Why I Use Those Stupid Old Public Domain Songs

There are basically two reasons why I use public domain songs when first teaching students to play chords:

• The highest percentage of my students are familiar with public domain songs similar to these. I teach students from ages 5-85 and any style of current popular music will not be as recognizable to as wide a range of people.
• Public domain songs are free to use without copyright infringement.

Of course, I expect my students to also pursue the music which interests them most. After learning and being able to smoothly change a few fundamental chords, I am eager and ready to help my students learn to play the type of music that initially drew them to pursue the guitar.