Strummin' the Six String

For my teaching assignment I decided I wanted to show a couple of my friends how to play something on the guitar. Maybe this wasn't the greatest idea.... I mean I'm no John Mayer or Carlos Santana, but I can at least play enough to make the ladies notice me! That being said... I chose to teach them a song that would definitely prove my manliness - "Breathe" by Taylor Swift and Colbie Calliat (Hey, don't judge me). Read after the break to see how it all turned out!

So I decided to show them three pretty basic chords that comprise the verse of the song. Who knows what chaos might have erupted had I shown them the pre-chorus, chorus, and bridge?! However, to my surprise, they were actually really fast learners! I started my showing them the fingering for the three chords and having them both practice the transitions between them without the strumming pattern.

Fixing the chords

This was by far the most difficult part because, unless you've played a string instrument before, pushing the strings down on the fretboard while arching and spreading your fingers can feel both foreign and painful. After I made sure they knew the placement for all three chords (G, Dsus4, and Cadd9) I had them practice strumming each one individually along with the counts for the song.

After the hard part was over, I moved on to add in the strum pattern. I started out really slow and gave them a simple "down, down, down, up" pattern to follow. This part came rather quickly because if you've heard the song before pretty intuitive to pick up the strumming. After some tedious practice and some (brilliant) instruction we... I mean they... were jamming out like everyone's favorite young Nashville sensation!

Jammin' out!

Well after awhile of singing about forgone relationships and heartache... and other manly things I was worn out, so I decided I would save the rest of the song for another lesson. Learning and teaching guitar is a slow and difficult process that requires a lot of individual commitment and practice, which I would say is true for any type of folk knowledge. I think music is obviously one of the most prevalent types of folk knowledge throughout history, which I would attribute to its unique ability to connect emotionally with all people. This was a fun new experience for me, and I'm glad I got to pass on a little piece of folk knowledge that I've been taught to someone else!