Calgary Guitar Club

Hit Songs Made Easy: Newbies 🎸

Got a guitar sitting at home—but aren’t quite sure what to do with it?

This six-week workshop is for absolute beginners. No experience, music-reading, or theory knowledge required. We’ll start with the true essentials: tuning your guitar, learning how the frets work, and getting comfortable with foundational chords including G, C, and D.

From there, we’ll use recognizable songs to make the basics feel musical right away. You’ll work toward playing accessible hits such as “Love Me Do” by The Beatles, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan (or the Guns N’ Roses version), and “Zombie” by The Cranberries.

Expect a relaxed, supportive space where buzzing strings, sore fingertips, and awkward chord changes are simply part of learning. Nobody arrives knowing how to do this.

Over six weeks, you’ll:
🎸 Learn how to tune your guitar and identify frets
🎵 Build core chords including G, C, and D
🪕 Practice steady, approachable strumming patterns
💪 Strengthen your fingers and improve chord changes
🎶 Recognize common song structures and chord patterns
🎤 Put it all together to play familiar songs from start to finish

You won’t become a guitar hero overnight—but you will stop feeling like a stranger to your instrument. By the end of the series, you’ll have practical guitar fundamentals, a few recognizable songs in your hands, and the confidence to keep playing.

📅 Dates: Saturdays – September 12, 19, 26, October 3, 17 & 24
🕔 Time: 5:00 – 5:45 PM
🏠 Location: Highland Park Community Centre (3716 2 St NW, Calgary, AB T2K 0Y4)
💵 Fee: $20 per session
✅ What to bring: your guitar, handouts from the past session (if you missed them, you can download the files from a link we will share after your registration), tuner (optional), music stand (optional)
👨‍🏫 Instructor: Kent McAlister
Kent brings more than 25 years of teaching experience, formal guitar studies at Vancouver Community College and Vancouver Island University, and a distinguished career as a performer and songwriter. He has released three albums, toured Canada, headlined festivals, and shared stages with Rosanne Cash, The Tennessee Three, and Corb Lund. His practical, personalized teaching helps students build fundamentals through songs they enjoy.

Hit Songs Made Easy: Beginners 🎸

You know a few chords. You can play a couple of songs. But lately, it feels like you’re going in circles.

Maybe you’re great at following YouTube tutorials—pause, rewind, copy the fingers, repeat—but without the video, you’re not quite sure what to play or why it works.

This six-week workshop is for guitarists who are past the absolute-beginner stage and ready for their next “belt” in guitar playing: the F chord. We’ll make this essential, often-intimidating chord more approachable, then use it in familiar songs to build stronger chord changes, steadier rhythm, and greater confidence.

Songs may include “Lost Together” by Blue Rodeo, “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty, “Hey Good Lookin’” by Hank Williams, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and “Take It Easy” by the Eagles.

Over six weeks, you’ll:
🎵 Add the F chord and other useful shapes to the chords you already know
🪕 Practice both flowing, syncopated strumming and punchy all-downstrum rock-and-roll patterns
🎶 Learn how chord progressions work inside real songs
💪 Improve chord changes and clean up buzzing or muted notes
👂 Recognize common rhythms, progressions, and song structures
🧭 Build the skills to learn songs with less hand-holding

You don’t need to abandon YouTube or memorize a pile of theory. You just need a clearer map—and a little time with songs worth playing.

By the end of the series, you’ll have a more reliable F chord, a stronger rhythmic foundation, several familiar songs to play, and a clearer sense of what to work on next.

📅 Dates: Saturdays – September 12, 19, 26, October 3, 17 & 24
🕔 Time: 6:00 – 6:55 PM
🏠 Location: Highland Park Community Centre (3716 2 St NW, Calgary, AB T2K 0Y4)
💵 Fee: $20 per session
✅ What to bring: your guitar, handouts from the past session (if you missed them, you can download the files from a link we will share after your registration), tuner (optional), music stand (optional)
👨‍🏫 Instructor: Kent McAlister
Kent brings more than 25 years of teaching experience, formal guitar studies at Vancouver Community College and Vancouver Island University, and a distinguished career as a performer and songwriter. He has released three albums, toured Canada, headlined festivals, and shared stages with Rosanne Cash, The Tennessee Three, and Corb Lund. His practical, personalized teaching helps students build fundamentals through songs they enjoy.

