Learn Guitar with Tatiana Stachak

The Educator and Guitarist in Profile

In a class of its own: Tatiana Stachak's innovative teaching method, “First Class Guitar” / “Extra Class Guitar”, has many followers worldwide. The focus of the music educator, composer, and guitarist is on the joy of making music. Through early duet play with the teacher, initial success quickly occurs, and motivation is maintained. In the interview, Tatiana Stachak provides insights into her work.

Ms. Stachak, your guitar schools, studies, and compositions are very popular among young students throughout Europe. What inspired you to write your own guitar school?

I am delighted to hear that. In short: working with my students. Even during my studies at the University of Music, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. Immediately after graduating, I took a position at two music schools - both of which set up new guitar classes exclusively for first graders for me. The students were of different ages, but the majority - and this was crucial for creating the textbooks - consisted of a group of seven-year-olds. While textbooks aimed at older students were widespread in Poland, I couldn't find any publication that met the specific needs of the youngest students. So, I decided to create the material myself and adapt it methodically and repertoire-wise to the perceptual abilities of my students.

I started writing exercises, initial duets, and solo compositions and had the extraordinary opportunity to continuously refine my ideas. The spontaneous reactions of the students were the most valuable indicators for me. After three years of work, I already had a considerable amount of material. I selected from it and refined it, and the textbook “First Class Guitar” was born.

I was aware that the publication form should be attractive to children: hence the titles and the many colorful, sophisticated illustrations by the artist Małgorzata Flis. The graphic design of the book affects the aesthetic perception of the future musicians. A natural consequence of this was preparing the second part of the school at a more advanced level: “Extra Class Guitar”.

Years later, the situation repeated itself: five-year-olds came to my class for whom “First Class Guitar” was too difficult. So, I wrote a book aimed at even younger children - “Elementarz gitarzysty” [Guitar Primer, available only in Polish, Ed. note]. After a few months of work, or rather, playing with the primer, the little ones can start with “Guitar First Class”.

Selected Scores & Teaching Books by Tatiana Stachak

T. Stachak

First Class Guitar

Classical guitar

T. Stachak

Extra Class Guitar

Classical guitar

T. Stachak

Characteristic Etudes 1

Classical guitar

T. Stachak

Characteristic Etudes 2

Classical guitar

T. Stachak

Album with Variations

Classical guitar

Pupil and Teacher 1

2 classical guitars

Pupil and Teacher 2

2 classical guitars

Pupil and Teacher 3

2 classical guitars

Drozdzowski Miroslaw / Stachak Tatiana

Solo + Duo

1–2 guitars

T. Stachak

Pierwsza gwiazdka z gitarą

Guitar; voice ad lib.

T. Stachak

Invitation to the Waltz

Classical guitar

What is special about your method? What sets your method apart from other teaching methods?

The first feature is the very gradual progression of technical difficulties. In older schools, which were directed towards older, more independent students, new technical and theoretical elements were introduced quite quickly. In my textbooks, each topic is extensively covered with a wide range of exercises and pieces. The initial exercises are usually very simple and short, without unnecessary (rhythmic or structural) complications. I have made sure that every student, not just the very gifted ones, has the opportunity to master a particular element without too much difficulty. Of course, a very gifted child will grasp the material more quickly and may skip some simple exercises to focus on advanced compositions.

The second characteristic feature of the textbooks is the large number of duets for students and teachers. The idea of playing duets with children came to me several years before I started working on the workbooks. At that time, I prepared a series of student and teacher workbooks with arrangements of well-known compositions by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, and others for two guitars. In the textbook "Guitar First Class," duets form the basic repertoire of the first two chapters.

Playing duets offers many advantages: the teacher's part makes the sound of simple exercises more attractive, making it easier to motivate children to play. Through playing together, many other skills can be developed, including a sense of rhythm, concentration, and shared attention. Innovative solutions include exercises with improvisation elements.

In contrast, the workbook "Extra Class Guitar" contains a chapter that focuses on the development of guitar accompaniment (such as chord playing, which children usually do not learn in music school) and playing in chamber music ensembles.

In addition to your guitar schools, you are a co-author of various works on musical education. Why is musical education important for children?

This is a very comprehensive topic. Much has already been said about how contact with art, and especially active music-making, promotes the overall development of a child. There is no doubt that contact with music delights and sensitizes children, but we must not forget that acquiring musical knowledge is a significant challenge for young children.

