LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Content Analysis of Guitar Repertoire for Young People:

The Michelson and Suzuki Collections

W
A Thesis Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Music
IE
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Music Education
EV
PR

by

Brian Douglas Berlin

Lynchburg, Virginia
April 2021
 W
IE
Copyright © 2021 Brian Douglas Berlin
EV
PR
 1

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Content Analysis of Guitar Repertoire for Young People:

The Michelson and Suzuki Collections

A Thesis Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Music
in Candidacy for the Degree of

W
Doctor of Music Education

IE by
EV
Brian Douglas Berlin

Lynchburg, Virginia
PR

April 2021

APPROVED BY:

Mindy Damon, Ed.D., Committee Chair

Michael Brennan, D.M., Committee Member

Stephen Müller, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Music

 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to my committee chair, Dr. Mindy Damon, for her mentorship and guidance

on this project. Likewise, I would like to thank Dr. Michael Brennan for his keen eye and

insightful comments. I am indebted to Sonia Michelson for sharing her insights and curriculum

library. It is with the deepest appreciation that I acknowledge the contributions of Andrea

Cannon, MaryLou Roberts, and Bill Swick who freely gave their time in consultation for this

work. I am thankful for Kim Berlin’s editorial suggestions. Finally, I would like to recognize the

innumerable hours that Martha Berlin invested in this project. Her enthusiasm for the editorial

W
process, the subject matter, and my academic growth helped bring this project to fruition.

IE
EV
PR
 3

ABSTRACT

The guitar is a popular instrument choice in music education; however, most school guitar

teachers in the United States neither majored on the instrument nor took a university guitar

methods class. These self-taught teachers often rely on trial and error to select repertoire.

Effective music curriculum design relies on teachers’ ability to select and sequence proper

repertoire based on student ability. Through exploration of the existing literature, deficiencies

were found in guitar teacher training, pedagogy for young guitar students, and repertoire

evaluation. In this study, the author analyzed two collections of printed guitar music in standard

W
notation. The analysis yielded an improved understanding of how an emerging metric, note-to-

beat ratio, can help teachers assess the musical challenges in repertoire more effectively. This
IE
explanatory sequential mixed methods study focuses on the prediction of the relative difficulty of

guitar music based on note density. Elements for each piece in the Suzuki Guitar School
EV

repertoire and Sonia Michelson’s New Dimensions in Classical Guitar for Children were

analyzed to determine if useful predictive patterns exist. This study may inform and lead guitar
PR

teachers toward the selection of appropriate music for guitar teaching. It also serves as a proof of

concept that a type of analysis previously used for keyboard repertoire applies to classical guitar

repertoire. The study may encourage further research by those wishing to apply this analytical

method to repertoire for other instruments.

 4

CONTENTS

List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................6

List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................8

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................9

Background ..........................................................................................................................9
Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................11
Statement of the Purpose ...................................................................................................12
Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................12
Research Questions ............................................................................................................14
Core Concepts ....................................................................................................................15
Definition of Terms............................................................................................................16
Chapter Summary ..............................................................................................................19

W
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................21
Introduction ........................................................................................................................21
Section I: The State of Guitar Education ...........................................................................21
Section II: Selecting Repertoire ........................................................................................41
IE
Section III: Grading and Sequencing Repertoire ..............................................................50
Literature Review Summary ..............................................................................................68
EV
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ..................................................................................................69
Introduction ........................................................................................................................69
Design ................................................................................................................................70
Questions and Hypotheses .................................................................................................71
Identification of the Variables ...........................................................................................72
PR

Instrumentation ..................................................................................................................73
Procedure ...........................................................................................................................75
Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................76

CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH FINDINGS ...............................................................................78

Findings by Collection .......................................................................................................78
Findings from the Michelson Collection by Level ............................................................79
New Dimensions in Classical Guitar, Level I .......................................................79
New Dimensions in Classical Guitar, Level II ......................................................80
New Dimensions in Classical Guitar, Level III .....................................................81
New Dimensions in Classical Guitar, Level IV.....................................................83
New Dimensions in Classical Guitar, Level V ......................................................84
Summary Analysis of New Dimensions in Classical Guitar Data ........................86
Findings from the Suzuki Collection by Volume ..............................................................86
Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 1 ............................................................................86
Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 2 ............................................................................88
Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 3 ............................................................................91
Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 4 ............................................................................92
 5

Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 5 ............................................................................94

Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 6 ............................................................................95
Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 7 ............................................................................96
Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 8 ............................................................................97
Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 9 ............................................................................98
Summary Analysis of Suzuki Guitar School Data .................................................99
Summary of Findings .........................................................................................................99

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION..............................................................................................101

Summary of the Study .....................................................................................................101
Summary of the Purpose ..................................................................................................101
Summary of the Procedure...............................................................................................101
Summary of the Prior Research and Findings .................................................................102
Limitations .......................................................................................................................104
Recommendations for Future Study ................................................................................107
Implications for Practice ..................................................................................................109

W
Summary ..........................................................................................................................110

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................112
IE
APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................117
Appendix A: Contents of Suzuki Guitar School, Volumes 1–9 .......................................117
Appendix B: Contents of New Dimensions in Classical Guitar for Children .................119
EV
Appendix C: Data for New Dimensions in Classical Guitar for Children ......................121
Appendix D: Data for Suzuki Guitar School, Volumes 1–9 .............................................124
Appendix E: Anomalies of 3/8 and 6/4 Time Signatures ................................................128
Appendix F: Composers in Sample by Birth Year ..........................................................135
Appendix G: Composers in Sample by Country..............................................................137
PR
 6

List of Figures
Figure 1: Gordon’s taxonomy of rhythms in usual duple meters ..................................................52
Figure 2: Gordon’s taxonomy of rhythms in usual triple meters ...................................................52
Figure 3: Choksy’s rhythm patterns, syllables removed ................................................................54
Figure 4: Chevé’s rhythm patterns, syllables removed ..................................................................54
Figure 5: Perron’s common meter rhythm patterns, syllables removed ........................................55
Figure 6: Perron’s compound meter rhythm patterns, syllables removed ....................................55
Figure 7: Feierabend’s literature-based rhythm sequence, Levels 1–4..........................................57
Figure 8: Example of Feierabend’s rhythm patterns, syllables removed.......................................58
Figure 9: Example of a subject-logic approach .............................................................................60
Figure 10: Blank instrument ..........................................................................................................73
Figure 11: Sample instrument data ................................................................................................74
Figure 12: Sample instrument with column and row headings......................................................74
Figure 13: Note-to-beat ratios in New Dimensions in Classical Guitar for Children ...................78
Figure 14: Note-to-beat ratios in Suzuki Guitar School 1–9 ........................................................79

W
Figure 15: Note-to-beat ratios for New Dimensions, Level I .......................................................80
Figure 16: Note-to-beat ratios for New Dimensions, Level II .......................................................81
Figure 17: Note-to-beat ratios for New Dimensions, Level III ......................................................82
Figure 18: Note-to-beat ratios for New Dimensions, Level IV .....................................................83
IE
Figure 19: Note-to-beat ratios for New Dimensions, Level V .......................................................85
Figure 20: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 1..............................................87
Figure 21: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 2..............................................90
EV
Figure 22: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 3..............................................91
Figure 23: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 4..............................................93
Figure 24: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 5..............................................94
Figure 25: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 6..............................................95
Figure 26: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 7..............................................96
PR

