Quick Start Guitar for Beginners

Great for both hobbyists and professional musicians, this course offers a fast track to learning the fundamentals of the guitar, including playing basic chords and melodies. Each student receives tailored instruction from experienced musician Irwin Silbernik that is designed to meet their needs and their goals as a learner. During the course, Irwin covers multiple topics, including:  

• How to identify string names and numbers 
• Reading music notation, tablature, chord block diagrams, and fretboard maps 
• Learning various picking, fingerpicking, and strumming patterns 
• Counting and basic notation 
• Learning the first three- and four-string chords 
• Learning basic open and full chords 
• Using chords to play along with recorded and live music 

The guitar is a timeless worldwide classic that brings people together and connects them through the universal language of music. Along with being fun and relatively easy to learn for beginners, studies have shown playing guitar stimulates memory, improves focus, and builds motor skills.

ABOUT THE TEACHER: Irwin Silbernik has been teaching guitar, piano, ukulele, mandolin, and music theory for decades. He has a talent for connecting with students and designing lessons to meet their diverse needs. Irwin has a true love of teaching and his compassionate and inspiring approach sets each student up for success. Irwin majored in piano and instrumental music education at both DePaul University and the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. He played Timpani with the De Paul University Symphony Orchestra, which regularly performed in Chicago's Orchestra Hall. Irwin received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Illinois in 1974, and his Master's degree in Music Education a year later, in 1975.