[PeteS]

No not for me!

I have a friend with a vulnerable 14 year old.  They want to play guitar so I volunteered to help.  I have seen him 4 or 5 times and just tried to get him to play a few easy chords (A, E, D, G, C plus a couple of minor versions) with a view to finding an easy song he could strum along to as a way of making it more fun.  He is struggling with it and I can't really keep doing the same thing.  I think if i moved on to a scale it would put him off at this stage but I am not sure where to go.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Pete

[CaliaMoko]

Can you tell what he likes and what his reactions are to his struggles? Like, is he enjoying this activity at all or is only frustrating him? How many different chords are you attempting to introduce at once? If you've tried all the chords you listed, are there any that are easier for him than the others? Answers to these questions can help guide your direction.

My suggestion is to try to determine which two chords are easiest for him and limit his repertoire for now to only those two chords. Do a search for two-chord songs and find some that will work. You might have to choose his one easiest chord and pair it with one of the others, even if it's not his second easiest, depending on whether the two easiest chords go together in any songs or not.

When choosing two-chord songs, figure out which ones he likes the best. Ask him his preferences or play them for him to see which he seems to prefer. If this process is a serious struggle for him, go very slowly in the beginning. His fingers getting sore at first may slow him down, too. Keep his practice sessions short until he builds some calluses on his fretting fingers. And only work on one or two songs for starters. When he starts making some progress, add in new songs slowly. When he's doing fairly well at playing the two chords, add a third chord and a new, 3-chord, song. And so forth.

Basically, start out really slowly. It will require lots of patience!

I'll be curious to learn how it goes.

Vicki

[PeteS]

Hi Vicki,

I have tried most of that.  He was struggling with transitioning to and from D so I worked on C to G, A to E and between those.  He can do it but forgets, obviously doesn't practice much.  On songs, it's not that easy, most 2 or 3 chord songs are older than he would be listening to.  I'll probably just pick one and get him to learn it.

To your other point, he says he enjoys it but then why doesn't he practice?  I think it's probably more that his mother wants to do something to keep him occupied.  So in truth, I can't completely tell.  I'm doing it for free but I do wonder if she would be so keen if it was £40 a lesson.

I'll keep updating!

[CaliaMoko]

Well, if he isn't going to practice, there's little you can do. I once had a piano student who made no progress whatsoever, so I just kept moving him from one beginner book to another. I talked to his mother and she assured me she knew he spent time practicing and that he really did enjoy the activity and because of that she was fine with continuing to pay for lessons that weren't making any progress.

That doesn't sound like your scenario, though. Perhaps his vulnerability is an issue that makes the activity worthwhile. ?

[PeteS]

That's about how i feel about it Vicki.  I'm sure he's not practicing much but i really want to help.  Just need to find the way to make it more enjoyable so he will see the benefit of practice.

[Boydie]

@PeteS

I used to teach guitar as a job, so I feel your pain

My starting point would be to have a discussion about EXACTLY what he wants to be able to play - bands, genres etc.

If it is more rocky stuff, I would chuck in some “power chords” (root and 5th) really early to get him chugging along to a few songs he knows quickly - ie something he can pick up a guitar and show his friends at school - always a sure way to “light the fire”

I would also suggest following a proper structure - and I really recommend the Electric Guitar grades from London College of Music
https://lcmmusicshop.uwl.ac.uk/shop/dept/Electric-Guitar/100101

We sometime automatically think of scales as “boring” - but they can present a great challenge for a student and then the sense of achievement when they “nail a scale” can be very valuable - not just guitar but in life!

Linking the scales to some well known melodies (Eastenders for the major scale and other well known tunes) and introducing the Minor Pentatonic and Blues scale along with some “licks” can also pique their interest

I think always showing WHY they should learn something and demonstrating how they can build on this element to do the fancy stuff helps them understand the journey and may help them be more inclined to practice

Finally, if you wanted to take it a bit “easier” (and develop an exit strategy  ) you could find an online course (e.g. Justin Guitar) and go through it with him - he can then watch lessons back when you are not there (for practice) and may end up being self-sufficient, so you can walk away without any guilt 

[PeteS]

Hi Boydie,

When I ask him what he likes I get a typical introverted 14 year old response.  I think it's close enough to rocky stuff to try the power chords and would mean he could effectively learn a lot of them as they are all the same shape, at least initially, so I'll give that a try.  It is currently only an acoustic guitar but that still works.

I keep thinking of the scale approach but can't quite get my head around how to make it interesting.  My current thought it to pick a pentatonic and a solo that is built around that scale and link the 2.

I'll keep thinking as I don't quite want to give up yet, although I did think it would be more fun if we got to the point where he could play songs and I could just help him.

Pete