Figure 27: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 8..............................................97
Figure 28: Note-to-beat ratios for Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 9..............................................98
Figure 29: Michelson’s notation of the theme to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” .......................104
Figure 30: Suzuki’s notation of the theme to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” ............................104
Figure 31: Ferrer’s “Vals Español,” one macrobeat per measure ................................................105
Figure 32: Ferrer’s “Vals Español,” three macrobeats per measure ............................................106
Figure 33: Narváez’s “Guárdame las Vacas,” six macrobeats per measure ................................106
Figure 34: Narváez’s “Guárdame las Vacas,” two macrobeats per measure ...............................107
Figure 35: Kuffner’s “Corrente,” one macrobeat per measure ....................................................128
Figure 36: Kuffner’s “Corrente,” three macrobeats per measure ................................................128
Figure 37: Paganini’s “Waltz,” one macrobeat per measure .......................................................129
Figure 38: Paganini’s “Waltz,” three macrobeats per measure ...................................................129
Figure 39: Meissonnier’s “Waltz” and Carcassi’s “Waltz Allegro,” one beat per measure ........130
Figure 40: Meissonnier’s “Waltz” and Carcassi’s “Waltz Allegro,” three beats per measure ....130
Figure 41: Ferrer’s “Vals Español,” one macrobeat per measure ................................................131
Figure 42: Ferrer’s “Vals Español,” three macrobeats per measure ............................................131
Figure 43: Narváez’s “Guárdame las Vacas,” six macrobeats per measure ................................132
Figure 44: Narváez’s “Guárdame las Vacas,” two macrobeats per measure ...............................132
 7

Figure 45: Michelson’s “Sometimes I Hear A Song,” one macrobeat per measure ....................133
Figure 46: Michelson’s “Sometimes I Hear A Song,” three macrobeats per measure ................133
Figure 47: Michelson’s “I’ll Be A King,” one macrobeat per measure.......................................134
Figure 48: Michelson’s “I’ll Be A King,” three macrobeats per measure ...................................134

W
IE
EV
PR
 8

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ASTA American String Teachers Association
CCSD Clark County School District (Nevada)
GFA Guitar Foundation of America
ITA International Trombone Association
NAfME National Association for Music Education
NTBR Note-to-beat ratio
RCM The Royal Conservatory of Music
RRDI Ralston Repertoire Difficulty Index
SAA Suzuki Association of the Americas

W
TGW Teaching Guitar Workshops
ZPD Zone of Proximal Development
IE
EV
PR
 9

CONTENT ANALYSIS OF GUITAR REPERTOIRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:

THE MICHELSON AND SUZUKI COLLECTIONS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

The guitar is an affordable musical instrument whose status seems unequivocally linked

to popular music. Rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll ignited widespread excitement for the

guitar during the twentieth century, making it the most in-demand instrument to learn in the

United States. According to Victore Coelho, people in the Americas and Europe favored the

instrument far earlier. In fact, aristocratic and ordinary folk alike have been embracing the guitar

W
and its music for over six centuries. Its lasting popular appeal relates directly to its versatility.

Coelho underscored this versatility explaining that “guitar history simultaneously spans popular
IE
and classical styles, urban and rural techniques, contemporary and historical practices, written

and unwritten traditions, and Western and non-Western cultures, revealing the contributions of
EV

both formally and un-formally trained players.”1

Background
PR

Its flexibility within many styles of music fuels the guitar’s continuing popularity. The

polyphonic instrument can sound melodies, chords, and bass lines. Musicians can play the

instrument rhythmically to accompany singing and dancing. They can even play guitars

percussively. It is at home as a solo instrument or in ensembles. Composers, arrangers, and

musicians employ many systems to notate music for the guitar, including fretboard diagrams,

rhythm notation, slash notation, tablature, and traditional notation. Each system, in its own way,

conveys meaning and direction to the musician and relates to the style of music.

1
Victore Coelho, ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar (New York, NY: Cambridge University
Press, 2003), 3.
 10

The guitar’s multiple notation systems and its many playing styles can, potentially,

complicate the teaching of the instrument. With so many options, there is little consensus about

curricular paths that guitar students should follow. Yet, regardless of the style or notation system,

the music that teachers select should be developmentally appropriate, matched to students’

abilities, and should build on previous learning in order for students to progress.2 Unfortunately,

few resources exist to guide guitar instructors on how to select and sequence repertoire.

