Un-holey
Guitar Curriculum

Empower Creativity
With Knowledge

AJ AND BOB

Our friendship and shared ideals relating to equitable access to quality education goes back decades. This project has been a goal in the making for years and it’s finally taking shape. We registered a charity to help us make accessible music education a reality, and because we know its going to take more than just our efforts to make that happen.
AJ & Bob

AJ are Bob are on the BC ferry together..

TEAM

Arash Janfada

Project manager

Arash Janfada (AJ) is a Professional Engineer (P.Eng) with nearly 20 years of experience in designing and delivering research and regulatory programs, developing policy frameworks, and technical teaching materials. He has managed projects in academic settings with the University of Saskatchewan, The National Hydrology Research Institute, the BC and Saskatchewan provincial governments, as well multimillion dollar budget projects as a consulting engineer. He has been a student of guitar for over 10 years, and worked with his teacher, project partner, and friend Bob Helgason, towards developing a music lesson curriculum. In virtually every professional position he’s held, a significant component of AJ’s work has cultivated the ability to recognize gaps in knowledge, whether in internal policy development, developing guidance, or structuring program delivery. When combined with his knowledge of music, and love for teaching, AJ’s primary role is to assist in lesson content development, management of lesson design, managing the architectural development of the curriculum, and overseeing development of program’s user interface.

Bob Helgason

Lead instructor

Robert (Bob) Helgason is a guitarist, composer, songwriter and performer with over 30 years of experience. He is a graduate of the Jazz Program at Capilano University and has taught students both in-person and online, with skills focused on guitar improvisation and composition in multiple popular genres. Since the early 2010s, Bob has worked in collaboration with Arash Janfada to develop the concept and framework for the Un-holey Guitar Curriculum (UGC). The UGC name itself is a double entendre that alludes to the mission of the program – being a comprehensive music education system that is free of content gaps. Bob has developed a rapport with his students for patiently explaining technical music concepts in a way that is interesting, motivating and immediately applicable to creative musical development. He brings his knowledge, experience and passion for music and education to his role as UGC’s Lead Content Developer, and Technical Program Coordinator. Bob’s role will be to lead in the areas of lesson content development, curriculum architecture design, and liaising with technical advisors.

Bayan Mottahed

Lead Director

Dr. Bayan Mottahed is a general dentist at Mercato Dental Centre, having graduated from Boston University in 2007. He is passionate about integrating advanced technology into dental procedures and takes great pleasure in helping patients achieve their ideal smiles. Dr. Mottahed is an active member of both the BC Dental Association (BCDA) and the Canadian Dental Association (CDA). Outside of his practice, Dr. Mottahed is kept busy with his four young boys. He enjoys baking, as well as supporting local sports teams like the Whitecaps and Canucks. He is also a strong advocate for community causes, supporting charities such as the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation (BCCHF) and Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). Dr. Mottahed finds great fulfillment in making a positive impact on his patients’ lives, blending cutting-edge technology with the wisdom and values passed down from his father. He strives to maintain a balanced life, cherishing time spent outdoors with his wife and children. As a father, he instills in his sons the importance of love, care, and community involvement. In addition to his dental practice, Dr. Mottahed is deeply engaged with multi-faith and multicultural organizations. Recently, he has focused on providing dental care to remote First Nations communities in British Columbia. Through collaboration with charitable initiatives, he often reaches these underserved populations by helicopter, using portable equipment to deliver vital dental services.

Michael McAllister

Director

Michael McAllister is originally from rural Alberta and was born in the small town of Sundre (pop 1800). Despite his rural upbringing he was impacted by exposure to some excellent musicians (Kathleen Van Mourik, Charles Foreman). Michael moved to Saskatchewan to complete bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. When his eldest child was ready to enter kindergarten, he and his wife (Julie Zettl) moved to Edmonton so that their children could learn at the Suzuki Charter School for music. Believing that music has great impacts on cognitive abilities, language skills, creative expression, and degree of empathy, Michael and Julie exposed their children to many different musical opportunities. At ages 10 and 13 the children currently contribute to the Edmonton Youth Orchestra and the Alberta Children’s Choir among other musical endeavors. Michael is currently the Manager of Water Projects for the province of Alberta and is delighted to contribute in any way possible to a charity whose focus is to enrich children’s lives through music. He believes that providing musical instruction will help to nurture more creative, kind and expressive children, while making a positive impact on society in which those children live.

Mike Silverton

Director

Mike Silverton is a professional carpenter, proud father, and loving husband living in the picturesque Whistler-Squamish Valley. A craftsman who takes immense pride in his work, Mike is equally committed to giving back to his community. With a deep appreciation for the arts, particularly literature and music, Mike is excited to serve as a director of UGC, where he'll oversee our affairs and guide our engagement with the community to better provide our services. Mike's positive energy, kind approach and sound judgement will be of immense benefit to the UGC team.

