Hello, my name is Joshua Friedman and I am a new intern with ACG and GuitarCurriculum. I am a recent graduate of Rutgers University and have entered the wonderful world of teaching music. I first learned about GuitarCurriculum a couple years ago during my own research for new methods for teaching guitar. I fell in love with the detailed approach and variety of ensemble pieces the curriculum had to offer. As an intern at GuitarCurriculum I have had the honor to talk to many different educators across the country! I love hearing how teachers are bringing guitar into the classroom as an impactful way of connecting to music.
I would like to share an interview I conducted with Patrick Callahan, a high school guitar instructor in New Jersey. Patrick sits in front of me in the recently formed New Jersey Guitar Orchestra! Patrick overheard me talking about my new internship, and was super excited to share how he used GuitarCurriculum in his school. This interview focuses on Patrick’s experience with classroom guitar as well as teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic.
I hope you enjoy this interview. If you would like to be featured on a GuitarCurriculum blog or would just like to connect please reach out to me at joshua@austinclassicalguitar.org.
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Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Patrick and I have been teaching guitar in New Jersey for the last 9 years. I studied jazz guitar and music education and have spent most of my life teaching young people music. While I didn’t expect to teach classroom guitar for my career, it has been extremely rewarding!
What is your experience with classroom guitar?
I have taught highschool guitar ensemble as well as assisted teaching the NJMEA (New Jersey Music Education Association) Honors Guitar Ensemble. The High school I currently teach is also the one I attended growing up, and so my first experience with classroom guitar was when I was a student. The school had guitar ensembles and classes but looked very different from my classroom today. The teacher did an amazing job at inspiring a love for the guitar that I try to inspire in my students today.
A couple of years after I finished college, I took over the role of guitar ensemble director at my old school. The first couple years of teaching were difficult. It was a challenge to teach my students in a structured way like other strings/band/choral programs strive to do. I spent a lot of time changing my approach to teaching until I found out about ACG and Guitarcurriculum.
How did “Guitarcurriculum” change your teaching?
I see my teaching life in two parts, before and after my use of GuitarCurriculum. Before the switch we used different method books and played a variety of pieces from different genres. While this worked for some students, it wasn’t consistent for everyone and was challenging to find pieces that suited everyone’s level. After using the curriculum, this completely changed. The clear guides and progression of levels allowed for my students to thrive. From day one the ability to confidently go into a class and make music is incredible.
For me the first year of teaching the curriculum was a little intimidating, I am not a classical guitarist and so I was learning a lot of the material and technique as I was teaching. This experience allowed me to learn with the students and teach the instrument in a completely new way. The structure and resources provided by the curriculum laid a better foundation for my classes and allowed us to go further with more creative projects.
Teaching during Covid-19 has brought many challenges. How has the pandemic affected your teaching and classroom?
Teaching during the pandemic was one of the most challenging times of my career. When we were fully virtual it was difficult to tell if my students were learning at all. Most days I would be teaching to blank screens as students wouldn’t have their cameras on. I knew I had to do something different if I were to make this time worth it for my students. Looking at ACG’s “Everything Changes” I was inspired to do a collaborative project in my own class. The project started with my guitar students responding to an image with 30 seconds of playing. Immediately my students responded amazingly to this work. Since this was so successful I reached out to the other arts teachers in my school and made this a school wide project.
The final product “A Year Since” showcases guitarists, visual artists, dancers, and drama students expressing their own experiences with the pandemic. Finishing this project challenged me in new ways I didn’t expect. The months of organizing and editing were extremely difficult but ultimately made the year worth it for many of the students and myself. As we continue to return to normal instruction I will continue to push for these large interdisciplinary collaborations.
What advice would you give to other teachers as we return to full in-person teaching?
Teaching will not completely return to normal as we come back to fully in-person learning. We must remember that some students missed over a year of in-person instruction and may be at a different pace than students from previous years. A readjustment period may be necessary, and that's ok. The ability to pivot and match where the students are at is crucial to a successful learning experience. This year I was reminded many times of something one of my professors said to me, “It is a privilege to be able to teach in front of a class.”. Seeing my students’ faces and hearing them make music again has reminded me of why I teach. I am so grateful to be able to do what I love and share musical experiences with my students.