Many school guitar teachers did not study the guitar formally and did not take any guitar

methods classes in college. They are often self-taught, book-taught, or Internet-taught and only

W
played the guitar casually before accepting a position to teach it. Explaining the danger of this,

Robert Pethel wrote, IE

The guitar has been able to help address the problem of attracting a wider
proportion of school student bodies to participate in music class, but if it is not
taught well, and by a qualified instructor, then we run the risk of miseducating our
EV
students.3

Regarding instructor qualifications, Anthony Fesmire observed that “[t]he overwhelming number

of [guitar] teachers responding to [his 2006] survey indicated that they learned to play the guitar
PR

through self-study. With fewer than one quarter indicating that they learn as part of their music

education degree program [sic].”4 Often, music educators unexpectedly find themselves teaching

guitar. Michael Decker found that many classroom guitar teachers’ “teaching assignments had

2
Carolyn Neuman in Sarah Sena, “A Comparison of Recorder Methods and How They Relate to the
General Music Classroom” (master’s capstone project, University of Florida, 2015), 16,
https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00061686/00001.
3
Robert Pethel, “Professional Profiles, Pedagogic Practices, and the Future of Guitar Education” (doctoral
diss., Georgia State University, 2016), 86, https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss/24.
4
Anthony Fesmire, “A Survey of Middle and Senior High School Guitar Programs in Colorado:
Understanding Curricular Design” (doctoral diss., University of Northern Colorado, 2006), 70, ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global.
 11

been changed to include guitar since they were hired.”5 Insomuch as educators frequently teach

how they learned, school-based guitar education suffers from a lack of agreed-upon standards,

including the type of guitar to play, what notation systems to use, and the repertoire to teach.

Grant Gustafson wrote about the flexibility of the guitar saying, “Traditionally, the guitar

has symbolized both individuality and communality. One guitar can play solos and accompany

songs, two guitars can jam, three guitars can play in an ensemble, and a room full of guitars can

be an orchestra.”6 Although the instrument has unique capabilities, school guitar classes fare best

when taught with the same rigor as other music classes. Clare Callahan maintained that guitar

W
classes should share the same goals as those classes, including increased musical awareness,

skill, and pleasure. In practice, guitar teachers often bypass these goals in favor of recreation and
IE
entertainment.7 Echoing Fesmire’s observations on guitar teacher qualification, Callahan wrote

that “[t]his shallow view stems …from a lack of information about the guitar and a lack of
EV

experience in listening to it played well.”8

Statement of the Problem

PR

In the United States, school-based guitar classes are becoming increasingly popular

alternatives to traditional instrumental ensembles. Unfortunately, educators often teach these

classes with little or no formal training on the instrument. As such, the rigor of guitar programs

varies drastically. Despite an abundance of guitar method books and a growing number of guitar

5
Michael Decker, “The Guitar in Secondary Schools: A Maryland Survey,” American String Teacher 34,
no. 1 (February 1984): 60, https://doi.org/10.1177/000313138403400122.
6
Grant Gustafson, “Class Guitar in Middle School,” Music Educator’s Journal 83, no. 1 (1996): 34,
https://doi.org/10.2307/3398992.
7
Clare Callahan, “Guitar Instruction in the Schools: More Than Recreation,” American String Teacher 28,
no. 4 (November 1978): 21, https://doi.org/10.1177/000313137802800411.
8
Ibid.
 12

curricula, there are few resources to guide guitar teachers who need to supplement these or to

develop their own curricula. Furthermore, little has been written pertaining to guitar repertoire

and pedagogy for very young students.

Statement of the Purpose

The primary purpose of this study was to facilitate the development of a useful analytical

instrument and procedure that will help guitar teachers select appropriate performance music for

their students. Specifically, it sought to determine to what degree note density would be useful in

this process. Secondly, the study served as an establishment of foundational criteria for the

W
development of a pre-school to pre-college guitar curriculum. Finally, the findings closed a gap

that existed in the scholarly literature pertaining to guitar education for very young students.
IE
Significance of the Study

