LESSON OVERVIEW

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Contact Ted Sablay

OVERVIEW

I. Background on Skype Lessons and Technology

II. General Lesson Plan

III. Required Materials

IV. Lesson Duration, Times and Scheduling

V. Cancellations

VI. Tuition

I. BACKGROUND ON ONLINE SKYPE LESSONS AND TECHNOLOGY

After teaching in-person lesson for four years, I switched over to teaching online Skype lessons, originally to maintain a regular lesson schedule with students while on tour with the Killers. I soon realized that online lessons had great benefits, the greatest being the flexibility in scheduling and meeting times it gave me and my students.

To help my music students, I also share supplemental videos to reinforce concepts covered during our lessons. The value of these videos is simple but powerful: having the videos allow students to review the examples covered in the lessons as many times as need as their own speed.

II. GENERAL LESSON PLAN

My main focus during lessons is to help my students acquire the skill set they need so they can have fun and enjoy the thrill of self-expression. Whether the student is playing guitar, bass, or piano and/or studying music theory and songwriting, I like to focus on a detailed study of melody, chord progressions, song forms and the marriage of lyrical themes to the accompanying music. 

Sight-reading

While I am flexible on modifying this general lesson plan, I believe that sight-read music is a skill that every music student should acquire and/or improve upon. The benefits of sight-reading are great; it allows a musician: to quickly learning songs; improve their timing, tone and pattern recognition; and summarize a song’s melody, pace and overall arc at a glance.

Recordings

Making a recordings on a regular basis allow students to hear exactly what they are doing well and what they need to improve. It also allows them to track their progress and grow accustom to presenting their musical work.

Consequently I require my students to send mp3s of them playing their homework assignments at tempos determined during their weekly lesson. (Students can easily make recordings using their phones or computers using free open source software such as Audacity for PC users or Garageband/Logic for Mac users.)

III. REQUIRED MATERIALS

The following materials should be purchased before the start of our first lesson:

  • ALL MUSIC STUDENTS

  1. Computer

    1. The student needs a computer with a solid high-speed internet connection, a camera and microphone. Most new computers (such as MacBook Pros) have a camera and microphone already built into the computer. To improve the audio quality of the lesson, I suggest that you use a set of headphones with a mic attached on the cord.

  2. Recording Device

    1. Given the requirement of students to submit their homework in the form of digital recordings, a student needs to have access to recording software GarageBand or a simple recording device on their phone or iPad to make mp3s/files that can be shared with me via email or Dropbox.

  3. Zoom Account

    1. The student must have a Zoom account. If you do not already have an account, please visit Zoom’s website to join. Once you do have a Zoom account, email me at info@tedsablay.com and I will send you a private Zoom link for our lesson.

  • GUITAR STUDENTS

  1. One guitar. Acoustic is preferred, but electric with an amplifier is also acceptable. ($100 and up)

  2. One electronic chromatic guitar tuner ($20)

  3. One pack of medium-gauge picks (less than $5)

  4. One metronome that is loud enough to be heard while guitar is being played ($20)

  5. One Kyser capo ($20)

  6. One music stand ($10-20)

  7. Berklee Method Book ($10). The student also needs to purchase one copy of Berklee Press’s “A Modern Method for Guitar – Volume 1,” available as a physical copy through Amazon.com here or as a digital copy through iBooks at the iTunes Store.

  • PIANO/KEYBOARD STUDENTS

  1. Keyboard, piano, or midi controller that can plug into a computer to make basic keyboard sounds.

  2. Berklee Method Book ($20). The keyboard student also needs to purchase one copy of Berklee Press's "Piano Essentials: Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, and Cadences for the Contemporary Pianist", which available as a physical copy through Amazon.com here or as a digital copy through the iBook store through iTunes.

  • MUSIC THEORY STUDENTS

  1. Music Theory Workbook ($10). Available as a physical copy through Amazon.com here.

  2. Keyboard or guitar.

  • SONGWRITING STUDENTS

  1. "Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs (Berklee Guide)" by Berklee Press. This book is available as a physical copy through Amazon here or as a digital copy through the iBook store through iTunes.

IV. RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

  1. Class notes for the Music Application and Theory" class taught at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts ($70).

IV. LESSON DURATION AND SCHEDULING

I generally teach 30-minute or 60-minute lessons on a weekly basis. That said, I understand that students take vacations and/or business or school trips. To that end, I am flexible in working out a schedule with the student to accommodate change. Regarding lesson times, I try my best to keep the lesson at the same time every week, though sometimes the lesson may have to move depending on the tour schedule or student’s schedule.

V. CANCELLATIONS

Students have until 24 hours before the lesson to cancel and avoid being charged for the lesson they will be missing. That said, I understand students have emergencies and will do my best to accommodate.  

VI. TUITION

Guitar lessons are $40.00 per half-hour lesson and $80.00 per full-hour lesson. Lessons can paid for through the "Buy Now" button below or through the "Shop" section of my website. Tuition includes time preparing for the lesson and processing the video for private sharing with the student. Tuition does not cover sheet music for songs that the students would like to cover in lessons. Tuition for the entire month must be made before the first lesson of each month.

Number of 30-minute Lessons

Payment should be sent to the account linked to my primary email address, theodoresablay@yahoo.com. To sign up for a PayPal account or for more information on PayPal, please click here. 

If you have any additional questions regarding my lessons, please feel free to contact me through the "Contact" page on my website.

Thanks for reading.

- Ted Sablay