I quit guitar in the beginning because I found it so boring and wasn't learning any cool stuff. I've got A.D.H.D. so unless I'm instantly rewarded for hard work I lose interest.
I like to give students exercises that will help them develop skill yet trick them into learning cool songs at the same time.
In addition to chords, I suggest the following:
To limber up her fingers, have her practice picking each of the 1st 4 frets and an open string like so:
______(1) (2) (3) (4) <---finger number
e| 0---1---2---3---4
then:
______(1) (2) (3) (4)
a| 0---1---2---3---4
______(1) (2) (3) (4)
d| 0---1---2---3---4
______(1) (2) (3) (4)
g| 0---1---2---3---4
______(1) (2) (3) (4)
b| 0---1---2---3---4
______(1) (2) (3) (4)
e| 0---1---2---3---4
Once they complete that exercise, have them reverse it:
__(4) (3) (2) (1)
e| 4---3---2---1---0
a| 4---3---2---1---0
d| 4---3---2---1---0 etc...
Instruct her to move up 1 fret and do the same exercise, then 2 frets, etc.
Also have her TAP HER FOOT in a steady rhythm. It will get her to learn time, coordination, picking skill, and develop her finger strength. I always tell people to go as slow as necessary to do it without making a mistake as speed will come in time. I learned the hard way that if you practice sloppy, you will play sloppy.
Have her do it for a week. If she's gotten good at it, have her play the pattern backwards on the 8th fret of the A string. She'll be playing 'Dazed and Confused'! Put the CD on and I'm sure she'll be smiling and be telling people “I can play Led Zeppelin!”, even if she isn't a Zep fan.
I always trick people into learning songs so they will build confidence, be fun, and stick with it eager to learn more.
a few of the songs I normally start people off when learning chords and fingering are:
AC/DC: TNT, Highway To Hell (or any of their basic stuff)
The Cure - Just Like Heaven
The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop, I Wanna Be Sedated (or any other song that's real easy for beginners)
You get the idea... it's worked for every person I've gotten started on the guitar anyway. I always tell anyone who wants to learn "You'll be playing REAL songs in a month if you practice every day". This promise pushes them to take the chance and give it a try.
This will help develop the fingering so when you show her a new song, the coordination, finger strength, and picking will already be there and not prevent her from moving forward. Trying to learn as musical instructors teach may work for some, but for A.D.D. people like me I felt like it was too overwhelming and quit. Learning guitar does take a lot of work to get started, so I believe in KISS (keep it simple stupid)
My 2¢
-tremoloman
P.S. Sorry for the crudeness... the auto-formatting kept screwing up my tab.
