Would you like to build a school guitar class with the scholastic integrity and ensemble chops of a great band or orchestra program? This clinic will focus on ways to explore culturally diverse repertoire from a foundation of music literacy and classical technique. Music educators who teach guitar but aren’t yet confident players and those who have recently been assigned or would like to begin a guitar class will find this session particularly helpful. The clinician will demonstrate and discuss effective ways to teach medium to large groups of students how to play guitar with ergonomic technique and to avoid the negative habits that often befall beginning students. He will also explore tactics for getting students to read music and play as an ensemble from the very beginning of their guitar-playing experience. Ultimately, we want students to have an engaging and enriching experience on this most accessible instrument.
Target Audience
Anyone who teaches or is considering teaching guitar in a classroom setting.
Additional Notes
Clinician Info
Nick Lenio
Lead Guitar / Guitar Ensemble Method
Nick Lenio has been teaching music in public schools in Pennsylvania and Colorado for 13 years. He has witnessed first-hand the transformative power that music can have on young people and firmly believes that every young person should be exposed to arts education. He currently serves as Lead Guitar’s Regional Director for Colorado. Lead Guitar is a nonprofit organization that establishes permanent classical guitar classes in public schools, especially schools with low access to the arts. Lead Guitar hires Teaching Artists with a Master’s or Doctorate in classical guitar to partner with public school teachers and visit their classrooms weekly to co-teach guitar classes. Mr. Lenio holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and a Master’s Degree in Instrumental Conducting. In 2016, he was a semi-finalist for the GRAMMY Foundation’s Music Educator Award.