Individual or Group Guitar Lessons for Beginners in the Clinton area!

group beginner guitar lessons

OLLI seniors learning guitar together!

Paul Elwood Guitar Coach offers individual or group guitar lessons for beginners through advanced!

No previous knowledge or playing experience necessary. Lessons for guitar students ages 8 and up. Students must bring their own acoustic guitar to use during the class session. If you don’t own a guitar, there may be one available for rent – call to inquire (908 399 1116). While in my studio, students are also welcome to try any of the guitars I have here.

Location: 8 Circle Drive, Lebanon NJ, 08833.

The total cost for the six week program is $90. Payment is required 48 hours before the first class to reserve your spot. Payment is non-refundable.

If the student is unable to attend a class, a video of the covered material will be provided.

Parents of students under 18 are encouraged to stay and observe the lesson.

Some things a new guitar student can expect to learn:

  • Parts of the guitar
  • Types of guitars
  • Tuning the guitar
  • Holding the guitar properly
  • Stretching and hand care
  • Building a practice regimen
  • understanding the neck of the guitar
  • Identifying notes the 6th and 5th strings
  • Major scale intervals
  • Strumming patterns
  • Hand-friendly (open) chords (C,G,A,D,E, B7, Am, Em, Dm)
  • using a pick
  • Simple chord tunes
  • Simple single-note melodies
  • Playing a song
  • Resources for guitarists online
  • local guitar shops for purchase or repair.

At the end of the 6 week session the guitar student will understand the value of practice and have developed the beginning of a practical practice regimen. They’ll be able to tune their guitar in standard tuning and be able to strum a recognizable tune in time – and they will have had a rewarding experience and a lot of fun!

Contact Paul for more information: 908 399 1116 or email paulel09@gmail.com

What else do I need besides a guitar?

You might invest in a tuner. I like Snark brand tuners myself because they attach to the guitar head stock but there are any number of tuner styles  that work fine. The Snark costs about $11. Google “guitar tuner” on Amazon. You should also have access to a metronome. That is super helpful.  Both the tuner and the metronome are available as apps (and probably free) for your phone though, and that’s fine too.

Quotes from a recent group guitar class:
I just finished a 5-week Beginner Adult class with Paul….WONDERFUL! I can’t believe how far we progressed in such a short period: he had us strumming in week 4—wow! And it was a very well-rounded, basic introduction class: besides learning to play notes and a couple of chords, we learned about the parts of the guitar, different types of guitars and their sounds, timing, and even a small amount of music theory. Very impressive. I also thought Paul was able to meet each student at their own personal experience level, which is important in a group setting. From the very first class, he asked each student what their personal goal was in order to help them achieve it. Finally, Paul’s teaching style is very easy-going. He would often say, “just have fun with it.” His love of the guitar really comes out and his enthusiasm catches on! I really liked it!
This class went WAY BEYOND my expectations. I never expected to cover this much ground. It was really great. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND PAUL ELWOOD, especially for this enthusiasm and how he involved EVERY SINGLE student. I cannot say enough about him. He not only had handouts, he even followed up with emails for us to have additional practice.
Excellent instructor. Made me enthusiastic about continuing with the instrument.
Paul was an excellent instructor and I feel the class learned a lot!