Do you sometimes finger a fret on your guitar and hear a buzzing sound or even no sound? If you answered yes then your guitar may be seriously, even irreversibly dehydrated and possibly headed for the graveyard.
This is the story of how I became a true guitar hero by saving the life of my severely dehydrated guitar.
My Sad Story
Last Winter I remember grabbing my guitar for a typical daily goof around ...ah... I mean, serious practice session and found that my B string made an annoying buzzing sound from frets 4 - 9. I wondered why it was suddenly doing this when just a few days before it was fine. I decided to ignore the problem and hope that it would disappear on its own.
In just a few more days the B string stopped buzzing but frets 4-9 now wouldn't play anything. To make matters worse the G string had now started to buzz.
Initially I thought that some of my frets were coming loose and needed to be repaired. Then an awful thought hit me. Had my guitar become warped because of the extremely low humidity produced by the typical winter weather? Was my precious guitar now ruined?
I also wondered that if my guitar really was dehydrated, was it possible to re-hydrate it and would this reverse the damage? Fortunately, in my case, the answer was yes. My guitar had not yet reached the point of no return. It was indeed possible to restore the sound that I had grown to love. The following describes are the steps I took:
Measuring The Humidity Of My Home
With a little research I learned that most acoustic guitars need an environment that has a relative humidity level of 45% to 55%. An inexpensive, non-digital, device called a hygrometer was purchased at my local hardware store for under $10 dollars (USD).
It was then mounted in the room where I usually kept my guitar. For reasonable accuracy, I selected a wall that did not have an exposure to the outside cold. I also avoided wall locations that were too near the common humid air blasts of the bathroom and kitchen.
After mounting the hygrometer and letting it acclimate for 24 hours, I discovered that my guitar had been constantly exposed, un-cased, to a relative humidity of only 24%. Now that I had confirmed that my guitar was indeed dried out, it was time to find a way to return the lost moisture.
How I Re-Humidified My Guitar
I remembered seeing a humidifier that was designed specifically for a guitar. It had a ½" diameter, foot long, green rubber tube with about 100 small holes poked along its length. Inside the tube was a yellow sponge material. Both ends of the tube contained black plastic plugs with one end attached to a string. The other end of the string was attached to a black plastic disc approximately the size of the guitar sound hole.
The idea was to cover the sound hole with the disc then dangle the water soaked tube inside the body of the guitar. As the moisture inside the tube evaporates it would re-hydrate the wood causing it to return to its previously un-warped shape. The plastic disc was designed to prevent the evaporating moisture from escaping the inside of the body of the guitar.
So That's The Theory Anyway But How Did It Work in Reality?
In about 24 hours, a simple visual inspection of my guitar revealed that the partial re-hydrating of my guitar caused the wood to begin to move back to its pre-warped state. The bridge, the device holds the ends of the guitar strings near the sound hole, had rotated in such a way that it raised the guitar strings slightly higher off the frets and therefore began to eliminate the buzzing or dead sounds at certain frets.
After 2 days I noticed that the sound of the B and G strings had continued to improve. After a total of 4 days of checking and remoistening the humidifier's sponge, it had improved even more but, the buzz still had not completely gone away. At this point I wondered if the tube-in-the-body method was too slow and didn't allow the entire guitar to properly re-hydrate.
Bringing Out The Big Guns: Satisfying The Need For More Moisture
I decided to use a standard table top room humidifier to increase the relative humidity in the entire living room. I bought a Sunbeam Ultrasonic Model 705 at a local Pharmacy. Its capacity was about 5 quarts of distilled water which turned out to be just about the amount of cool, distilled water vapor that it could dissipate in 24 hours.
It took about 4 days to increase the room's relative humidity from 24% to 43%. During this time I propped my guitar on a stand outside of its case in the same room. I had also removed the humidifier that was inside the guitar. At the end of these 4 days the buzzing and dead fret sounds had completely gone away. What a relief, my guitar hadn't been dead after all - just very sick.