The overarching goal of the study was to help guitar teachers meet students’ needs by
EV

adapting existing curricula or developing their own. Matthew Rotjan and Robert Reynolds

emphasized the importance of repertoire, explaining that for many music educators, repertoire
PR

either is the curriculum and contains everything teachers hope students will learn or is a

fundamental component of a larger curricular end.9, 10 Inexperienced guitar teachers commonly

rely on trial and error when choosing their teaching repertoire. Martin warned about this issue,

asserting that “[s]ince choosing music by trial and error can be an injustice to the student, a

calculated manner of repertoire selection should be used.”11 Yet it is not an easy task. Matthew

9
Robert Reynolds in Matthew Rotjan, “What’s Your Rep? Integrative Approaches and Perspectives to
Repertoire Selection,” American String Teacher 68, no. 1 (February 2018): 38,
https://doi.org/10.1177/0003131317743170.
10
Rotjan, “What’s Your Rep?,” 38.
11
F. Martin in Janette Ralston, “The Development of an Instrument to Grade the Difficulty of Vocal Solo
Repertoire,” Journal of Research in Music Education 47, no. 2 (July 1999): 164, https://doi.org/10.2307/3345721.
 13

Hinsley stated that even composers have trouble writing pedagogically appropriate material. He

voiced the frustration of educators, writing:

…while an individual part for a piece of music may be relatively ‘easy’ for the
first 30 measure or so, it would often depart into a technically challenging section
for the next 30 measures! In some cases, it seemed composers had a general sense
of the level they were writing for but, understandably, more often the musical
result they were seeking would take precedence over staying within any sort of
strict technical guidelines.12

School-based guitar education in the United States is relatively young in comparison to

band, choir, and orchestra. Related to this, Anne Waller et al. observed in 1990 that, unlike

W
European models, “[t]he American educational system does not provide as clear a course of

study from beginning levels through university graduation.”13 Some progress has been made in
IE
the intervening years to remedy this, but a substantial gap remains. For instance, Sonia

Michelson et al. point out that the many gaps in the teaching repertoire, particularly pieces
EV
written for young people, result from a top-down mindset:

The importance of early music education can hardly be over-stressed. The greatest
deficiency in our culture today is that it is built from above. High-quality guitar
PR

study is available at the college level and is increasing each year. However, there
is a tremendous void in the pre-college level of instruction. The foundation and
basic pedagogy in early guitar and music instruction needs [sic] to be re-
examined. Educators should now make a greater effort to answer the artistic and
musical needs of children.14

Much of the music that is published for children was written for middle and junior high

school students. In the Suzuki tradition, students can begin learning guitar at the age of

12
Matthew Hinsley, “Classroom Classical Guitar,” American String Teacher 61, no. 2 (2011): 32,
https://doi.org/10.1177/000313131106100217.
13
Anne Waller, Mark Maxwell, and Frank Koonce, “ASTA Guitar Syllabus,” American String Teacher 40,
no. 2 (May 1990): 64, https://doi.org/10.1177/000313139004000223.
14
Sonia Michelson, Margaret Mistak, and Douglas Smith, “Guitar Study for the Pre-College Student: A
Graded Curriculum” (paper presented at the American String Teacher Association Guitar Symposium, Hartford, CT,
October 1981), ii.
 14

three. Teachers of very young students have few resources. Most of what does exist does

not show a clear path from pre-school to college.

If this study helps refine systems for sequencing guitar music from the earliest levels

through the pre-collegiate range and beyond, then students of all ages and abilities will benefit

from having music matched to their skill levels. Colleges and universities will benefit from

having more and better-prepared guitar students interested in education, composition, and

performance. Contest, festival, and syllabi committees will benefit from having an objective

measure for classifying solo works. Composers and publishers will also benefit from being able

W
to identify gaps in repertoire when composing and publishing for players at all skill levels.

In the author’s 2017 study, note density, therein labeled right hand strikes per beat,
IE
emerged as a promising new metric for analyzing music.15 Because this metric is calculated, it

increases objectivity in evaluating repertoire difficulty. Used with other metrics—such as tonal
EV

center, range, rhythmic complexity, and tempo—note density may improve the processes upon

which teachers rely to sequence music in a curriculum.

