Learn to play guitar: What to know
Mike Macaluso takes a guitar lesson with instructor Cameron Keym at Grace Music School in Woodbury. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Growing up, Michael Macaluso said he was forbidden from playing guitar.
His family didn’t like the noise, the North Babylon resident said, and he had all but given up his dream of learning until his wife bought him a guitar several years ago.
“I, for a very short time, played by ear and didn’t know what I was doing,” said Macaluso, 70, a vice president at a lighting manufacturing company.
So when his wife started taking violin lessons at Grace Music School in Woodbury, he said he enrolled in guitar classes.
“I thought about it: ‘You know, I’ve always wanted to do this. Better late than never,’ ” said Macaluso.
For the past three years, Macaluso said he has attended weekly, half-hour acoustic and electric guitar lessons — the past half-year with instructor Cameron Keym.
Anyone can learn to play guitar, as long as they’re willing to put in the effort, Keym said.
“It’s a very hard endeavor if you don’t have good guidance and if you don’t have good discipline to sit by the instrument consistently every day,” he said. “To me, it’s such a great thing to have in your life at any level, whether you’re trying to be professional or if you just want to play a couple of songs when you get home from work.”
The instructor said he always starts by learning the student’s motivation for playing and asking for a list of five songs they would like to master.
“That helps me build a curriculum to get started, where they’ll be learning the language of music through those songs that have inspired them to even want to play,” Keym said.
Most students, he said, learn to play through the CAGED system, named for the chords that are taught.
“You learn these five chords, you can learn so many songs,” Keym said.
In addition to learning basics like note reading, scales, chords and strumming, Macaluso said he recently composed a few songs and is now doing finger-style picking — plucking individual notes, versus strumming several at a time.
“It is a religious experience,” Macaluso said of playing guitar. “That’s what I always wanted to do.”
LESSONS
Schools on Long Island that offer guitar lessons include:
Grace Music School, Woodbury and Ft. Salonga, bit.ly/3Mu8f5h
Long Island School of Guitar, Setauket, longislandschoolofguitar.com
Murphy’s Music, Melville, bit.ly/3TeFIV5
Weekly lessons at these schools, priced per month, range from $150 for a 30-minute session to $370 for a 60-minute class.
EQUIPMENT
A basic acoustic guitar costs about $200. The starting price for an electric guitar and amp is approximately $250. You’ll also want a case to protect the instrument, said Cameron Keym, an instructor at Grace Music School in Woodbury. He recommended buying equipment in person, where a salesperson can help you find the guitar that’s right for you.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
Students should practice at least 30 minutes per day, if possible, Keym said. “Repetition is the name of the game,” he said. “Such a big part of practice is letting your muscles learn.”
HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN PLAY?
Keym estimated one should be able to play several songs after six months of lessons and regular practice. “How much you put into it is what you get out of it,” he said.
'I don't know what the big brouhaha is all about' Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman plan to deputize gun-owning county residents is progressing, with some having completed training. Opponents call the plan "flagrantly illegal." NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
'I don't know what the big brouhaha is all about' Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman plan to deputize gun-owning county residents is progressing, with some having completed training. Opponents call the plan "flagrantly illegal." NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
