By: Ben Watson

It’s my last lesson of the week on a sunny summer Friday afternoon; half an hour until the weekend starts.

It’s the lesson I look forward to most, not only because of when it is, but also because of who it is.

My Friday 7 p.m. student is a joy to teach, because he appears immune to all the usual problems guitar students have and understands everything I say.

I would without hesitation classify him as gifted and talented because of his ability to learn so fast. Our lesson seems to fly by, and it’s so much fun.

Every teacher encounters this type of high ability student, and probably really enjoys working with them; the one worry we might have in the back of our minds is how to keep up.

What sort of things can we do to keep the ball rolling?

Definition of a Gifted and Talented Guitar Student

As an RGT electric guitar tutor, the majority of people asking for lessons will be beginners, with little knowledge of chords, scales, improvisation, music notation/tab, different musical styles and music theory.

However, we are occasionally faced with people who fit in the “gifted and talented” bracket.

Perhaps we should consider what this means; the government’s Department For Education and Skills definition is that:

“The gifted are those with high ability in one or more academic subject, and the talented are those with high ability in sport, music, visual arts and/or performing arts. Children may also have abilities, such as advanced social skills and leadership qualities that fall outside the given definitions. These should also be recognized and provided for. Gifted and talented pupils need to be given opportunities to study some, or all, subjects to a greater depth and breadth and, sometimes, at a faster pace.”

Comparing my approach with what the government’s Qualifications and Curriculum Authority recommends for gifted and talented music students was interesting, its suggestions include: “setting more challenging tasks and expecting a higher-quality response, accumulative quick-fire recall work, in which the pupils echo increasingly complex patterns given by the teacher” (call and response), “enabling pupils to improvise within given structures.

Improvisation is an effective way to allow pupils to demonstrate and develop talent, asking pupils to analyze and evaluate music in relation to how it is constructed, produced and influenced, giving them opportunities to practice and develop higher-level individual technical skills” and “letting pupils set their own tasks and see them through.”

Approaches to Teaching Talented Guitar Students

I decided to pester a few instrumental teacher colleagues with a questionnaire about their experience of working with fast learners.

The feedback proved fascinating; some tutors had decades of teaching experience and everyone had plenty of ideas as to what we might do to keep G&T students happy.

Once the initial excitement of discovering a student with great potential subsided, tutors typically became cautious about how best to handle the situation.

There could be problems in group lessons; as one teacher explained: “The main difficulty is that in group teaching situations if one student pushes quickly ahead it’s difficult to keep track of what they are doing. They also feel held back by their slower peers.”

Several teachers noted that the key to solving this problem was to find or develop pieces and activities containing separate parts that vary in difficulty, so that the group could all play together, but each student at their own level.

Improvisation seems to be popular here too, as there are no “wrong” notes as long as the player stays within a simple scale.

The speed and complexity of a solo can then be chosen by the student, which means that fast learners are free to be as sophisticated as they like.

As well as the boffin who hangs on your every word and practices diligently, there are other types of gifted student.

The DFES definition depicts G&T pupils as one big happy family of Harry Potters, but one teacher made the very valid point that not every student displays such confidence – some can be very shy and self-effacing and might even find it embarrassing to be singled out for their talents, and downplay them in order to better fit in with average achievers.

There may well be a few rough diamonds at the back of the classroom. It was noted that, at the opposite extreme, some students can become complacent.

One teacher said the situation was like “the tortoise and the hare,” in that slower learners often practiced more regularly and realized their potential.

Another said that G&Ts could even become arrogant: “I had to convince them that they didn’t know it all yet, and that maybe I knew a thing or two as well.”

There was, however, a consensus that the more able type of student in particular tends to learn in fast bursts, followed by a plateau, and that therefore it was permissible to “let them off” if they did not always progress quickly.

Teaching Talented Guitar Students

It was noted that persuading fast learners to follow a coherent structure could be difficult – such students want to pursue the things that they are most interested in; they feel reined in by less enjoyable tasks.

One teacher observed: “It’s hard to get them to accept that they need to learn ‘boring’ things like scales, and not just go their own way making it up as they bumble along.”

Many commented that there is a temptation to inundate the student with material; tutors warned of the dangers of overloading a student with technical exercises or pushing them through grade exams too quickly.

It might be better to use their ability to delve into a piece in depth; one teacher noted: “You feel an urge to move them along quickly; rather, I try to really explore how to play a piece, in terms of technique, expression and dynamics.”

Teacher Anthony Haynes uses the following analogy to explain pupils’ attitudes to tasks that are pitched too low or high: “In trying to set the level of expectation at the optimal level for your pupils, think of them as people who see a bus coming.

If they’re already waiting at the bus stop, or very near, they won’t do much running – they know they’ll catch the bus anyway.

They won’t bother running either if they’re a long way from the stop – they know they won’t catch it. They need to be fairly near to really stretch themselves.”

Once the dangers had been considered, we discussed what activities a tutor could provide for a fast learner; forming a solid technique was considered important, as was developing reading skills.

One teacher provided many ideas: “Technical exercises are good but don’t do too much! Grades are good, but I don’t force anyone.

They enjoy duets and are an absolute asset for an ensemble. Get them to perform somewhere.

They will learn a lot from a concert situation and it gives them a target to work towards.”

Dealing With Praise

In terms of how to treat such people, one tutor said that in his experience praise was less important than with less able students, counterproductive even: “Be economical with your praise – they know when you’re exaggerating anyway.”

Another noted that such students might feel pressured by high expectations, and that we shouldn’t forget that “they are just human after all! They will respond very positively – if you get to know them.”

Looking at questionnaire responses and my own teaching experience, I can see that tutors have often needed to heavily customize their standard lesson plans, and are very aware of potential problems.

Gifted and Talented Guitar Students need a tutor who can help them explore their limits without pushing them over the edge. Just like everyone else!

What is your experience teaching talented guitar students? Share your thoughts and questions below.