Learning to play guitar has never been more accessible to Strath Haven students thanks to Introduction to Guitar, a class taught by Mr. Steve Fischer.
With songs like Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes and 505 by Arctic Monkeys included in the curriculum, students are given a hands-on experience with plenty of time to practice and explore their own musical interests.
One of the standout features of the course is the flexibility it offers for its students, such as the ability to play with different types of guitars and borrow them to practice at home.
“They give us electric guitars, but they do have acoustic guitars available for everyone to play,” junior Jason Zhang said.
While the class is designed for beginners, Fischer ensures that students of all skill levels have a chance to feel challenged.
“If you take the class and you do play a little bit, you can work on what you want to work on,” Fischer said. “We also have a few intermediate to professional level guitars for students who are a little bit more advanced.”
Junior Maisie Smith, who already has some guitar experience and is self-taught, finds the class a great way to practice more.
“I already know how to play and I thought that it would be a good way to just practice more,” Smith said. “So that’s why I chose it.”
Others, like Zhang, joined unexpectedly.
“I ended up dropping AP Chem and Intro to Guitar was the only class available that had the same lunch period,” Zhang said.
Even so, Zhang came to enjoy the class’s structure, which prioritizes student independence.
“I like the fact that we have a lot of freedom when it comes to actually practicing,” Zhang said. “He’ll [Fischer] teach us a decent bit, and then for like a good hour we get to just practice.”
Fischer’s teaching approach blends lessons on guitar basics with hands-on practice before students go to their practice rooms.
“The first 10-15 minutes, I go over any new concepts. Then, the next about 20 minutes we play songs that we’ve been working on that use common chord structures,” Fischer said. “We played Seven Nation Army today, we played 505, so different genres and stuff.”
There’s plenty of time given in the class for students to play and practice on their own.
“Once they have the concepts and understand the basics, everyone in the class for the second half splits into individual practice rooms,” Fischer said.
Fischer’s goal for Introduction to Guitar is to attract students who might not typically participate in music programs in school.
“We were looking for classes that might interest students who aren’t in the music ensembles already,” Fischer said. “If you stop in to see any of my guitar classes, you’ll see kids who are maybe into sports, a lot of the students have never played an instrument before, so it’s kind of a great introduction for them.”
When the course first launched online in 2020, it had 12 students. This year, Fischer is teaching two sections with 20 students each.
“It’s become more popular each semester,” Fischer said. “It seems like people really like the class.”
