Teaching Guitar Workshop Level 1
Date
June 23-June 26, 2025
On Campus
Course Code
7085B
Credits
3
Tuition
$1146
Course Description
The Teaching Guitar Workshops were started by members of GAMA, NAMM and NAfME in 1995. The objective: help school music educators start or enhance classroom guitar programs and deliver more music making opportunities to children. Between 1995 and today over 4,000 school music teachers across the United States and Canada have enjoyed TGW. GAMA’s studies suggest that over 2 million students have learned guitar in schools because of the TGW. The program succeeded because it has created value for everyone involved.
Teaching Guitar Workshop Level I – Beginner Course
You will learn • Chord strumming w/ singing in various styles and keys • Beginning classical, finger-style, and pick-style right hand techniques • Improvisation w/ movable pentatonic scales • Note reading in 1st position • Basic theory including barre chords and power chords • Posture and hand positions • Classroom management • Pacing
See Summer Housing, Dining & Parking options.
Instructor
Glen McCarthy teaches guitar, ukulele, and bass at the Mason Community Arts Academy and is the facilitator of the ukulele and guitar workshops for the Veterans and The Arts Initiative at the Hylton Center in Manassas, VA. He has been a guest clinician and adjudicator at festivals, conferences, and workshops both nationally and internationally. He is the past chair of the NAfME Council for Guitar Education, the past chair of the ASTA Guitar-in-the-Schools Committee and presently the executive director and a clinician for Teaching Guitar Workshops.
Mr. McCarthy retired from Fairfax County Public Schools after 30 years at Robinson Secondary School where he developed a multi-level guitar program. Robinson was the first recipient of the Guitar & Accessories Marketing Association’s award to recognize innovative guitar programming in the United States. Under his direction, the Robinson Guitar Ensemble performed in numerous venues and was consistently awarded superior ratings at adjudicated festivals. For over 30 years, he taught class guitar, required for all music education majors and guitar pedagogy at George Mason University.
In 2014 from over 32,000 nominees the Grammy Foundation recognized Glen as one of the top ten music educators in the United States.