The bottom line for Guitar Humidity Control
1. Don't expose your guitar to extremely dry environments for extended periods. This includes the trunk of your car during extreme cold or extreme hot weather. While a hard shell case or a gig bag can offer some protection they cannot prevent damage in extreme conditions.
2. If your guitar is primarily stored and used in one room of your home then humidify the entire room in the driest seasons. Monitor the room's humidity using an inexpensive hygrometer available at most hardware stores. Target 45% to 55% relative humidity.
3. If you cannot control the relative humidity of your home then make sure to keep your guitar in its case a much as possible. Use an in-guitar or in-guitar-case type of humidifier.
Think prevention. Don't wait until your guitar is in trouble before you start to worry about humidity control. It is possible to dry out a guitar to the point where it cannot be fixed. Remember, it's never fun to attend a guitar funeral.
About The Author: John Mackinnon started taking guitar lessons over 40 years ago and still enjoys the learning process. His website http://www.CompareGuitarLessons.com is dedicated to providing guitar player reviews of DVD based and online guitar lesson programs. He also offers guitar related articles, guitar resource links, a free newsletter.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
REVIEW: Lead Guitar Secrets Transforms Strummers Into Soloists
Does this sound like you?
You have been dreaming about playing a smoking’ hot guitar solo from one of your favorite songs but just don’t have a clue where to begin.
Or… You have enough guitar skills to memorize a few impressive guitar solos from your favorite songs but, to save your own life, you can’t figure out how to create decent solos of your own.
Or… you would love to be confident enough to sit in with a great but unfamiliar blues band and instantly improvise heart stopping solos over songs that you are hearing for the first time.
The Purpose of the “Lead Guitar Secrets” DVD guitar lesson program is to teach you how to create your own hot guitar solos and to play any existing solos with just 10 minutes of practice per day.
What are some are the essential elements that make a great guitar lesson program?
1. A great instruction program will go beyond the limitations of just reading a book by offering clear audio and video demonstrations of each lesson.
2. The program’s author should ideally possess the following credentials:
- play well themselves
- have played in a band
- toured with a band
- recorded
- must be a gifted and preferably experienced, formally educated guitar teacher
About The Author Dan Denley:
Dan Denley fits the above definition of the ideal guitar instructor well. He has been a member of 10 bands and has played in some large venue performances. Dan is a competitive music scholar, has a college degree in music and is a guitar instructor. He is also the author of the highly rated and successful beginner through intermediate guitar lesson program called “Amazing Guitar Secrets” , a blues guitar program called “Blues Guitar Secrets” and a program called "Acoustic Guitar Secrets".
Dan has an easy to listen to voice coupled with a relaxed style of communicating. He wisely leaves in some playing mistakes while demonstrating the lessons. This is one of the reasons that makes Dan easy-to-relate-to and therefore effective in his teaching.
Who Will Benefit Most From This Program?
Although learning to play lead guitar does not require advanced playing ability it does help if you are comfortable with at least one of the movable major or minor scale patterns. However, the Lead Guitar Secrets course will walk you through all of the fundamental building blocks of playing lead guitar.
Is This Lead Guitar Course For Acoustic Or Electric Guitar Players?
Since lead guitarists use both acoustic and electric guitars to play solos, the short answer to this question is both. It is actually a helpful educational experience to play solos on both. If you do choose to use an acoustic guitar it helps if you have a cut-away section near the body of your guitar because some of the solos require access to the high notes way up on the neck.
Most of the fundamentals taught in Lead Guitar Secrets apply to both types of guitars but, to get the most out of this course you should eventually have access to an electric guitar. With many styles of music you just won’t experience the intended sound if you don’t use an electric. Dan Denley uses and electric guitar through out the entire course while demonstrating each lesson.