MUSIC

ABOUT US

The digital age has paradoxically made quality music education more elusive than ever. A sea of online lessons can drown even the most dedicated learner, often leading to limited progress and thousands in costs. Traditional in-person lessons, while still valuable, are even more expensive than their online counterparts, and a good teacher is difficult to find, particularly in smaller communities. We’re on a mission to break down these barriers. We believe that the incredible social, emotional, cognitive, and developmental benefits of playing an instrument should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. Our solution? A well-structured, self-motivating online guitar curriculum. While our current one-on-one lessons have been incredibly rewarding, we're excited to share our unique approach with a wider audience through a phased online release and a unique user interface. By removing cost and other related obstacles, we hope to empower countless individuals to embark on their musical journeys.

PROJECT

1.1 What Are We Doing?

We are a registered Canadian charity delivering music education for guitar. We’re currently teaching individual students, but one-on-one lessons mean that our reach and impact are limited. Our goal is to develop a comprehensive music education curriculum for online access with the aim of making it the most effective guitar education platform available. Our objective is to train students to be proficient in musical composition and capable of sophisticated musical expression. We call this curriculum the Un-holey Guitar Curriculum (UGC), a pun in reference to a curriculum whose lessons are efficiently sequenced and free of “holes” or knowledge gaps.

As volunteers, we’re working tirelessly to develop the curriculum in preparation for a phased online release. However, the pace of our progress is limited by our financial resources. We’re actively seeking funding from individual donors as well as grants and sponsorships from supporting organizations. All funds will be dedicated to research and curriculum development.

1.2 Why Are We Doing It?

Quality music instruction is an unaffordable luxury for the majority of the global population. Even in developed nations like Canada, music education is often marginalized due to the ever-increasing cost of living. We are on track to create a comprehensive music education curriculum offered at no charge to those who need it most. Our goal is to remove financial, ability-based, or societal barriers and make music education accessible to everyone with a desire to learn.

There is an enormous body of research that details the benefits of music literacy, which include early cognitive development, greater emotional maturity, improved academic performance, increased self-discipline, perseverance, and higher productivity later in life. Our programme will aim to equip students with sophisticated music composition and improvisation skills. To achieve this today, a student would need to dedicate years to both tutored and independent study and invest thousands of dollars. We believe that access to the benefits of musical literacy should not be predicated on wealth.

1.3 How Are We Doing it?

To build acute musical proficiency, a comprehensive and integrated approach to instruction is essential. This begins with a solid foundation in the fundamental principles of music composition and performance, promoting the development of a strong technical and theoretical base. However, to truly excel, it is imperative to bridge the gap between the early fundamentals and the advanced concepts. A seamless progression of learning, devoid of significant discontinuities, allows students to build upon their existing skills and knowledge, ultimately leading to a higher level of musical proficiency. Musical proficiency will be measured by the versatility of our graduates in composing and improvising across various genres, as well as their ability to quickly process new musical information and expand their repertoire of techniques.

As the teachers and creators of UGC, one of our most crucial tasks is determining the optimal sequence in which to cover crucial musical topics. To execute this effectively, we are drawing on a vast collection of resources developed over nearly two decades of music research, teaching, and guitar-based studies at an academic level. We have extensive experience developing technical guidance and educational materials in the fields of science and humanities. In addition to comprehensive content presented chronologically, a unique user interface has been designed to facilitate the lesson platform. The UI will allow for the continuous addition of new content to the curriculum while tracking the student’s progress, regardless of when or where a given lesson material is added to the programme’s chronology.

From a business feasibility perspective, access to the curriculum will be offered through a subscription model, which will be open to the public for a monthly fee. For those seeking free access to the programme, an eligibility confirmation process has been developed in concept and will be implemented with the launch of the first phase of the curriculum. The revenue generated from subscription access will be reinvested in the curriculum for continual improvement and to support free access for qualifying students. To support the evolution and continual development of the curriculum, the lessons will be released in phases, a concept discussed further in section 2.2.4

1.4 Ultimate Instructional Goal

In summary, the goal is to educate ourselves and our students to the point where we can speak the language of music effortlessly, similar to how we speak our native language. The better our command of spoken language, the more fluidly we can express ourselves. By deeply imprinting[1] the fundamental elements of the musical language on our students, we can equip them to quickly understand and incorporate new advanced concepts into their musical vocabulary, as they will possess a strong foundation. The latter is itself an extremely noble goal.

SUPPORT US

GET INVOLVED

Our project can always use more hands. If you believe in our mission, and want to contribute in some way, please contact us!

GET INVOLVED TODAY

Contact

CONTACT

Thank you for your interest in UGC! If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, or if you're curious about your eligibility for our program, please contact us. We're here to help and look forward to hearing from you!

FIND US :
7620 Kentwood, Burnaby, BC V5A 2Z1 Canada
E-MAIL :
info@givingmusic.org

DONATE NOW

AJ and Bob are playing guitars together.

Un-holey Guitar Curriculum

Empower Creativity With Knowledge