Singing and Strumming is a new class at Neighborhood Music School for children ages 6 - 9. We use small instruments with just 3 strings tuned like the top 3 strings of the guitar. The students get an immediate feel for strumming the guitar as a vocal accompaniment, and they also learn to improvise from the outset.
David Mills and Sarah LeMieux are the teachers who are developing this new approach to guitar instruction. They would like to acknowledge Brian Johnson, a D'Addario string specialist, who has been advising them on what strings work best on various instruments.
Below are examples of the play-a-long recordings the students use for practice. Sarah is the singer, and David is strumming 3 strings on a Washburn electric ukulele ($110 at Sam Ash). Each song has no more than three chord fingerings.
For more information, contact David Mills Music.
Music is not an end product, it is a form of communication. As such, it transcends language