Alfred Publishing

An Innovative Method for Class Instruction

Authors: Jason Yeary,Aaron Stang
Format: Book with Audio and Video Online
Instrumentation: Guitar (Teacher Edition)

This Teacher Edition of Sound Innovations for Elementary Class Guitar is written specifically to address the needs and learning styles of children. Unlike Sound Innovations for Guitar 1 and 2, which were aimed at teenage students, the bulk of instruction for this installment resides within this Teacher Edition---the content in the matching student book is streamlined and relies on instruction from the teacher.

Beginning with rote learning, imitation, and echoing, students will play and perform familiar melodies, strum chords, perform duets and trios, sing, and accompany singers. The curriculum takes them through reading music notation, guitar tablature, and guitar chord diagrams--while traditional chords will be taught, they'll also explore the neck of the guitar with simple and exciting non-traditional "moveable" chord shapes.

The method is organized into four levels, each with nine parts for a total of 36 lesson plans. Online resources include streaming video that corresponds to each lesson plan, downloadable MP3s that demonstrate every example and song in the book, and reproducible PDFs for student assessment. The method follows both state and national music education standards.