Starting an Advanced Guitar Course

The Guitar and Ukulele introductory elective that was detailed in a previous article have been the driving force behind the advancement of the music department at Springfield High School. Because of the school’s growing student population and high level of interest in music electives, particularly guitar and ukulele, we hired an additional faculty member this past year. Michael Trycieckyj moved from an elementary music position help us expand our course offerings, including an advanced-level guitar class, which we piloted in the spring of 2025.

In order to develop a thoughtful, practical and engaging progression of guitar instruction, we knew it was critical to design a spiral curriculum to build on the foundation of the introductory course. The process of creating the advanced curriculum actually began when the guitar and ukulele course was first developed in 2018. We hoped and intended for this beginning course to one day be supplemented with an advanced-level offering, and this long-term vision in curriculum development served us well.

Seven Goals for the Introductory Course

The introductory curriculum was designed to provide students with a buffet of satisfying key concepts, while also opening the door for beginning guitarists to eventually “take their playing to the next level.” When considering which topics to include in a curriculum, a music educator must philosophically consider what students should know and what impact the course will have on their future interactions with music, both in and out of school.

We decided that the primary goal of the introductory course was to provide students with basic music-reading and performance skills that would allow them to continue learning whether independently, studying with a private instructor or playing as a part of an ensemble.

Specifically, we set the following goals for students:

1. Learn to read traditional notation, tablature and chord charts
2. Play both chords and melodies with proper technique
3. Play basic strum patterns in common time signatures
4. Introduce fingerpicking and boom chick picking patterns for accompanying
5. Play chord progressions using I, IV, V and some common minor chords in common keys: C, A, D, G, E
6. Write simple songs of common progressions such as the blues
7. Research, self-teach and perform songs of their choice

The Next Level: Advanced Guitar

With these foundational skills covered in the introductory course, the Guitar Level 2 course proved to be an exciting and open-ended opportunity to develop musical skills that are interesting, enriching, and most importantly, practical for our students. We decided to focus solely on guitar because the mechanics of the instrument allow students to independently transfer their newly learned advanced knowledge, skills and techniques to the ukulele. This process wouldn’t be as effective the other way around.

Additionally, there isn’t as much widely available teaching materials for the ukulele as there is for guitar. However, a Ukulele Level 2 class is a possibility for the future, considering the foundation we created with the initial course offering.

In line with the spiral design of the existing guitar program at Springfield High, Guitar Level 2 continues the buffet-style approach to topics and techniques that students can apply to a variety of styles and musical contexts. The curriculum begins with a review of key concepts, such as open chords in common keys, but then it expands to introducing new chords within the key, voicings and learning how to apply them in songwriting.

One early consideration when writing this new curriculum was determining the breadth-to-depth ratio for each topic. For example, one could easily dedicate an entire course to improvisation; however, it is vital to consider ways to reach the diverse interests of all students and introduce them to concepts they are likely unfamiliar with.

Taking all this into consideration, the semester-long Guitar Level 2 course addressed these eight topics:

1. Open chords including a review of the basic CAGED shapes, common alternate open chord voicings and 7 chords
2. Daily practice of melodic exercises using traditional and symbolic notation
3. Fretboard geography — memorizing pitch names across the fretboard as a primer for moveable chords
4. E-type and A-type power chords
5. Major, minor and 7 barre chords
6. Fingerpicking accompaniments
7. Minor pentatonic scale and introduction to improvisation
8. Songwriting utilizing topics covered throughout the course

Range of Skills and Knowledge

Each topic is covered for approximately two to three weeks as students practice exercises, excerpts and full songs to develop the requisite skills. It quickly became apparent that most students in Guitar Level 2 continued playing guitar outside of school after picking up the instrument for the first time in the Guitar and Ukulele course.

Some students had a few years of practice while others had a single semester of experience, which meant students entered this secondary course with a wide range of expertise. Even the most advanced students in the class acquired skills that they may not have by practicing on their own.

For example, the student who primarily played ’90s grunge with his garage band had limited practice fingerpicking ’60s folk revival tunes. Another student played guitar in her church’s praise band and was challenged by the progressions and melodic lines in “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Where Is My Mind.” The addition of movable chords to her musical vocabulary ultimately helped her expand her playing capabilities and added depth to her repertoire.

Improvisation Success

The improvisation unit was particularly rewarding, as most students in the class were intimidated by the idea of not only performing in front of their peers, but stepping out of their comfort zone and trying something new on the spot. During this unit, students would first practice the basic minor pentatonic scale, then they would sit in a circle and take turns creating their own solos while the rest of the class accompanied with the 12-bar blues.

We started with single-note solos, then two-note solos, then four notes. In a matter of days, students who were initially afraid of improvising were commanding access to the full pentatonic scale. Students traded 12 bars, then fours, twos, and in a real lightning round, ones!

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For music educators who are interested in developing or revising their curricula, it’s important to consider the objectives of each course. The goal of our music electives is to encourage students, particularly those not already involved in ensembles, to realize that they, too, can have a musical outlet they can carry with them outside the walls of their school. So, instead of striving for perfection, students were regularly reminded that these skills take hours upon hours — even years — to master.

Our hope is for students who have taken Guitar and Ukulele, and now Guitar Level 2, to have the skill and knowledge to confidently continue their independent learning and musical exploration on the guitar. By setting instructional goals and outcomes that are educational and practical, these growing musicians will develop a keen interest in music-making that lasts a lifetime, which is the collective purpose of music educators around the globe.