Plucked instrument
In guitar lessons you accompany your first songs with just a few chords and work your way step by step towards playing solo. Cuxhaven Music School is a public, non-profit music school in Cuxhaven-Ritzebüttel, run by FeMiC e.V. Lessons are open to children, teenagers and adults – whether you are starting out or coming back to music.
Guitar for beginners. He has taught in Cuxhaven since 2001 – patiently and with genuine pleasure in every step forward. His students range from 5 to 65 years old, from absolute beginners to advanced players; he also teaches guitar for beginners.
View Christoph Kämmerling’s profile →Olly Lagemann has been active in Cuxhaven for many years as a bass player, guitarist and songwriter, among others with the bands Cats TV, Mont Go, WEISS and GAS. He gives lessons on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass and ukulele – all ages welcome.
View Olly Lagemann’s profile →Children can begin from around six; smaller guitars are made for them (1/2 and 3/4 sizes). For learning, a classical guitar with nylon strings is usually the recommendation, because they are gentler on the fingers and make starting easier. We work out the right size together.
Olly Lagemann welcomes students of all ages.
Whether guitar lessons are also possible in pairs or in a group is something we are happy to discuss when you get in touch.
Individual lessons cost from 69 € a month (children and teenagers) or from 83 € (adults). You will find all fees – including 45-minute lessons and lesson blocks – on our fees page.
The easiest way to request a free trial lesson is our contact form – choose “Guitar” as the subject. You can reach the office by phone on 04721 666868 on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon; the office is closed during the school holidays. You can also contact the teachers directly – their details are in the profiles on our teachers page.
You will find us in the historic Ritzebüttler Schule building:
Cuxhaven Music School · FeMiC e.V., Grodener Chaussee 11, 27472 Cuxhaven
The guitar is one of the most popular instruments in the world: it accompanies singing, carries melodies as a solo instrument, and offers a rewarding, versatile way into music.
The guitar is a plucked instrument with six strings, played either one note at a time or held down in chords. It is enormously versatile: you can accompany singing, play melodies and shape whole pieces as a soloist. The main distinction is between the classical guitar, with its soft nylon strings, and the steel-string acoustic, which is brighter and louder.
The guitar descends from the lute family and from the Spanish vihuela. Its modern classical form was shaped by the Spanish luthier Antonio de Torres in the middle of the nineteenth century. Numerous variants grew out of it – from the flamenco guitar to the steel-string acoustic – and today it ranks among the most widespread instruments in the world.
The hollow body with its soundhole amplifies the vibration of the strings. The neck carries a fingerboard with frets – small metal bars that fix the pitches exactly. The tuning machines sit at the head. When a string is plucked or struck, the bridge transmits the vibration to the top, which radiates the sound. Nylon strings give the classical guitar a warm, round tone, while the steel-string acoustic sounds brighter and carries further.
The standard tuning is E, A, d, g, h, e′ – in the German naming system, where “h” is the note called B in English usage. The frets fix the pitches in equal temperament, so you can play in every key. A capo clamps across the strings and shifts the pitch without changing the fingerings – handy when accompanying songs.
The fretting hand presses the strings behind the frets while the other hand plucks with the fingers or strikes with a plectrum. Among the key techniques are rhythmic strumming of chords, fingerpicking patterns and the barre, in which one finger holds down several strings at once. A handful of chords is already enough to accompany countless songs.
The guitar is at home in almost every kind of music: in the classical concert repertoire, in folk and singer-songwriter music, in pop and rock, and in fiery flamenco. As an instrument for accompanying the voice it is hard to beat.
The classical concert guitar has nylon strings, a wide neck and a warm tone — ideal for classical music and for learning. The steel-string acoustic sounds brighter and louder and is typical of folk, pop and song accompaniment. Alongside these come the flamenco guitar and, as the amplified variant, the electric guitar. For beginners the classical guitar is usually the best choice.
Strings wear out over time and need changing now and then. A tuner or tuning app helps to get the instrument cleanly in tune, and a capo is useful for putting songs into a comfortable range. Wooden instruments dislike extreme dryness or damp – a sturdy case or gig bag protects them in transit.
A handful of chords is enough to accompany countless songs, which is why the guitar brings a sense of achievement so quickly. It is light, portable and suits almost any kind of music, from the campfire song to the classical solo piece. Whether you want to accompany singing, play fingerstyle or take the melody, the instrument grows with your own interests. Short daily practice is the most reliable way to secure chord changes and rhythm.