Process Analysis

                                 Teaching acoustic guitar.

       When a person picks up an acoustic guitar with the desire to learn how to play, it may seem difficult to figure out where to start. The possibilities are seemingly endless. This is when a teacher is needed to guide you through the beginning stages. There are several ways to start learning how to play an acoustic guitar and I believe that none of them are wrong really. I do however have my own method for teaching a person from scratch. I call it "the fun way."
        It is extraordinarily easy to become bored when learning how to tune your guitar or how to play a scale from scratch. This is where I feel that I lose most people when teaching guitar. First impressions are very important. As with teaching almost anything, if the first impression of your course and teacher is one of boredom and monotony, you will find yourself drifting away from their instructions and lectures.
          The first step is to find out what your student knows about guitar. Get a good feeling for how skilled they are. And from that you will be able to set the pace. The first thing you do, is ask what kind of music the person likes. If you dont already know a song by the artist, you can ask them to play a song on their phone or computer or something. Then you listen to the songs, and find a song or part of a one that you believe your student is capable of playing. Ask them if they want to learn that song or that part. If you are picking just a part of the song, make sure you pick the beginning.                                                                                                                                                                    The easiest way to show them how to play is to have two guitars. You will then sit in a chair facing them  creating a mirror image. Be very patient and slow with the person. You will notice that they are having trouble with parts of the chords or notes. Just show them again and explain more thoroughly how to hold the fingers and move about. Once you are certain that they know what strings to press, you tell them you have to go do something. Like find a book or make a phone call. (I consider myself good at reading people, and I know that a person usually feels judged or uncomfortable when I sit in the room listening to mistake after mistake.) When you come back you will know how motivated your pupil is. People usually learn a part of a song and play it faster and faster as they become more confident. If this is what they wish to do, remind them of the actual tempo of the song. Or set a metronome so that they can play faster or more accurately.
            By this point in time, the person who you are teaching most likely has sore finger tips and needs a break. I usually tell them to wash their hands so that they can feel the pain in the tips of their digits. And so they grow calluses faster. Explain that after only a few more practice sessions it will no longer hurt. While their hands are drying, you can begin to teach them how to tune harmonically.  
     When your student is leaving, it is in my opinion very important to produce an assignment or project. Set a time and date for the next class if you have not done so already. It never goes the same way twice when teaching guitar. People are all different. But after teaching enough times you will find your own favored and effective way. Thank you for listening to mine.

Illustrative

                                                                      A good hobby.

  
    Playing an acoustic guitar is one of those hobbies that you don't pick up right away. It's not like a video game that you can set to easy mode when you're having difficulties on level seven. Or like the all to famous and favorite past time of the American population "watching people do things on tv" I feel that playing Acoustic guitar is one of those things that you have to force yourself to do. It's like seeing a person skate board down the street and saying to yourself  "I want that too." "They make it look so easy". So you get one, try it, and fall on your bottom. Now, some people might just put that skate board up on the wall in a cool spot while they heal from the wounds of failure. And they might never pick it up again... Or they will...Other people would stay outside, bloody and bruised trying to figure the dang thing out! I have seen all kinds of successful and un successful attempts at playing guitar.
      A lot of time and emotion goes into playing any instrument, and if your not ready for that investment, it can become a stale burden. It may not be easy, but it is well worth it. I find that playing guitar is a great way to releive stress or anxiety! And if you just took 20 mins out of your facebook or tv needs, you would benefit greatly from learning. Playing Acoustic guitar like most hobbies, can be a very social, competitive, relaxing, or rewarding experience.
     I have this friend who wanted me to teach him how to play guitar. I guess after seeing or hearing other people play acoustic, he wanted in on all the fun. I remember I gave him one of my old acoustics as a gift and a way to start playing. he was so excited! I remember seeing him go through the same phases that I went through when I started playing. He would become frustrated when he couldn't play what I was showing him. And he would put the guitar aside and change the subject. It was very important at this point that I put the guitar down as well. I had learned from past lessons that people can easily become "put out" by you if you "show off" So we would talk. I would try to keep the topic of our conversations directed towards guitar and music. Eventually the night would come to an end and my friend would go home. It was out of my hands at that point. But as it turned out, when he went home he would play for hours! And he would learn songs, chords, scales and not show or tell  me that he knew them. He would stilll come over for lessons, and learn all he could from me. He started getting real good, better than me. He got in some bands, played out at bars and to this day I dont ever see him without a guitar in his hands on his back or in his car. I noticed a change in his behavior too. He became more confident. He was happy more and seemed relaxed all the time.
   I am not saying playing acoustic guitar is the best hobby in the world. But if you dont have a hobby, maybe you should give it a try?

Description

    
                                                                    The Guitar Shop.

     I took my time in that dimly lit guitar shop. I had taken a friend with me to sort of look over the acoustic guitars and possibly purchase one that day. I was taken back by the smell of the shop. Its kinda like the smell I remember from being a child and opening that plastic case to a new action figure. That, mixed with the smell of fresh wood and steel. I glanced around at all the electric guitars stood up by stands on the floor and hanging from racks in the air. I slowly walked to the right while taking it all in and making my way to the next room.
     The light became brighter in the acoustic room. At least it appeared that way. The smell became sweet and earthy like a rare insence from a hippie shop. The shapes and colors of acoustics changed so slowly as I made my way around the room, that I could hardly tell unless I looked back at where I started. Or found a unique reference guitar. I saw and heard a few people sitting down trying out different acoustics. Not really playing anything specific that I could pick out, but the sound was blending into a range of humming and twanging that filled the room. I can't remember the first guitar I picked up that day. But I remember the last. It was an acoustic electric Martin with a built in fishman tunner. It had a lightly finished all spruce face with no pick guard. A rose wood neck that was cut perfectly flat on the top so if you looked down at it you could see each slat of wood that made it up. The place where the neck curves and meets the body in the back looked like the pattern you see from a fresh cut peice of salmon. A high finish was used on the back and sides of the body that was a light and dark brown mix in a streak pattern. It reminded me of a brown recluse spider for some reason. It smelled almost minty. I was so lost in the guitar and the atmospher that I forgot about everything. I sort of became sucked into it. My friends voice woke me from the trance.
      I didn't buy the guitar that day. It was all I could think about for the next week or two. I couldn't wait to go back and buy it. And I am glad I did.