We all know that keeping children motivated is tricky! If students feel as if everyone around is excelling at something while they struggle, their desire to continue can fade. This is a particular challenge in the music classroom, where experience levels among students often differ widely. Sayil López, a guitar performer and teacher in Mexico City, believes the answer lies in allowing students to play music together at whatever level they're most comfortable.
Sayil, a member of the Mexico City Guitar Quartet, has been a guitar educator for the past 15 years. At the Facultad de Música in the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, there was no set curriculum in place for teaching guitar until he discovered GuitarCurriculum.com.
"My children's orchestra has kids between the ages of 8 to 15. They all represent a wide range of levels, which is common in guitar ensembles especially. Your curriculum is the first that solves this problem. There are different and mixed levels for each piece; it's so inclusive. The kids love to play the music."
He said children at the Facultad de Música work very hard, and fatigued students used to become disenchanted with difficult music and want to give up. The Facultad has now been using GuitarCurriculum.com for five years, and he says the difference in student engagement is noticeable.
"When I started using GuitarCurriculum.com with the children's orchestra, they all were suddenly so motivated to work. Other teachers asked what I was doing. It was beautiful, and the parents were so thankful. They want their children to be happy, and for that, the kids have to be happy with the music."
In Mexico, a country where interest in guitar has surged in recent years, Sayil's hope is that every child who wants to play is provided a chance to flourish - no matter their level or pace of learning.
"When a little child and a more advanced student play together, it's beautiful that they're able to share the music. It motivates the younger child."
To learn more about Sayil, visit this link.