PR

Research Questions

Two time-tested, graded repertoire collections were selected to serve as models for ideal

instructional sequencing. Note density was examined within the collections to establish

predictive probability for repertoire sequencing. The fundamental research questions for this

study were:

Primary research question: Does note density predict the ordinal placement of individual

pieces in graded guitar repertoires?

15
Brian Berlin, “A Relational Analysis of Pedagogical Methods for Accordion, Electronic Keyboard,
Organ, and Piano,” (master’s thesis, Liberty University, 2017), 48, https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/447/.
 15

Secondary research question: What factors influence ordinal placement for pieces not

predicted by note density?

Core Concepts

One of the assumptions of this study is that school guitar programs fare best when

conducted like comparable instrumental ensembles, such as band and orchestra. Since school

bands and orchestras use standard music notation, the research sample was limited to guitar

music written in standard notation. A “Guitar Educator Resource Guide” was created by the

Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) to, in their words, “assist precollege classroom guitar

W
educators, studio guitar educators, curriculum administrators, and other stakeholders [in

reviewing] the curricula, texts, materials, and supplements available and [in deciding] which are
IE
appropriate for their own students and educational setting.”16 This publication established five

broad categories of printed material for teaching guitar: comprehensive curricula for classroom
EV

use, classroom guitar methods, general guitar methods, graded solo repertoire series, and online

guitar education publishers.17 The graded solo repertoire series are preferred for this study,
PR

because they best represent authentic compositions written for the instrument.

The GFA lists two graded solo repertoire series: the nine-volume Royal Conservatory of

Music Classical Guitar Series and the nine-volume Suzuki Guitar School. Young students

frequently begin learning instruments using adaptations of simple folk tunes before moving into

the standard repertoire. Suzuki Guitar School was selected for study because it includes material

16
Guitar Foundation of America, “Guitar Educator Resource Guide,” accessed July 13, 2020,
https://www.guitarfoundation.org/resource/resmgr/education/resources/Guitar_Educator_Resource_Gui.pdf.
17
Guitar Foundation of America, “Guitar Educator Resource Guide.”
 16

that is accessible to young students such as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “Lightly Row,” and

“Go Tell Aunt Rhody.”

Michelson, a pioneer of Suzuki Guitar, recognized the wisdom of Kodály in starting

young students with sol-mi and sol-mi-la songs, the same kind that students enjoy in early

elementary school. Her New Dimensions in Classical Guitar for Children (henceforth New

Dimensions) is a five-level, 55-piece, single-line repertoire collection. It begins with simple

children’s folk and play songs, such as “Cuckoo,” “One, Two, Tie My Shoe,” and “See-Saw.” It

gradually increases in complexity, becoming equivalent to Suzuki Guitar School, Volume 1. The

W
music in New Dimensions was included for analysis alongside Suzuki Guitar School to ensure

that the sample represented the broadest range of musical complexity school guitar teachers are
IE
likely to encounter.

Definition of Terms
EV

The following terms and definitions are intended to convey the meaning intended by the

author in the context of this study. They are not necessarily precise or complete.
PR

a. See Annular.

Annular. The Spanish name for the ring finger on the right hand.

Bar (barré). Pressing multiple strings with a single finger, usually finger 1.

Closed. In reference to a scale, “closed” form indicates that all notes are fingered and no

open strings are played.

Curriculum. A course of study that includes standards, scope and sequence documents,

curriculum maps, pacing guides, unit and lesson plans, textbooks, music, and assessments. The

curriculum is the content that produces the knowledge and skills students are expected to

acquire.
 17

Drop D Tuning. Retuning string 6 to a D instead of an E.

Elongation. The sustainment of a tone longer than one macrobeat. This corresponds to

using larger note values and/or tied notes.

Fretboard Diagram. A line drawing of the strings and frets of a guitar upon which dots

are drawn showing where guitarists should place the fingers of their left hand.

Graded. Increasing, as in a gradient or a slope. A graded repertoire, for instance,

contains pieces that present increasing challenges to performers.

