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Olympia Conservatory of Music - Instruction.





Bill Sweeney (a.k.a. Metaldude)

Director of the Olympia Conservatory of Music.

Instructor Bill Sweeney with students Jaelen Bush and Adam Makoviney, performing classical and jazz duets for Providence Medical fundraiser.

Preface.

There are many great guitar players who are not great teachers. Bon Jovi said it best when he quit lessons because they did nothing for him. Great songwriter and singer that he is, (I think we all know who plays lead guitar and rhythm guitar in his band! Ritchie Sambora was/is dating Orianthi recently. Look'em up Google dudes! She is a hot guitarist who helped pave the freeway for women in this industry a la Michael Jackson), I understand his point. I also understand his disappointment.

Effective communication has nothing to do with fame, college degrees or chemistry. Good teachers understand their students by observing and knowing how humans receive joy from attempting new paths of accomplishment. Not just fun, but joy. A realm of human experience unique to every dude! I was asked in a group class once why I never brought a guitar to class. I replied: "'Cuz it's not all about me. It's about you! And besides, I can always play yours!" If a teacher plays more guitar than you in class, run!!

I don't disrespect less than average instructors. I was one. That was then, this is now. I may not play Eruption or Paganini note for note, but I can show you how. And as I transform from teacher to coach you will remember me every time you play what you never thought you could!



Click this link for my current classroom offering... Beginning Guitar

Click this link for my current classroom offering... All About Chords




Endorsed Books for Instructors of Guitar (closet Teachers Only )

Director of the Olympia Conservatory of Music.

Willkommen! Kyoushi!

It took 3 years and $750 of Music Store Books to narrow down a base for the program that became the Olympia Conservatory: Novice Studies, Rudiments, Diatonic Caged and 3 notes/string Modes, and Diatonic Nodes; Pentatonic Scales, and Closed Diatonic Triads. All fingerstyle, pima, Semi-Segovian method for ALL guitar types, played classical style initially. The pick is never used at this stage so we can 'get in touch'. The Reference Books, are for the Teacher. The student doesn't need them. The Olympia Conservatory Program eclipses all of them in every category: comprehension, demonstration, problem solving, self-teaching and memory, muscle and cerebral. This is the beginning of our library.

"HARMONY AND THEORY" - Keith Wyatt and Carl Shroeder, pub. Hal Leonard. This is the Handbook for Essential Concepts used as curriculum for the Musician's Institute in L.A. First year grads are considered smart enough to teach in music stores for $50/hr, store keeps 50%. Training includes lottsa playing and some celeb smooshing and partying! Not bad compared to some college grads who only played for tests! Not to forsake you virtuosos who just wanted a degree because you were already beyond PhD! You Rascals- great teachers AND players!! Thankyou! This is guitar theory done right: gradual, clear, answers in the back for tests. Most of you know this stuff. If you don't, you will know you don't. Get it. Read it. Do the tests (at least most of 'em!) Yer a Teacher, right?
"THE HARVARD DICTIONARY OF MUSIC" - Cambridge. (Note from F. Davies: Metaldude, This has got to be my all time FAVORITE music book. It sat beside me as I studied and I found that as I looked up each word, it required that I look up the words used to explain it, leading to an infinte path as each led to more. I'm pleased to see it recommended here.)
"HARMONY" - Walter Piston, pub Norton. This is my favorite book on harmony. Walter is a Professor of Music, Emeritus, Harvard. Mine is the 1969 edition, but first published in 1941. Never pretentious, always clarifying by examples drawn from Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Schubert, et al. His explanations are demonstrations of the platforms in Music used by my heroes. There is no waste of time getting to the formations of what goes where, by triadic cadence and tetra chord movements. The purpose to eliminate redundancy by use of irregular and modulated melodic change, with phrasing and rhythm, are the rudiments of the advanced composer. Like Beethoven playing the Bohemian Rhapsody HIS style! And the pitfalls- musical blunders easy to improve a half step here, a whole step there. Everytime I explore a subject in this book I enjoy it. Instructors can take his exercises in harmony, and get quite creative for free!
"FUNDAMENTALS OF GUITAR" - Miles Osaka, pub Mel Bay. Music Theory on Mushrooms! Perfect Joy! Actually Music Theory getting into guitar music concepts from spatial, algebraic, deductive, curious and comprehensible presentations. All levels, truthful and demonstrating the art and logic for guitar players. Always enjoy its consult.
"GUITAR MODE ENCYCLOPEDIA" - Jody Fisher, pub Alfred. Even though the scale treatments are not tone centered, the five treatments to each modal viewpoint musically, and corresponding harmony notation is reference grade for guitar logic. The info is overwhelming like a thesaurus, very accurate.
"CHORD CHEMISTRY" - Ted Greene, pub Dale Zdenek. The Bible for breaking down chord theory in a guitar useful way. Always sneaking in theory and harmony concepts applied to guitar. My copy was $6.50!

There you have the platform to understand Diatonic Theory in Western Music for me. My next subject to share are the books which the instructor can use to assist the endeavor of "How to Play Guitar", followed by "What to Play".

Not a single one of my students owns any of the books on theory. They have the Novice Studies. And repertoire!