Speaker 1 (1)
Hi, Coleman. How are you?
Speaker 2 (2)
Good. Thanks.
Speaker 1 (3)
I wanted to have a chat with you because our friend Josh told me that you've joined a guitar group, and it sounds interesting.
Speaker 1 (4)
I'd really like to learn myself.
Speaker 2 (5)
Why don't you come along? I'm sure there's room for another person.
Speaker 1 (6)
Really? So who runs the classes?
Speaker 2 (7)
He's called a Coordinator. His name's Gary Mathieson.
Speaker 1 (8)
Let me note that down.
Speaker 1 (9)
Gary... how do you spell his surname?
Speaker 2 (10)
It's M-A-T-H-I-E-S-O-N.
Speaker 1 (11)
Right. Thanks.
Speaker 2 (12)
He's retired, actually, but he's a really nice guy, and he used to play in a lot of bands.
Speaker 1 (13)
Thanks. So how long have you been going?
Speaker 2 (14)
About a month now.
Speaker 1 (15)
And could you play anything before you started?
Speaker 2 (16)
I knew a few chords, but that's all.
Speaker 1 (17)
I'm sure everyone will be better than me.
Speaker 2 (18)
That's what I thought too.
Speaker 2 (19)
When I first spoke to Gary on the phone, he said it was a class for beginners, but I was still worried that everyone would be better than me, but we were all equally hopeless!
Speaker 1 (20)
That's reassuring. So where do you meet?
Speaker 2 (21)
Well, when I joined the group, they were meeting in Gary's home, but as the group got bigger he decided to book a room at the college in town. I prefer going there.
Speaker 1 (22)
I know that place. I used to go to tap dancing classes there when I was at secondary school.
Speaker 1 (23)
I haven't been since though, and I can't remember what road it's in. Is it Lock Street?
Speaker 2 (24)
It's just beyond there, at the bottom of New Street, near the City roundabout.
Speaker 1 (25)
Yes, of course.
Speaker 2 (26)
The guitar club is on the 1st floor in room T347.
Speaker 1 (27)
Right. And when do you meet? Is it at the weekend?
Speaker 2 (28)
We meet on Thursdays. It used to be 10:30 and that suited me well, but now we meet at 11.
Speaker 2 (29)
The class that's in there before us asked if they could have the room for another 30 minutes.
Speaker 1 (30)
Oh, I see. Well, I'd love to come, but I don't have a guitar.
Speaker 2 (31)
Well, you can always buy a second-hand one.
Speaker 2 (32)
There's a website called The Perfect Instrument that sells all kinds of guitars, violins, and so on.
Speaker 2 (33)
I'm sure you'll find something there.
Speaker 1 (34)
So what's a typical lesson like with Gary?
Speaker 2 (35)
Well, he always starts by getting us to tune our guitars.
Speaker 2 (36)
That takes about 5 minutes.
Speaker 2 (38)
Some people have an app they use, but others do it by ear.
Speaker 2 (39)
Gary goes round and helps them, and while he's doing that, he tells us what he's going to do during the lesson.
Speaker 2 (41)
First, we usually spend about 10 minutes doing some strumming.
Speaker 1 (42)
So is that using... oh... what are they called? Plectrums?
Speaker 2 (43)
No. We just use our thumbs.
Speaker 1 (44)
Much easier.
Speaker 2 (45)
Gary reminds us where to put our fingers for each chord and then we play them together.
Speaker 2 (46)
Sometimes we all just start laughing because we're so bad at keeping time, so Gary starts clapping to help us.
Speaker 1 (47)
Do you learn to play any songs?
Speaker 2 (48)
Yes. We do at least one song with words and chords.
Speaker 2 (49)
I mean, that's harder than you think.
Speaker 1 (50)
Oh, I'm sure it is.
Speaker 2 (51)
That part of the lesson takes about 15 minutes.
Speaker 2 (52)
He often brings a recording of the song and plays it to us first.
Speaker 2 (53)
Then he hands out the song, and if there's a new chord in it, we practice that before we play it together, but really slowly.
Speaker 1 (54)
Do you do any fingerpicking?
Speaker 2 (55)
That's the last 10 minutes of the lesson, when we pick out the individual notes from a tune he's made up. It's always quite simple.
Speaker 1 (56)
That must be hard though.
Speaker 2 (57)
It is. But people like it because they can really concentrate, and if we're all playing well, it sounds quite impressive.
Speaker 2 (58)
The only trouble is that he sometimes gets us to play one at a time, you know, alone.
Speaker 1 (59)
Oh, that's scary.
Speaker 2 (60)
It is, but I've got used to it now.
Speaker 2 (61)
At the end, he spends about 5 minutes telling us what to practice for the following week.
Speaker 1 (62)
Well, thanks, Coleman. I'll go and have a look at that website, I think.
57/62
61/62
got 57/62
58 mine
51/62