The Classical Guitar of Richard Spross
About my teaching practice
First it needs to be noted that I principally teach recreational adult
players. Once in a while I will teach a youngster or a teen.
The clients that I serve range in age from their twenties through
their 50's. They are all working adults with limited time.
That being said it becomes my foremost job to give them the mechanical
skills which they then use to avail themselves of the intellectual
information being presented on the musical score. Sometimes I must
teach
them how to process effectively, the visual aspects of music reading.
Later after the muscular, and visual cues are mastered can the student
then have the freedom to begin to learn the interpretive aspects of
their playing.
The above strategy is developed and submited to the student based on an average of four effective hours a week in playing.
People who give more than this in the first year in my teaching jurisdiction are far and few between. Such people generally seek out professional teachers associated with a college or university with which to study.
For me it is the success of having the muscular and visual control in hand that gives me the freedom to play whatever I wish to spend time at. This confidence is basic for learning music without angst. Thus if I were to try to insure that every piece assigned was theoretically and interpretatively mastered before I assigned the next piece, I and my students would be facing each other for decades given the time constraints imposed upon them from normal routine living. This I believe would be counter productive to the goal of recreation in a timely manner. Once one can play and learn at a level which provides enjoyment then they can employ whatever time they wish to study other aspects of music.
I have traditionally used the Christopher Parkening Guitar method vol. 1. followed by Mateo Carcassi's Op 60. nrs,1, 6, 7, 19 and finally from Andres Segovia's collected Twenty Studies of Fernando Sor, nr. 2, 3, 6, 5, 1 and 19 as a first year course.
Anyone collegiate trained and knowledgeable about the principles of classical guitar technique can use the above syllabus as a sure guide in the first year or two, toward a successful teaching practice.
Those students coming to me for remedial work go through this program as it allows me the structure in which I expound my information about playing and learning. Those who because of other interests and who drift from this core material often miss the essential message being conveyed.
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