VISIONARY - Music Inc. Magazine
VISIONARY - Music Inc. Magazine
VISIONARY - Music Inc. Magazine
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Not Your Dad’s Guitar Method<br />
To create a bona fide<br />
children’s guitar method,<br />
Jeff Schroedl had<br />
to forget everything<br />
he knew.<br />
“When you watch your own<br />
kids trying to play an instrument<br />
at that age, you learn a lot<br />
yourself,” said Schroedl, Hal<br />
Leonard’s vice president of pop<br />
and standard publications. “It<br />
showed me that creating a good<br />
method for kids isn’t as simple<br />
as adapting an existing method.<br />
It really requires a fresh start and<br />
an all-new approach.”<br />
That approach spawned Hal<br />
Leonard’s Guitar For Kids, written<br />
by Schroedl and Bob Morris,<br />
former director of education<br />
for Fender. Since its launch two<br />
years ago, the book has become<br />
one of Hal Leonard’s top-selling<br />
guitar methods and was followed<br />
up with Bass For Kids, Guitar<br />
For Kids Songbook, and a pack<br />
that combines the guitar method<br />
and songbook. This summer, Hal<br />
Leonard’s taking the lineup to the<br />
next level, launching children’s<br />
ukulele and drum methods. And<br />
according to Schroedl, there are<br />
more titles in the works.<br />
“We haven’t done clinics or<br />
workshops for this method at<br />
all, which is an important point,<br />
considering that it’s taken off,”<br />
he said. “Piano students have<br />
always started at an earlier age,<br />
but with guitar, it’s typically been<br />
9 or 10 years old. I think that’s<br />
been [decreasing], and this is one<br />
of the first methods to really address<br />
that. You can effectively<br />
start your son or daughter on<br />
the guitar at age 6.”<br />
SIMPLIFIED LEARNING<br />
Open Guitar For Kids, and<br />
you’ll immediately notice<br />
several differences from a typi-<br />
‘Creating a<br />
good method<br />
for kids isn’t<br />
as simple<br />
as adapting<br />
an existing<br />
method. It<br />
really requires<br />
a fresh start<br />
and an all-new<br />
approach.’<br />
— Jeff Schroedl<br />
cal method — larger chord symbols,<br />
simpler page designs and a<br />
slower-paced approach to learning.<br />
“For kids that young, the<br />
pages can’t look intimidating,”<br />
Schroedl said. “They have to be<br />
easy on the eyes.”<br />
The book starts by teaching<br />
one-finger chords, a C and a G7,<br />
Jeff Schroedl<br />
that only use the top three guitar<br />
strings. From there, kids learn a<br />
song, Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut,”<br />
strumming G7 in quarter notes.<br />
Next up is “Yellow Submarine,”<br />
“The Hokey Pokey,” and with the<br />
introduction of the Em chord,<br />
“Get Up, Stand Up” and “Eleanor<br />
Rigby.” (Hal Leonard’s generous<br />
copyright library fleshed out the<br />
method with a wealth of popular<br />
tunes.) An accompanying CD<br />
also features more than 30 playalong<br />
tracks.<br />
“We’ve identified a number of<br />
one-chord songs and two-chord<br />
songs, and there aren’t many,”<br />
Schroedl said with a laugh.<br />
By the end of the book, kids<br />
are introduced to G, D and A<br />
chords, as well as notes on the<br />
first three strings.<br />
“A traditional method is<br />
much faster-paced and starts<br />
with typically playing three notes<br />
on the first string and three notes<br />
on the second string,” Schroedl<br />
said. “And it often introduces<br />
two or three chords at a time —<br />
full, open chords. This guitar<br />
method begins with one-finger<br />
chords.”<br />
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL<br />
The method’s simplicity isn’t<br />
only designed to appeal to<br />
kids. Schroedl pointed out that,<br />
given the economic climate, a lot<br />
of parents are forgoing paid music<br />
lessons and teaching their kids<br />
at home. Guitar For Kids’ back<br />
cover copy even encourages such<br />
home-schooling.<br />
“Obviously, it’s better to have<br />
a professional guitar teacher<br />
— don’t get me wrong — but<br />
it’s very possible for a parent,<br />
especially a parent with some<br />
musical background, to teach<br />
their own kids,” Schroedl said.<br />
To aid parents, the methods include<br />
melody cues at the bottom<br />
of each page.<br />
Not that Hal’s cutting music<br />
retailers out of the mix. Schroedl<br />
said he sees opportunity in crossmerchandising<br />
the books next<br />
to three-quarter-size axes and<br />
adding them onto entry-level<br />
guitar sales. And several dealers<br />
have already incorporated the<br />
books into their lesson programs,<br />
including Eric Lacovara, buyer<br />
at Berwyn, Pa.-based George’s<br />
<strong>Music</strong>, which uses the titles in<br />
its group and private teaching.<br />
“These books are laid out very<br />
well, and many of our teachers<br />
use the method book plus songbook<br />
with CD as supplemental<br />
material during their lessons,”<br />
he said.<br />
“The nice thing is, if they can<br />
get students started at a younger<br />
age and teach them, obviously,<br />
once they can play, they’re going<br />
to graduate to other books, other<br />
instruments and purchase other<br />
[items],” Schroedl said. “It gets<br />
them hooked at an early age.” MI<br />
JULY 2011 I MUSIC INC. I 39