The Art of Teaching
the Guitar

Art is the imagination expressed through the senses.
- Anonymous

Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.
- Frank Zappa

Here at Guitar Pedagogy we believe that teaching the guitar should be as much fun as learning to play was for us. We've seen too many guitarists-turned-teachers plow through their lessons and speed off to their next gig, leaving behind nothing but a pile of scribbled tablature and students whose endless noodling will fill guitar stores for years to come, maybe never finding out how fun it can be to play music for or with other people.

what we're gonna do about it

Our goal to encourage "guitarists who happen to teach" to take a stab at being real teachers. We'll offer them whatever we can come up with to make the job easier, in the form of lesson ideas, printouts, downloads, and anything else we can find. Each issue of Guitar Pedagogy features articles on teaching the guitar, teacher resources that are ready to download and tuck into a guitar case for the next lesson, and a review of another guitar-related website (there are so many out there, it's the least we can do to sort through some of them for you).

See something you like?

Everything you see here on the site is protected by copyright, but you can use it as long as you include the website name. If you're going to print it out and use it in a lesson, knock yourself out. If you're going to use it on another website, just include something like "Courtesy of WWW.GUITARPEDAGOGY.COM" on the same page. Still got questions? Email us.

become one of us

Yes, Guitar Pedagogy accepts submissions! If you've got an article, a web review, or anything else that you think would fit in on our site, send it to us via email. Remember that all material has to original or use correct citations where appropriate. Why would you want to write for Guitar Pedagogy? Well, it's a chance to write for a respected online journal, where people will see your name and wish they were you, and then, if you're really good, you might get to write something else that you would be paid for. After that? Book deals? Sell your life story to HBO? You'll never know unless you take that first step and contribute.

our editor

David Garlitz has worked as a professional musician and educator since 1997. He holds a B.M. in Jazz Guitar Performance from Temple University and an M.A. in Ethnomusicology, with a specialization in Cuban music, from Wesleyan University. His group, Conjunto 23, performs Cuban son throughout Philadelphia and the Eastern United States. Garlitz recently left Philadelphia for Paris, where he teaches guitar and electric bass at Ecole Koenig, a bilingual music school on the Left Bank.