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The attendance policy for the adult classes at the Senior Center says if a student misses two consecutive classes without notification, they may be dropped from the class.

Please notify the Senior Center directly of any planned absences. In addition, kindly send an email to Norm at least 24 hours in advance. If it’s last-minute, a text is fine.

If you ever decide to drop the class, please let me know so I can offer the spot to the next person on our waitlist as soon as possible.

Just a quick request about music stands. If you have taken any of our classes previously, we would like you to bring a music stand to class, starting this coming Thursday. If this is your first class with us, then you may continue using a chair as your music stand, until you are ready to buy one. There are several good stands on Amazon for less than $20.00. The music stands take up less room and make it easier for people to circulate around the classroom.

Thank you!

t was so great to see so many returning guitarists on our first day of class—and to meet those of you who are brand new to guitar as well. In case you didn’t get a chance to meet all of us on the teaching team, please feel free to introduce yourself, ask questions, or request help anytime. We’re here for you!

About These Emails:
From time to time, I’ll send out emails like this one. They’re meant to round out what we cover in class and sometimes give you a small head start on what’s coming up. You don’t need to understand everything perfectly—just read through, watch any linked videos, and practice what you can. Bring your questions to our next class. When material is intended primarily for the intermediate class, we will normally write “Hello intermediate players”.

It is important to know that we will be sending all messages to participants in both the beginning and intermediate classes. It may seem a little illogical at first—but there’s a purpose behind the madness.

Our enrollment includes some beginning students who may be ready to explore intermediate-level ideas, and many intermediate players who can benefit from revisiting the fundamentals covered in the beginning class. To help clarify, I’ll label intermediate materials by starting those messages with “Hi intermediate players.”

Please remember—go at your own pace. There’s no pressure and no expectations.

I often think of our classes like a restaurant buffet: take what looks good, what you’re ready for, and what you’ll enjoy—and it’s perfectly fine to leave the rest. Have it your way! (My son, Adam, never liked spicy food for years. Now he complains if we run out of Cholula sauce. 🙂)

Thank you for your patience, enthusiasm, and the energy you bring to class every week.

A Thought on Learning:
When I reflect on my own guitar journey, I remember something I wish I’d understood much earlier. For years, I believed, “Once I get good at guitar, then I’ll enjoy it.” That mindset made me overly critical of myself, and playing felt more stressful than fun.

Everything changed when I started playing casually with friends in my 20s. We weren’t trying to impress each other—we just had fun, and laughed when things went sideways.

So now, my advice is:
“First learn to enjoy the guitar—then you’ll get better.”
I wish I had a time machine to get those years back. 🙂

How Much Should You Practice?
Try picking up your guitar twice a day for at least 15 minutes each time.

• The first session can be “work”: practicing chords or reviewing the lesson.
• The second session should be “play”: exploring, noodling, exploring YouTube lessons, or trying something fun and new.

Even on busy days, just playing for 10 minutes can lift your spirits. Be patient with yourself. If you start feeling tense—physically or mentally—take a break and come back later.

Here’s the big secret:
If you enjoy the process of learning, you won’t stop—and if you don’t stop, you will learn.
That’s it. Make enjoying the process your main goal. The learning will follow, in its own time. 🙂

A Note for New Players:
If you’re new to guitar, your hands may start to ache, and the fingertips on your left hand will probably feel sore. That’s totally normal—your hands are doing brand new things.

But if it ever becomes painful (not just uncomfortable), stop. Shorten your practice time for a few days, then gradually increase again. Within a few weeks, you’ll likely start building calluses and feel more comfortable.

Warm-Up Video:
Here’s a simple hand warm-up routine to try before each practice:
🎥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTJmydT_Ioc

Happy practicing—and see you Thursday!

We covered this topic briefly, in class, but if you would like a review then please watch the following video: “How to Read Guitar Chord Boxes” (Diagrams).

JustinGuitar.com is one of many great FREE guitar resources. We will highlight essentials from his videos as well as from other content providers, in the future. 

If you ever wish to move at a faster pace, I envy you! Feel free to explore his other lessons on YouTube or his website justinguitar.com

Best…!

Here is a more detailed lesson on How to Hold a Guitar Pick. Reminder, you may use your index finger or thumb instead of a pick, if you prefer. 

A pick is often easier to play loudly and will sound brighter than using the fleshy part of your finger(s). I compensate by keeping longer fingernails on my right hand. 

Best…!

Here’s a short video lesson that covers much of what we learned in our first class. Feel free to watch it as a refresher:

Note #1:
Even a simple song like this can be played in different ways.
For example:

• In class, we gave the option of playing the D6 chord using one finger
• The instructor in the video uses two fingers for the D6

Which one is correct?
Whichever you like better! Both versions sound great, and this kind of variation is totally normal. 

Think of it like driving from here to the Los Angeles airport—there is more than one route to get there. 🙂

Note #2:
For this song, the D6 chord and the D6/9 chord can be used interchangeably. No need to treat them as different chords here.