The Physical Parts:
Plastic DVD / CD Organizer
Progress Tracker
4 Lesson DVDs
1 Audio CD
1 CD-ROM
1 200 page spiral bound lesson book
1 Introduction Letter
1 Quick Start Guide
A Partial List of The Lessons:
DVD 1
Finger Strength Exercises
The Pentatonic Scale
F# Pentatonic Minor: movable pattern, 2nd through 5th position
Connecting Scales Patterns
3 & 4 Note Vertical Patterns
Horizontal Movement: 2 and 3 String Ascending Patterns
3 String Box Positions
DVD 2
Major Scales & Modes
Modal Practicing Techniques
50 Solo Guitar Licks
DVD 3
14 Solos to Learn of different styles and modalities
DVD4
Scale - Chord Relationships
Background
Intro To Major Scale Harmony: Laying The Foundation
Taking a Position
Inversion
Major or Minor?
How Standard Notation Relates To Tabs
About Chord Charts
Breaking The Code of Chord Harmony
Real Life Example: How This Stuff Works
The Negatives:
With some of the past guitar lesson programs Dan would sometimes refer to a musical term before he would define it and a few of the author’s explanations of terms were not crystal clear. Lead Guitar Secrets shows improvement and polish. While not perfect, this issue is not really a problem.
The Positives:
- The author: Dan Denley is experienced at putting together effective guitar instruction courses like “Amazing Guitar Secrets” and “Blues Guitar Secrets”.
- The author: Dan Denley is an expert, experienced guitarist and a trained educator.
- The author: has a relaxed, organized and easy-to-relate-to style of communicating.
- This course takes the mystery out of how to improvise solos on the guitar.
- This course is easy to follow and understand
- excellent use of video close ups to clarify fingering chords and scales.
- includes a Jam Track CD for developing essential skills for playing with a band.
- This course uses video, audio and the illustrated written word to appeal to all of the important senses when learning to play guitar. This is especially important if the student’s learning style requires more than reading a book alone can provide.
- Lead Guitar Secrets is primarily a video course with written support materials and not the other way around. I have found that it is less effective and more difficult if you must first read an instruction manual then find a video snippet on your computer that supports the book lesson. I like the much richer experience of watching, listening then emulating a live instructor demonstrating an entire lesson. It is much more effective to use the instruction book only as a means to clarify the video lesson. Lead Guitar Secrets got this part exactly right.
The Price Analysis:
Option One: is $197 USD, (as of this writing ), and includes the Lead Guitar Secrets Lesson Program as described above plus 12 issues of Dan Denley’s Online Video Newsletter.
Option Two: is $149 USD (as of this writing ), and includes the Lead Guitar Secrets Lesson Program as described above without the 12 issue’s of Dan Denley’s Online Video Newsletter.
Lead Guitar Secrets by Dan Denley contains the equivalent of 6 months to one years worth of guitar lessons if you were to space them out as if you were taking weakly lessons from a local guitar instructor. A local instructor typically will charge anywhere from $20 to $50 per weekly lesson. Your minimum cost, ( not including materials ), at only $20 per lesson for 6 months would be at least $520.
The choice comes down to:
- the Lead Guitar Secrets DVD Program at $149 to $197 or
- a local instructor at $520 to $1040.
Guarantee:
Lead Guitar Secrets comes with a 90 day, unconditional, money-back guarantee.
Free Sample Lessons:
Lead Guitar Secrets offers 6 “test drive before you buy” lessons sent by email. Generous online audio samples are also available of some of the solos you will learn as well as some of the exact video lesson found in the course. Click Here For Free Sample Lessons
Shipping:
Shipping is available to any country in the world.
The Bottom Line:
I have witnessed many guitar players that have a nack for emulating a few classic guitar solos. While that can be a lot of fun, it limits you to just a small part of the total joy of playing the guitar. Lead Guitar Secrets offers an open window into the world of understanding the building blocks that are at the root of every solo. With this powerful new information you will be able to figure out and play any solo, not just a few that you may have memorized. You will also be well on your way to improvising your own leads.
