Phil Westfall’s methods for teaching how to play:
When I began giving guitar lessons back in the late 1980s, the first thing I noticed was that the teaching of Standard Notation predominated. It works, but many players are discouraged by the tedium of learning the guitar one note at a time…
Here’s my innovation: Lessons begin by starting my students right away on their music of choice.
They pick the artists and songs; I teach ’em. We cover all applicable theory as we go, song by song.
Here’s my secret: I teach the guitarist of any level how to groove. He/she doesn’t just learn a string of notes and chords; they learn how to play it in tempo, with feeling. I help most students achieve this, fairly fast.
Providing correct charts is one of my specialties. We use charts of every kind – but chart-reading by itself doesn’t make a guitarist…Parts is Parts and Charts Is Charts.