Guitar. “A plucked stringed instrument with a hollow resonating chamber, gently

W
waisted sides, a flat or slightly curved back, and a fretted fingerboard.”18 Unless the context

indicates otherwise, guitar refers to the nylon-string classical guitar in this thesis. This is because
IE
the sample repertoire is written for that instrument.

Hinge Bar. Abbreviated HB, indicates “[stopping] the first string with the base of the
EV

first finger, leaving the fingertip free to stop a subsequent note on the lower string at the same

fret.”19
PR

Hum and Strum. A chord-based approach to guitar instruction where the instrument

accompanies singing.

i. See Indice.

Indice. The Spanish name for the index finger on the right hand.

m. See Medio.

Medio. The Spanish name for the middle finger on the right hand.

18
Don Michael Randel, ed., ‘guitar’, The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge, MA: Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 1986), 357.
19
Christopher Berg, The Classical Guitar Companion (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2020), 11.
 18

Macrobeat. “Macrobeats are those beats that one arbitrarily feels to be the longest.”20

Microbeat. “Microbeats are shorter than macrobeats and are derived from the equal

temporal division of macrobeats. In most cases, macrobeats are divided into either two or three

microbeats of equal duration.”21

Note Density. Note density represents a ratio of the total notes that are to be sounded

compared to the total number of beats during which they are to be played. Also called note-to-

beat ratio (NTBR), note density can refer to an entire piece or a smaller section.

p-i-m-a. Example of a right-hand fingering patterns. See Pulgar, Indice, Medio, and

W
Annular.

p. See Pulgar. IE
Plectrum. A pick.

Pulgar. The Spanish name for the thumb on the right hand.
EV

Rasgueado. “A style of guitar playing in which the strings are strummed, as distinct from

punteado, in which individual strings are plucked.”22

PR

Repertoire. “The whole body of items that are regularly performed.”23

Rhythm Notation. Stemmed hash marks that show the chordal rhythm to be played.

Rigor. The alignment of expectations and the potential of students with the

curriculum. Rigor is contextual and based on the student population and curriculum. In other

20
Gordon Institute for Music Learning, “Rhythm Content Learning Sequence,” accessed January 4, 2021,
https://giml.org/mlt/lsa-rhythmcontent/.
21
Ibid.
22
Randel, ed., ‘rasgado, rasgueado’, The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, 681.
23
Elizabeth Jewell and Frank Abate, ‘repertoire’, The New Oxford American Dictionary (New York, NY:
Oxford University Press, 2001), 1444.
 19

words, rigor implies high standards for students while making sure that those standards are

culturally relevant and responsive to students’ needs.24

Slash Notation. Stemless hash marks, indicating ad lib chordal comping.

Tablature. “Musical notation using letters, numerals, or diagrams to specify pitch in

terms of the playing technique of a given instrument (e.g., which strings to stop at which frets…)

rather than abstractly, as in conventional Western staff notation.”25

Traditional (Western) Notation. “The system of musical notation now most widely in

use [that] specifies in varying degrees all four of the components of any musical sound: pitch…,

W
duration…, timbre, and loudness….”26

Tremolo. “Usually, the quick and continuous reiteration of a single pitch.”27 On plucked
IE
strings, this technique generally employs the right-hand fingering p-a-m-i.

Very Young Student. This generally refers to a preliterate child who is capable of
EV

starting guitar study. While every child is different, in the Michelson and Suzuki traditions,

formal instruction can usually begin when the student has reached three years of age.
PR

Chapter Summary

This study aims to help guitar teachers in selecting music by examining correlations in

existing graded collections. In graded teaching repertoire, each subsequent piece generally

presents a new musical challenge for students to master. Note density shows promise as an

emerging metric for matching music to students’ skills and sequencing pieces in a plan of study.

