Teaching Guitar Workshops: History

Teaching Guitar Workshops: A History of Building Shared Value

Teaching Guitar Workshops – aka TGW – were started by members of GAMANAMM and NAfME in 1995. The objective: help school music educators start or enhance classroom guitar programs and deliver more music making opportunities to children. In 2018 ukulele was introduced and now included in the workshops.

Between 1995 – 2023 over 3,500 school music teachers across the United States, Canada, Germany, and even Bermuda have enjoyed TGW. GAMA’s studies suggest that over 500,000 students have learned guitar/ukulele in schools because of TGW. Download the Independent Audit here.

The program succeeded because it has created value for everyone involved.

Teachers: Taking a TGW gives music educators new skills, which translates to job security, and more students.

Students: Classroom guitar/ukulele programs attract kids who were not previously involved in school music. Guitar/ukulele programs have also helped “at-risk” kids get more involved in school and improve their performance.

The Industry: More classroom guitar and ukulele programs mean more sales. Kids and schools need guitars/ukuleles, books, and all sorts of accessories.

If you are a school music educator and you would like to learn how to start a classroom guitar/ukulele program in your school visit: www.guitaredunet.org for information and applications.

Visit the GAMA member page to find out which companies support Teaching Guitar Workshops. We encourage all members of the music industry to join GAMA.