Here’s a link to the song “A Horse with No Name” so you can listen and practice on your own:

If you are a beginning player, we recommend practicing this song after adjusting your YouTube playback speed to 75%. Play simple down-strums on the beats: 1, 2, 3, 4.

If you’re a more experienced player, you can use the shuffle rhythm—the subject of a future video and lesson.

We’ll answer questions and practice this song together in our next class.

Help us make this class work for you!

In the old days, when I would get together with friends to play guitar, sometimes as we were jamming on songs, one of us might suddenly stop and ask: “Wait, how did you do that?” We had heard something we liked and wanted to figure out how to play it ourselves—maybe a unique chord, a chord transition, or an interesting rhythm part. Then we would share what we knew with each other.

If our team understands what you are most interested in, we can make our time together more relevant and fun for you. Please feel free to ask questions about what we play during class and let us know what you want to learn or need help with during class. If your question is not about a song we play, it helps if you can bring a reference, like a snippet of the song or the section you’re curious about.

In the beginning class, our focus is on mastering the basics and building a solid foundation. In the intermediate class, we aim to introduce more options for embellishing your playing, so you can make your music your own.

We’re excited to explore music together, and your questions help make our classes more engaging for everyone!

This Thursday, we’ll be introducing three new chords: A, D, and E. These chords are the foundation for a ton of music—and they’re all you need to play “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and every “Level 1” song in our Songbook!

If you’re brand new to guitar, hang in there—you’re almost over the first big hurdle. Once you’re comfortable with A, D, and E, you’ll be able to play along with multiple songs in class over the coming weeks.

Before Thursday:
If you have a few minutes, please check out the video links below. Watching them now will help make class go more smoothly—even if your fingers are too sore to play.

Learn the D chord 

Learn the A chord 

Learn the E chord 

🎸 TIP: If your fingertips are tender, just place your fingers in position on the strings lightly, without pressing down.
That simple action helps build awareness, finger memory, and comfort with the chord shapes.

Take breaks often, and stop immediately if your hand starts to ache or cramp. Don’t stress about strength or speed right now—those will come with time. For now, just focus on getting familiar with where your fingers go.

You’re doing great—see you Thursday!

Recently, we introduced the song: Where Have All the Flowers Gone (chords: A, D, E )

Here is a performance of the original song:

In order to play along with the video using the music in our songbook, make sure you use the page that has chords A, D, and E; and use Capo 1 (put the capo on the first fret). I recommend slowing down the video. Our goal is not to play it as fast as the recording. 

[P.S. You may hear a chord change in the recording that we are not playing.  Just follow the way it is in our songbook and it will sound fine.]

Happy playing…!

This Thursday we will be learning the song Dance the Night Away. Here is a link to an original recording so you can become familiar with the song, if necessary. 

Here is a complete lesson. It uses two chords, which may be new for some of you. Don’t worry about playing it fast. Instead, concentrate playing it smoothly with even downstrokes, as you go. 

Remember, you can always slow down YouTube videos. This is a great learning aid which I use frequently.

We will review the chords and strum for this song in class. As always, please ask any questions, you might have. 

Have fun and keep smiling…! 🙂

So, for next week’s class (and the rest of your musical lives, ha-ha) it will be important to hear the difference between these two rhythm types: Shuffle and Straight. I was classically trained when I was young, so later, when I tried to learn songs with a shuffle (also called a swing rhythm), it was more difficult for me than it could have been because although my ears understood it, my hands did not. 🙂

Please watch the first 1 minute and 18 seconds of the following video—a few times, if you wish. You don’t need to understand Justin’s description, just listen to the difference between the two rhythms, for now. Once your ears can identify the shuffle (swing) rhythm, the playing should come more natually.

Shuffle rhythms are used in many styles of music, including blues, rock, jazz and more. 

“A Horse with No Name” has a shuffle rhythm. Songs like “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Dance the Night Away” do not. Those have a straight rhythm.

One of the tools we use as guitar players is the capo. It is a small clamp that attaches to the guitar’s neck, effectively shortening the strings and raising their pitch. 

This can be helpful in two ways: 

1. It can help you play in different keys using familiar open-chord shapes.
2. By adjusting the pitch, you can adjust the song to better suit your voice. 

Here is a lesson from Justin on the capo. Athough he is playing an electric guitar, it is the same for an acoustic.

Help us make this class work for you!

In the old days, when I would get together with friends to play guitar, sometimes as we were jamming on songs, one of us might suddenly stop and ask: “Wait, how did you do that?” We had heard something we liked and wanted to figure out how to play it ourselves—maybe a unique chord, a chord transition, or an interesting rhythm part. Then we would share what we knew with each other.

If our team understands what you are most interested in, we can make our time together more relevant and fun for you. Please feel free to ask questions about what we play during class and let us know what you want to learn or need help with during class. If your question is not about a song we play, it helps if you can bring a reference, like a snippet of the song or the section you’re curious about.

In the beginning class, our focus is on mastering the basics and building a solid foundation. In the intermediate class, we aim to introduce more options for embellishing your playing, so you can make your music your own.

We’re excited to explore music together, and your questions help make our classes more engaging for everyone!