24
Samuel Escalante, email message to author, January 22, 2018.
25
Randel, ed., ‘tablature’, New Harvard Dictionary of Music, 829.
26
Randel, ed., ‘notation’, New Harvard Dictionary of Music, 543.
27
Randel, ed., ‘tremolo, New Harvard Dictionary of Music, 868.
 20

Repertoire selection is just one part of a comprehensive music curriculum, and note

density is just a single element in the pieces that make up the repertoire. By scrutinizing this one

aspect of guitar music, teachers can improve their skills in selecting teaching material. If teachers

present material in a logical order, building on previous skills and knowledge, then guitar

programs will serve their students well. Christopher Berg summed this up perfectly: “Preparing

oneself for the study of… instrumental literature, mastering its technical and artistic exigencies,

and performing it, is a lifelong endeavor. One can’t ascend a ladder without climbing over each

rung.”28

W
IE
EV
PR

28
Berg, The Classical Guitar Companion, 214.
 21

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This review of the literature serves to provide a context for the study. It begins with an

overview of the state of school-based guitar education in the United States and discusses trends

in comprehensive, pre-collegiate guitar pedagogy. The second section examines the literature on

selecting appropriate repertoire. The last section discusses the literature on grading and

sequencing repertoire. By examining contemporary issues in guitar education and the important

role repertoire plays in it, this review shows that improving repertoire selection and sequencing

W
can play a significant role in improving the efficacy of guitar teachers.

Section I: The State of Guitar Education

IE
From 2017 to 2020, Thomas Amoriello Jr., Chair of the National Association for Music

Education (NAfME) Council for Guitar Education, interviewed guitar teachers from across the
EV
United States. The resulting work was the “Guitar Class in 50 States” series published on the

NAfME “Music in a Minuet” blog. This endeavor involved Amoriello “…[visiting] guitar
PR

educators in a variety of settings from elementary, middle, and high schools, private, parochial,

preparatory, charter, magnet, and performing arts schools.”29 His work illustrated that while

guitar teachers share much in common, philosophical disagreements about teaching styles,

approaches to beginning class, and types of guitar to use weaken the unity of the field and hinder

guitar teaching practices. Regardless of the philosophical disagreements among guitar teachers,

Amoriello asserted that guitar education, without question, affects students positively:

On many levels the guitar has aided children emotionally and socially providing
an outlet to the disinterested-in-school teenager and academic relief to the highly
motivated college bound young leader with a schedule full of AP courses.

29
Thomas Amoriello Jr, “Guitar Class in 50 States: Coda,” Music in a Minuet (blog), National Association
for Music Education, June 26, 2020, https://nafme.org/guitar-class-in-50-states-coda/.
 22

Introverts and extroverts; gifted and talented, and students on academic probation;
affluent and free-and-reduced lunch recipients; and all in between: Guitar
education reflects diversity and provides a common ground for all to come
together.30

Of the guitar teachers Amoriello featured, only 32% majored in guitar or considered

guitar to be their principal instrument in college.31 Pethel’s 2019 study, “The State of Guitar

Education in the United States,” revealed the vast majority of people teaching guitar in schools

had little or no formal training on the instrument. Furthermore, he noted “[a] substantial number

of [guitar teachers] (68.5%) indicated that they rarely or never participated in guitar-related

professional development, and 76.1% of respondents reported that their pre-service training

W
provided little or no preparation for a career in guitar education.”32 In an earlier study, Pethel
IE
found a mere 7.9% of music educators teaching guitar class even consider themselves to be

guitar specialists.33 It is imperative students receive high quality instruction from knowledgeable
EV
instructors. Pethel concluded that miseducating students was a moral concern. Referencing

Dewey, he argued that students face the potential of distorted growth in further experiences when

they are subjected to miseducative experiences.34

PR

This does not imply that music teachers with limited guitar experience are poor teachers.

School orchestras in the United States have encountered similar problems for decades. Although

30
Amoriello, “Guitar Class in 50 States: Coda.”
31
Bill Swick, “Observations of Guitar Class in 50 States,” Teaching Music 28, no. 3 (January 2021): 48.
32
Robert Pethel, “The State of Guitar Education in the United States,” Journal of Popular Music Education
3, no. 2 (July 1, 2019): 245, https://doi.org/10.1386/jpme.3.2.245_1.
33
Pethel, “Professional Profiles, Pedagogic Practices,” 39.
34
John Dewey in Pethel, “State of Guitar Education,” 258.

Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.