The materials for ear training and eurythmy, on which I worked together with experienced educators in these fields, Ilona Tomera-Chmiel and Lidia Florek-Stokłosa, undoubtedly facilitate students' mastery and understanding of complex musical concepts – this is confirmed by the popularity of the books in music schools throughout Poland. This is because we opted for a clear message, carefully selected interesting repertoire (from Bach to contemporary music), and attractive exercises.

Currently, I am finishing the second part of my ear training textbook for young people, "Muzyczna pracownia" [musical workshop]. In this book, I use an innovative method – I called it "Od stopnia do akordu" [from the degree to the chord] – to effectively develop pitch perception.

How can an adult who has never played a musical instrument gain access to playing the guitar?

I think it is very simple. We can find an offer for individual lessons in any city. And if there is no such offer near our place of residence, we can take online lessons - the experience of recent years has accustomed us to this form of teaching. There are no barriers, no limits, no insurmountable distances, and if we want, we can even have a teacher from the other end of the world. I myself teach students from different cities and even countries. Of course, direct contact with a teacher will always be the best solution.

You are represented at festivals and conduct workshops around the world. Have you noticed country-specific peculiarities among participants?

Yes, I conduct workshops in many countries, and I can say that children are similar: sensitive, open-minded, and curious about the world. But the educational process is somewhat different in each country, and over time, children acquire different skills. In China, for example, there is an exceptionally strong emphasis on technique.

In a workshop I led, a student who was only a few years old played "La Catedral" by Agustín Barrios - a piece that is not only technically demanding but also requires considerable maturity. It is difficult to expect a profound interpretation from a young child, but on the technical side, the performance was excellent. Overall, the workshop participants were noticeably tense and focused on success. They achieved great results. But at what cost?

Which musicians have inspired your work the most?

When working on a new publication, I always try to thoroughly explore the chosen musical style or genre. With platforms like YouTube and Spotify, access to sources is practically unlimited. When I wrote the series Invitation to the Waltz, I started my research with guitar music, such as waltzes by Barrios or Antonio Lauro. Later, however, I found piano and orchestral music much more inspiring: waltzes from Tchaikovsky's ballets, compositions by Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Wojciech Kilar.

I also came across examples in the French style: fast, airy, often played on the accordion, as well as South American waltzes of different characters (Peruvian – yearning and languid, Venezuelan – more lively, flamboyant; I also "discovered" the tango-waltz form). The same applies to writing etudes or variations – each of these projects is an opportunity for me to discover new musical territories. Therefore, it would be difficult to list all the composers to whom I owe my inspirations.

Is there anyone else who has inspired you?

When I came up with the idea to write a textbook, I sought the advice of my husband. He has supported and encouraged me from the very beginning, while also critically evaluating my writing attempts. The discussions were sometimes heated, but I can assure you that constructive but friendly criticism is much more valuable than empty praise.

And why did you choose the guitar as an instrument?

It was a coincidence, almost like in a film by Krzysztof Kieślowski. The main character in "my" film was my brother Maciej. One day, he was strolling through Gdansk, where we lived at the time, and noticed a very long queue. It was the time of communism, and the stores were empty. The natural reaction of any citizen who saw a queue was to join it and hope to get something. That's exactly what my brother did. And he joined the queue... to the music store. They happened to be "throwing guitars on sale." So he bought a guitar and gave it to me. Who knows what would have happened if there had been trumpets...

What music do you personally like to listen to?

I really like old music; I listen to recordings by Rolf Lislevand, Arianna Savall, L'Arpeggiata – this music calms me. It is beautiful in its simplicity, and the skillful playing of the performers delights me. I also turn to popular music; I like: Mark Knopfler, Pat Metheny, Björk, the band Jamiroquai. Recently, after a trip to Portugal, I enjoyed listening to Fado.

Which of your compositions/pieces are you particularly proud of?

I am usually most proud of the latest, most recent release, “Album with Variations”. I feel that I am still perfecting my compositional craft, and each subsequent book is always a bit better than the previous one. It is not for me to judge. However, the moment of publication is undoubtedly the culmination of several months of hard work and has been closest to my heart for some time now.

However, I have some favorites: these include the "Walzer im Café" from the collection “Invitation to the Waltz”, the “Etüde Nachdenkliche Stimmung Etüde” from the cycle of “Characteristic Etudes”, and the “Variationen-Fantasie” from the latest collection “Album with Variations”. I also like the primer for guitarists very much – it was a great joy to write the rhymes, puzzles, stories, and invention games included in this edition. Writing this book transported me back in time, and for a moment, I felt like a child of a few years old.

Dear Mrs. Stachak, we sincerely thank you for the interview!

Editor: Katharina Uziel