Hit Songs Made Easy: Intermediate 🎸

You’ve been playing for years—but somehow, you keep sounding like the same guitarist.

You’ve learned plenty on your own, picked up songs from YouTube, and developed a style that gets you through. But certain techniques still won’t click, familiar habits keep taking over, and another tutorial isn’t giving you the feedback you need.

This six-week workshop is for self-taught guitarists ready to get unstuck and move beyond open-position chords. Our focus is power chords, bar chords, and learning to navigate farther up the neck—using hit songs as the practical guide.

You’ll explore root-and-fifth power chords through “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi, use “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes to connect fret markers with notes across the neck, and begin working with bar chords through “Sweet Jane” by Cowboy Junkies.

Over six weeks, you’ll:
🎸 Build and move power-chord shapes with more confidence
🧭 Use fret markers to find your way around the neck
🎵 Start recognizing notes and patterns beyond the first few frets
🎶 Develop bar-chord technique through real songs
🛠️ Break out of familiar chord, rhythm, and playing habits
👂 Strengthen timing, listening, and musical awareness while playing
🤝 Get real-time feedback and enjoy making music with others

You don’t need to start over. You need fresh ideas, focused guidance, and a chance to put your skills to work with other musicians.

By the end of the series, you’ll have a better command of the neck, a stronger rock-and-roll toolkit, and more freedom to play beyond the shapes you already know.

📅 Dates: Saturdays – September 12, 19, 26, October 3, 17 & 24
🕔 Time: 7:00 – 7:55 PM
🏠 Location: Highland Park Community Centre (3716 2 St NW, Calgary, AB T2K 0Y4)
💵 Fee: $20 per session
✅ What to bring: your guitar, handouts from the 1st session (if you missed it, you can download the files from a link we will share after your registration), tuner (optional), music stand (optional)
👨‍🏫 Instructor: Kent McAlister
Kent brings more than 25 years of teaching experience, formal guitar studies at Vancouver Community College and Vancouver Island University, and a distinguished career as a performer and songwriter. He has released three albums, toured Canada, headlined festivals, and shared stages with Rosanne Cash, The Tennessee Three, and Corb Lund. His practical, personalized teaching helps students build fundamentals through songs they enjoy.

Hit Songs Made Easy: Newbies 🎸

This is the last workshop in this series. Don't miss it!

This six-week workshop is for absolute beginners. No experience, music-reading, or theory knowledge required. We’ll start with the true essentials: tuning your guitar, learning how the frets work, and getting comfortable with foundational chords including G, C, and D.

From there, we’ll use recognizable songs to make the basics feel musical right away. You’ll work toward playing accessible hits such as “Love Me Do” by The Beatles, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan (or the Guns N’ Roses version), and “Zombie” by The Cranberries.

Expect a relaxed, supportive space where buzzing strings, sore fingertips, and awkward chord changes are simply part of learning. Nobody arrives knowing how to do this.

Over six weeks, you’ll:
🎸 Learn how to tune your guitar and identify frets
🎵 Build core chords including G, C, and D
🪕 Practice steady, approachable strumming patterns
💪 Strengthen your fingers and improve chord changes
🎶 Recognize common song structures and chord patterns
🎤 Put it all together to play familiar songs from start to finish

You won’t become a guitar hero overnight—but you will stop feeling like a stranger to your instrument. By the end of the series, you’ll have practical guitar fundamentals, a few recognizable songs in your hands, and the confidence to keep playing.

📅 Dates: Saturdays – September 12, 19, 26, October 3, 17 & 24
🕔 Time: 5:00 – 5:45 PM
🏠 Location: Highland Park Community Centre (3716 2 St NW, Calgary, AB T2K 0Y4)
💵 Fee: $20 per session
✅ What to bring: your guitar, handouts from the past session (if you missed them, you can download the files from a link we will share after your registration), tuner (optional), music stand (optional)
👨‍🏫 Instructor: Kent McAlister
Kent brings more than 25 years of teaching experience, formal guitar studies at Vancouver Community College and Vancouver Island University, and a distinguished career as a performer and songwriter. He has released three albums, toured Canada, headlined festivals, and shared stages with Rosanne Cash, The Tennessee Three, and Corb Lund. His practical, personalized teaching helps students build fundamentals through songs they enjoy.