Who Can Implement a Guitars In The Classroom Program?

Any local guitar instructor who knows how to work effectively with beginning adult players can start a regional GITC program. Any interested parent, classroom teacher, or musically minded adult can also start a program and help to facilitate it as long as he or she teams up with a qualified guitar and music teacher who runs classes. You can read more about what makes a successful GITC instructor.

What is a Regional GITC Program?

A regional program offers all pre-K through 8th grade teachers in an area the opportunity to take free weekly group guitar classes. The classes include basic music education and group songwriting techniques. The teachers register on a first-come, first-served basis. The classes are open to preschool teachers, elementary school teachers, and middle school teachers. Everyone learns together.

One teacher meets with as many as 15 beginning guitar students and 15 intermediate guitar students, one night per week, in six week cycles. Classes meet in a donated location such as a participating music retailer or a local school. A local guitar teacher works closely with Guitars in the Classroom to help all teachers learn to play guitar with children beginning with the first lesson.

Within six weeks, many teachers have already begun strumming and singing with students in their own classrooms! At first they learn to play guitar using the SmartStart Guitar Method (Open G tuning.) This makes for instant success and frees the teachers to sing out and develop rhythm strumming skills. Singing together helps boost student language skills and literacy as well as introducing and reinforcing general subject knowledge. Teachers begin making music to guide students through transitions, to reward class accomplishments, and to compliment student plays and assemblies. Making music together quickly becomes a favorite student activity, something many teachers do once a week or more.

After six weeks, GITC Beginners enter Beginner Plus classes where they build mastery of basic skills, gain experience and self-confidence as singers and musical leaders, and learn songs especially for the classroom, still using the SmartStart Guitar Method. GITC's simple, song based approach to learning guitar makes skill acquisition into a gentle process. Teachers who cannot make time to practice during the week still find they can keep up with the group! Teachers who make rapid progress can jump ahead a level. Everyone wins.

After twelve weeks, continuing GITC teachers qualify as "Strummers," honing their skills to change chords easily while singing, learning to lead musical games, and include songwriting in their activities. At eighteen weeks of lessons, they make a transition to playing guitar in standard tuning! This happens quite naturally because it requires only minor adaptations from the Open G tuning technique.

After twenty-four weeks, GITC teachers progress to "Songleader" levels I, then II, then III. In these classes, they acquire more advanced music leadership training while building their musical repertoire in standard tuning. At this stage, teachers frequently guest lead classes, sharing their own favorite songs from school. The classes are a great weekly morale booster and give teachers a night out with music and friends - one that makes coming to work the next day an exciting adventure because they are prepared to share a new song or idea.

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What Can Teachers Learn in a Regional Program?

Classes include rhythm and movement, guitar techniques and light music theory, basic music education techniques, song-leading instruction and practice, lesson planning to include songs, song resources, and group songwriting techniques that allow teachers to incorporate guitars and music into academic learning through creative writing.

Within the first six weeks, and usually after the very first lesson, teachers can help kids strum and sing at school. Within twelve weeks, teachers begin to employ songwriting to boost literacy and general subject knowledge in their classrooms using guitars. Within eighteen weeks of lessons, beginning players are typically comfortable enough playing guitar and songleading to use music effectively in their classrooms. They continue to enroll in GITC classes as time and class space allows.

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Where Do Regional GITC Classes Meet?

Classes meet in a free central location such as a participating music retailer, local school, or a community meeting hall.

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Who Does a Regional Program Reach?

A regional program can focus on one very large county or city, or may encompass many smaller school districts. This way, the program spreads through schools everywhere in the designated area or city. Because the most motivated teachers are the first to sign up, the drop out rate is low, completion rate very high, and teachers re-enroll.

For each teacher, between twenty and thirty five children are directly given music in their classrooms. Often, participating teachers are asked by other teachers in their schools to come into other classes and play with those kids, too. In any session, an average of thirty teachers and 900 students will benefit from having music in their classes. If a teacher plays music at school assemblies or travels to other classes, the numbers double, triple, or more.

The regional model often seeds after school guitar programs because teachers who continue with GITC voluntarily often develop an interest in starting guitar clubs or classes.

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How Much Does a Regional Program Cost?

The regional program is affordable and cost effective. A full year of six week lesson cycles that has the potential to include as many as 180 teachers over the course of a year, and approximately $4,000.00 to $5000.00 including staff, supplies, instruments, and accessories. When possible, teachers supply their own guitars. GITC Program Coordinators and Instructors earn $40 an hour to teach classes and earn $20 per hour for clerical work and preparation.

Contributing Music Manufacturing and Merchandise Businesses help supply small guitars for the classrooms, and accessories such as strings and capos, flatpicks and straps.

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Who Funds GITC Regional Programs?

Generous individuals, charitable organizations and foundations, as well as musical instrument and accessories manufacturers fund our programs. Many choose to fund programs that take place in their own regions.

For example, St. Louis Music donated guitars to the GITC program in St. Louis. In addition to supplying guitars for programs in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Watsonville, California, Rutland, Vermont and elsewhere, Godin Guitars supports the program in South Carolina as it is close to Janet Godin's home state of North Carolina.

For a complete list of contributors, please see our Sponsors page.

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How Do I Start a Regional Program?

To start a program in your area, you'll need a location, plus materials and training. Training is ongoing through E-mail contact with Guitars in the Classroom Director, Jessica Baron Turner.

Introductory packets and program coordination training information for new GITC program are available by request from Jessica Baron Turner at GITC Headquarters. We will be making this training information available online in the near future. Stay tuned.

Educational materials, musical instruments, accessories, and educational supplies are constantly made available to new programs through donations from our generous contributors to GITC. Please see our Sponsors page.

If you are interested in working with Guitars in the Classroom to begin a guitar and music training program in your area, please contact Guitars in the Classroom.

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