Another Great Recital!

Lots of Beatles songs, and one fantastic Jeff Beck cover!

So this year, I had mostly beginner students playing Beatles songs, which was great, and then one student playing a Jeff Beck song who’s been taking lessons for about 3 years.  That student, Robert Gibson, did a fantastic cover of Freeway Jam by Jeff Beck that was the highlight of the recital.  You can check out the video here:

This video is an example of what practicing scales can do for your playing, although in this case we’re also looking at a student who practices a couple hours a day.  I also spent the last year focusing a lot on the “classical rock” stuff with this student, and taught him things like Schubert’s 5th symphony, Mozart’s 40th symphony, and Bolero by Ravel.  It seems like all the students I’ve had who have put in the time to learn and memorize these melodies have become really good guitar players.  Even if you’re focused on learning to play rock music or heavy metal, learning to play classical melodies will improve your playing.

Other performances included students playing Cowboy Song, Yesterday, Hello Goodbye, and Eight Days A Week, all students of mine who have been playing for anywhere between 1 – 2 years.  I had a couple bass students perform this year too: one played “Your Mother Should Know” by the Beatles and another played “Song For My Father” with some of the teachers accompanying him.   Participation in the recital is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged.  Next year, I’m going to try to put together some ensembles with some of the younger kids and have them play individually and as a group, which should be a lot of fun.