I found this course to be organized, thorough, easy to follow, lots of fun and priced exactly right. It earns my highest rating of 10 out of 10. I can, without hesitation, recommend this Lead Guitar lesson program for anyone that has a few basic guitar skills and a desire to master this beautiful instrument. If you are ready to be transformed from a guitar strummer into a lead guitarist then Lead Guitar Secrets is the program for you.
Click Here For More Information
Click Here For Free Sample Lessons
Click Here To Buy Lead Guitar Lessons
You have been dreaming about playing a smoking’ hot guitar solo from one of your favorite songs but just don’t have a clue where to begin.
Or… You have enough guitar skills to memorize a few impressive guitar solos from your favorite songs but, to save your own life, you can’t figure out how to create decent solos of your own.
Or… you would love to be confident enough to sit in with a great but unfamiliar blues band and instantly improvise heart stopping solos over songs that you are hearing for the first time.
The Purpose of the “Lead Guitar Secrets” DVD guitar lesson program is to teach you how to create your own hot guitar solos and to play any existing solos with just 10 minutes of practice per day.
What are some are the essential elements that make a great guitar lesson program?
1. A great instruction program will go beyond the limitations of just reading a book by offering clear audio and video demonstrations of each lesson.
2. The program’s author should ideally possess the following credentials:
- play well themselves
- have played in a band
- toured with a band
- recorded
- must be a gifted and preferably experienced, formally educated guitar teacher
About The Author Dan Denley:
Dan Denley fits the above definition of the ideal guitar instructor well. He has been a member of 10 bands and has played in some large venue performances. Dan is a competitive music scholar, has a college degree in music and is a guitar instructor. He is also the author of the highly rated and successful beginner through intermediate guitar lesson program called “Amazing Guitar Secrets” , a blues guitar program called “Blues Guitar Secrets” and a program called "Acoustic Guitar Secrets".
Dan has an easy to listen to voice coupled with a relaxed style of communicating. He wisely leaves in some playing mistakes while demonstrating the lessons. This is one of the reasons that makes Dan easy-to-relate-to and therefore effective in his teaching.
Who Will Benefit Most From This Program?
Although learning to play lead guitar does not require advanced playing ability it does help if you are comfortable with at least one of the movable major or minor scale patterns. However, the Lead Guitar Secrets course will walk you through all of the fundamental building blocks of playing lead guitar.
Is This Lead Guitar Course For Acoustic Or Electric Guitar Players?
Since lead guitarists use both acoustic and electric guitars to play solos, the short answer to this question is both. It is actually a helpful educational experience to play solos on both. If you do choose to use an acoustic guitar it helps if you have a cut-away section near the body of your guitar because some of the solos require access to the high notes way up on the neck.
Most of the fundamentals taught in Lead Guitar Secrets apply to both types of guitars but, to get the most out of this course you should eventually have access to an electric guitar. With many styles of music you just won’t experience the intended sound if you don’t use an electric. Dan Denley uses and electric guitar through out the entire course while demonstrating each lesson.
The Physical Parts:
Plastic DVD / CD Organizer
Progress Tracker
4 Lesson DVDs
1 Audio CD
1 CD-ROM
1 200 page spiral bound lesson book
1 Introduction Letter
1 Quick Start Guide
A Partial List of The Lessons:
DVD 1
Finger Strength Exercises
The Pentatonic Scale
F# Pentatonic Minor: movable pattern, 2nd through 5th position
Connecting Scales Patterns
3 & 4 Note Vertical Patterns
Horizontal Movement: 2 and 3 String Ascending Patterns
3 String Box Positions
DVD 2
Major Scales & Modes
Modal Practicing Techniques
50 Solo Guitar Licks
DVD 3
14 Solos to Learn of different styles and modalities
DVD4
Scale - Chord Relationships
Background
Intro To Major Scale Harmony: Laying The Foundation
Taking a Position
Inversion
Major or Minor?
