A new generation of guitar textbooks: teacher comes with the book!

21.10.09

At the Helsinki and Frankfurt Music Fairs Kitarrikool Publishing presented a unique set, consisting of a guitar textbook and web school, entitled “Guitar School – the Key to the Practical Guitar Playing”.

This is the first time in which the price of a textbook also includes personal feedback via the Internet.

The methodology of the Guitar School has been created especially for self-learners who are at the very beginning of their guitar studies and the goal of this course is to teach practical guitar play. The material has been divided into eight levels, and each level ends with control exercises. Each student can upload their recording of the control exercises to the Guitar School web and receive feedback from a guitar teacher. This solution makes quality teaching accessible to everyone with an Internet connection. The Guitar School learning system is connected to an educational technology study at the University of Tartu.

Author Kristo Käo: “In the field of music or in other fields, a self-learner just getting started needs, in a sense, a completely different educational approach. Most textbooks have been written for this target group, and many authors have realized that it is important to bring the first rung of the ladder as reachable as possible so that the self-learner can reach it. But there is also another aspect that is much less acknowledged: a beginner self-learner may grab the first rung, but at the beginning, he or she needs constant reassurance that they are climbing up the right ladder. While the standard textbook format enables information to move in only one direction, then while studying according to the Guitar School textbook, the information moves several times from the learner to the teacher and vice versa.”

The Guitar School has developed its learning system for 9 years, with the result being a progressive system planned down to the last detail. The levels are not equal but have been laid down by keeping a quick start and effective progress in mind. Even the best possible methodology does not replace human interaction, and thus this textbook includes an Internet environment enabling the student to receive feedback (http://www.kitarrikool.eu). More than 3500 people between the ages of 12–65 took part in the two-year pilot project, and the experiences gained so far have shown that such a model works and yields the desired results.

At the Helsinki Music Fair, it is possible to have a look at the Guitar School textbook and Internet school and, if you wish, receive further information and explanations. Kristo Käo, the author of the methodology and manager of the business, will be at the Guitar School box (4c19) on 22-23 October from 10-12 and at other times by appointment. In addition to introducing the product to those who are interested, our goal in taking part in the fair is to find book distributors in the Nordic countries.