For our young guitar students, we recommend starting with a small size guitar or ukulele. Here, children are
introduced to the building blocks of music: rhythm, pitch, note reading, and technique through playing fun
simple melodies and chords. Parental support at this stage is very important as students develop practice
habits in-between their weekly lessons.

For our young guitar students, we recommend starting with a small size guitar or ukulele. Here, children are
introduced to the building blocks of music: rhythm, pitch, note reading, and technique through playing fun
simple melodies and chords. Parental support at this stage is very important as students develop practice
habits in-between their weekly lessons.

Beginning how to learn any new instrument can be difficult, overwhelming, and confusing. This is totally fine and normal — if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. To ensure that beginner students are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, beginner students start working on simple songs, melodies, and chords, and work on sharpening their sight reading and theory.

Guitar lessons for intermediate and advanced students focus on dynamics and musical interpretation, scales, arpeggios, and dexterity, while helping the student develop listening skills, left and right hand independence, coordination, reading skills and improvisational creativity.

All guitarists will learn to read tablature as well as standardized music notation, chords, finger picking, lead guitar, and rhythm technique. We balance musicianship and fun by making sure that students are challenged with a new technique or theory concept in each lesson, but lessons always end with something fun, such as the student’s favorite song or riff.

Guitar classes at the International School of Music are enhanced by multiple performing opportunities that allow students to showcase a solo performance in a recital or jam with other musicians, including a rock band or guitar ensemble. Young, old, experienced, or beginner students will all find that the International School of Music helps you develop strong guitar skills and reach your musical goals. And, when you are searching for guitar lessons near me, you’ll note that we are only minutes away from students in Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, Chevy Chase and Washington D.C.

Here at the International School of Music, we have the most highly qualified guitar teachers in the Washington
D.C. metropolitan area! Many hold masters and doctorate degrees from the most acclaimed and respected music conservatories and are dedicated and passionate about their art and teaching. They bring warmth, energy, enthusiasm and patience in working with children as well as adults. Our guitar instructors tailor music lessons to your interests by learning about your personal musical goals and helping you achieve them! With a large guitar faculty with a wide variety of expertise and interests, we are also able to match your interests with the best teacher for you.

We partner with the Musical Ladder System to help track students’ progress with a tiered system of rewards
that inspire regular music practice! This innovative system provides a choice of colorful wristbands and
trophies at set intervals. Once the student meets the goal set by their teacher, they pass the next level and
earn their reward, making practicing so much more fun! For students who are more competitive, they get to
participate in local competitions and ABRSM exams, which are internationally recognized.

One of the most important parts about music is sharing it with our community, which is why we love seeing
our guitar students perform. We have two major recital seasons each year, in the winter and the spring, for
which we encourage all of our students to participate in! These guitar recitals are held at local university
recital halls and are organized and run by our professional administrative staff. There performances providing our guitar students a wonderful yet casual environment to share the joy of music with their friends and family!

As part of a large ISM community, our guitar students have many opportunities to participate in ISM’s ensembles! In these ensemble classes, our guitar students get to learn how to play with other musicians,
coached by one of our amazing faculty. Participation in guitar ensembles is an enriching part of musical
development and helps refine musicianship, awareness of blending, balancing, communication, all while
experiencing the joy of making music together.

Our guitar lessons go month-to-month without long-term commitment! Due to a large guitar faculty, we are able to schedule multiple family members simultaneously, saving parents numerous hours driving to different providers. And finally, our flexible make-up program includes virtual lessons, recorded lessons, and small group classes, in form of a studio class which help students expand on their musical skills and offer well rounded education in addition to scheduling flexibility.

At the International School of Music, our teachers have years of experience providing high-quality in-person or
online guitar lessons. With Zoom, Facetime, Skype, Google Meet, or other platforms, our online lessons are just as effective as in-person lessons at one of our two locations in Bethesda and Potomac, Maryland. These lessons are perfectly designed for distance learning or can serve as occasional online instruction for
students’ convenience.