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What Do You Think of the Chord Buddy for Special Needs Guitarists?

/ Color Coding / By / ADD, ASD, Autism, Color, Guitar, Instrument, LD, Multisensory, Special Needs
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Estimated reading time 3 minutes

Table of Contents

Introduction

“What do you think of the Chord Buddy for special needs guitarists?” I first heard about using the Chord Buddy for special needs students from Sarah Fard at the 2019 Able Assembly. However, I’ve found it works better for some students than for others. Read more to find out who benefits.

Before we go any further, I need to mention that I didn’t receive any compensation to write this post. It contains my unpaid observations.

This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.

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What Do You Think of the Chord Buddy for Special Needs Guitarists #1: How It’s Designed

“What do you think of the Chord Buddy for special needs guitarists?” Before we discuss special needs students let’s talk typical learners.

How it’s supposed to work:

  • The Chord Buddy was designed as an educational device to help beginners learn the G, C, D, and E minor chords.
  • It has a framework of plastic tabs with buttons that you attach to the guitar neck.
  • The buttons have been color coded and work with the color coded songbook that comes with the Chord Buddy.
  • This allows the beginner to focus on strum patterns before worrying about left hand chord fingering.
  • Eventually, the students will remove the tabs, one at a time, so that they can learn how to finger the chords.
  • Chord Buddy’s introductory video shows you how this process works.

Video: How the Chord Buddy Works

What Do You Think of the Chord Buddy for Special Needs Guitarists #2: Special Needs Student Success

“What do you think of the Chord Buddy for special needs guitarists?” Because the Chord Buddy has been color coded, it generally works well for special needs students.

How do you use it with special needs students?

  1. Special needs students can improvise using the Chord Buddy. This allows for self-expression and supported creativity.
  2. Students can strum a steady quarter note pattern and follow along with the color coded chord symbols while someone sings the melody. This can be a fun bonding time for the guitarist and singer.
  3. Some students won’t progress beyond this point. However, if the student seems ready, you can color code the chord frames to help the student learn chords without the aid of the Chord Buddy. Using this method helps students learn chords beyond the four that the Chord Buddy teaches.

How to color code guitar chord frames:

How to Color Code Musical Diagrams - Easy C Chord Frame - What Do You Think of the Chord Buddy for Special Needs Guitarists - How to Play the Easy Beginner Guitar F Chord Without a Barre - What Are the Best Easy Guitar Chords for Beginners to Learn?

What Do You Think of the Chord Buddy for Special Needs Guitarists #3: Issues with the Chord Buddy

“What do you think of the Chord Buddy for special needs guitarists?” The Chord Buddy does come with some drawbacks:

  • First the obvious one, the Chord Buddy only has four chords. However, these four chords unlock the ability to accompany lots of songs, and many special needs students will eventually graduate from the Chord Buddy anyway.
  • The songbook doesn’t teach the strum patterns or how to read rhythm. However, both can be color coded by the teacher.
  • Pressing down the Chord Buddy’s buttons takes some hand strength if fitted to an acoustic guitar. This makes it a poor fit for young students and students with hypotonia. Fitting it to an electric guitar may help, but it depends on the guitar’s action and string gauge. This is a problem you may not be able to work around.

Learn how to color code rhythm and strum patterns:

Summary of “What Do You Think of the Chord Buddy for Special Needs Guitarists?”

Here’s some final thoughts on, “What do you think of the Chord Buddy for special needs guitarists?”

  1. The Chord Buddy will be a good option for many special needs students.
  2. Why? Because the color coded buttons and score work well with the students’ learning style.
  3. Additional color coding will be necessary for strumming and reading rhythms.
  4. The Chord Buddy won’t be a good option for people with low hand strength.

While the Chord Buddy won’t work for everyone, it provides an option that will be worth checking out.

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