Simon Tiffin - Should I Play The Guitar?

Simon Tiffin

Should I Play The Guitar

Should I Play The Guitar by Richard Spilsbury is a great introduction to the guitar for 2nd and 3rd grade students interested in music. The book begins by addressing the larger reasons why people participate in musical activities or play musical instruments and then begins to delve into the guitar. Spilsbury begins by defining what a guitar is, what kinds of sounds it makes, and which musical family it belongs to, allowing students to gain a better understanding of the purposes and inner workings of guitar. Spilsbury then touches on what kinds of contexts guitar fits into and who would likely play the guitar. Following these sections, Spilsbury includes sections on how to learn and play the guitar, recordings to listen to, a timeline of guitar history, and a glossary with words that may be difficult for readers (these words are bolded throughout the text). Overall, this book is a good resource in a classroom to not only gauge what type of instruments students would like to play, but also to gauge literacy and prior knowledge of the guitar. A few shared readings from this text could make for a great introduction to a guitar unit in a general music classroom.