Guitar for Beginners 2

Building upon the foundational skills introduced in Guitar for Beginners 1, this four-week course provides a structured approach to advancing your skills on the guitar with essential techniques and musical concepts.

Throughout the course, you'll focus on mastering fundamental scales such as the E minor pentatonic and exploring the moveable major scale across 12 keys. These skills will significantly enhance your ability to play melodies, improvise solos, and understand musical structure with greater sophistication. The course also explores chord progressions found in popular songs across various genres, further refining your rhythmic capabilities and introducing you to power and barre chords essential for rock and pop styles.

You'll learn to play music from classical to contemporary styles, including pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Pachelbel, Nina Simone, Link Wray, The Beatles, The Breeders, Ramones, Joan Jett, The Cure, Mazzy Star, and The Velvet Underground. By the end of the course, you'll feel confident in your growing versatility and proficiency on the guitar.

What you will learn:

✔ Fluidly play the E minor pentatonic scale forwards and backwards, applying it to create melodic phrases and solos
✔ Demonstrate proficiency in playing the moveable major scale across all 12 keys, facilitating improvisation and musical exploration in different tonalities
✔ Execute chord progressions from hit songs with confidence, incorporating rhythmic variations and smooth transitions between chords
✔ Master power and barre chords, enabling the ability to play complex chord structures essential for rock, pop, and other contemporary music genres

Join us and learn guitar online!

Prerequisite skills:

Completion of Guitar for Beginners 1, or equivalent knowledge and/or experience.

What you need to participate:

Computer or mobile device with Internet. Internet speed must be at least 1.5Mbps download and 800Kbps upload. For students using a mobile device, download the Canvas mobile app and select “Interlochen Online” as your school.
Electric guitar with an amp and 1/4" cable or an acoustic guitar
Guitar picks
Tuner (free option)
Metronome (free option)

How the course works:

Interlochen Online courses are designed to be inspiring and flexible with weekly learning units that combine video segments and guided instruction that you can complete on your own schedule during the week. You will interact regularly with your teacher and peers inside the learning environment.

You can also participate in an optional weekly hour-long video class meeting, where you can learn from the teacher and interact with your classmates in real-time. At the beginning of the course, you will complete a survey indicating your preferred times for the class meeting. The teacher will make every best effort to identify a meeting time that works for everyone. The teacher will also post recordings of the meetings and you can view them when it is convenient.

The goal is that you walk away not only with practical skills and friendships but that you are inspired and motivated to pursue your art and realize your potential.