Student motivation and the Ultimate Song List (USL)

A recent teen student decided to drop out because they felt the songs in the G4GUITAR METHOD were too old.

This is a clear case of the student focusing on the songs of G4 and not relating the G4 skills to what he thinks is cool. This is where the Ultimate Song List (USL) comes into play. The USL helps both teacher and student to stay clear as to the ultimate goal for the student. It also helps the student to feel that the teacher is interested in them.

So what would I do in this situation?

I would touch on the student's interest as a source of motivation. If I found a recurring song on the student's USLs I would learn the song or at least a part of it and use it to help the student develop a particular skill. An example I like to use is; I found a few years back that the band MCR (My Chemical Romance) kept appearing on teenage girls USLs. So I ask one of the girls to bring me a CD. I listen and worked out 3 songs and used them to demonstrate picking, chords, scales, arpeggios and of course rhythm. It worked like a charm and the girls couldn't wait to get to their lesson each week.

Trick is to be creative about how you teach the G4GUITAR METHOD. The goal is to complete the skills and song on the checklist but you must remember to keep your students motivated by connecting to why they are learning guitar.