When practicing Mr. McGill’s Boop Sha Bop try to connect the phrases. Pin point Vida’s “natural stopping points” and practice these bars specifically. Ask her to “bridge” the gap between these bars, play the bar before and the bar after to encourage a constant flow of sound before going back and playing the whole phrase start to finish. Finally, ask Vida to practice Green Frog Hop. I think this would be a great song to share for the recital! Use the music when necessary, but take it away when possible and challenge Vida to play from memory to help encourage her confidence in the song.
Eva:
Today we reviewed Sailing in the Sun. Please help Eva to practice this at home. Ask her to name the notes as you play them for her. When doing this please pretend you don’t know how to read the line and tell Eva you need her help to play. She can confidently identify middle C and is capable of finding the other notes by counting the lines and spaces up or down from C. You can then switch roles and ask Eva to play the notes as you name them. When doing this, please make sure to point to each note you name so that Eva can follow along, this will help reaffirm the name of the note to its position on the staff. Finally, challenge Eva to read and play the notes at the same time. Support her in this by reminding her its okay if she can’t play it super fast, encourage her to take her time and help to correct any mistakes or miss-steps should they occur. As a reward for her hard work on this song you can use the note value cards, the notes on the staff cards, and rhythm cards to help Eva write her own song. You can find those cards here.
Christian
This week, use the triads and inversions sheet I gave you as a warm up for both your right and left hands. After that you can practice the chord progression in “How Long Will I Love You”. Continue to review and practice the first 8 bars of the melody in the right hand of “How Long Will I Love You” and push yourself to sight-read beyond that. Read as much as you can. I’ve also uploaded “Morning” to the google drive for you to practice at home. Review this hands separate until you feel confident enough to try playing it hands together. You can find the two pages of “Morning” here.
Great lessons this week everyone! I look forward to more music making next week!
Homework for April 15-22
Henry
Great job today Henry! Here is your homework for next week:
How long to practice: 5-10 min per day
What to practice: The Postman, Rain on The Roof (new)
How to Practice:
The Postman- Play while counting (1, 2, 3) out loud; one count for black notes, 3 counts for white notes with a dot. Do not hold longer notes for longer than three counts, and have your other hand ready to go right after you lift your hand at the end of the three counts.
Rain- Familiarize yourself with the notes.
How parents can support practice: supervise and count with him. Provide the extra support particularly for the counting of Postman.
See you 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