How Standard Notation Relates To Tabs
About Chord Charts
Breaking The Code of Chord Harmony
Real Life Example: How This Stuff Works
The Negatives:
With some of the past guitar lesson programs Dan would sometimes refer to a musical term before he would define it and a few of the author’s explanations of terms were not crystal clear. Lead Guitar Secrets shows improvement and polish. While not perfect, this issue is not really a problem.
The Positives:
- The author: Dan Denley is experienced at putting together effective guitar instruction courses like “Amazing Guitar Secrets” and “Blues Guitar Secrets”.
- The author: Dan Denley is an expert, experienced guitarist and a trained educator.
- The author: has a relaxed, organized and easy-to-relate-to style of communicating.
- This course takes the mystery out of how to improvise solos on the guitar.
- This course is easy to follow and understand
- excellent use of video close ups to clarify fingering chords and scales.
- includes a Jam Track CD for developing essential skills for playing with a band.
- This course uses video, audio and the illustrated written word to appeal to all of the important senses when learning to play guitar. This is especially important if the student’s learning style requires more than reading a book alone can provide.
- Lead Guitar Secrets is primarily a video course with written support materials and not the other way around. I have found that it is less effective and more difficult if you must first read an instruction manual then find a video snippet on your computer that supports the book lesson. I like the much richer experience of watching, listening then emulating a live instructor demonstrating an entire lesson. It is much more effective to use the instruction book only as a means to clarify the video lesson. Lead Guitar Secrets got this part exactly right.
The Price Analysis:
Option One: is $197 USD, (as of this writing ), and includes the Lead Guitar Secrets Lesson Program as described above plus 12 issues of Dan Denley’s Online Video Newsletter.
Option Two: is $149 USD (as of this writing ), and includes the Lead Guitar Secrets Lesson Program as described above without the 12 issue’s of Dan Denley’s Online Video Newsletter.
Lead Guitar Secrets by Dan Denley contains the equivalent of 6 months to one years worth of guitar lessons if you were to space them out as if you were taking weakly lessons from a local guitar instructor. A local instructor typically will charge anywhere from $20 to $50 per weekly lesson. Your minimum cost, ( not including materials ), at only $20 per lesson for 6 months would be at least $520.
The choice comes down to:
- the Lead Guitar Secrets DVD Program at $149 to $197 or
- a local instructor at $520 to $1040.
Guarantee:
Lead Guitar Secrets comes with a 90 day, unconditional, money-back guarantee.
Free Sample Lessons:
Lead Guitar Secrets offers 6 “test drive before you buy” lessons sent by email. Generous online audio samples are also available of some of the solos you will learn as well as some of the exact video lesson found in the course. Click Here For Free Sample Lessons
Shipping:
Shipping is available to any country in the world.
The Bottom Line:
I have witnessed many guitar players that have a nack for emulating a few classic guitar solos. While that can be a lot of fun, it limits you to just a small part of the total joy of playing the guitar. Lead Guitar Secrets offers an open window into the world of understanding the building blocks that are at the root of every solo. With this powerful new information you will be able to figure out and play any solo, not just a few that you may have memorized. You will also be well on your way to improvising your own leads.
I found this course to be organized, thorough, easy to follow, lots of fun and priced exactly right. It earns my highest rating of 10 out of 10. I can, without hesitation, recommend this Lead Guitar lesson program for anyone that has a few basic guitar skills and a desire to master this beautiful instrument. If you are ready to be transformed from a guitar strummer into a lead guitarist then Lead Guitar Secrets is the program for you.
Click Here For More Information
Click Here For Free Sample Lessons
Click Here To Buy Lead Guitar Lessons
Saturday, September 22, 2007
How To Learn Guitar Faster With Less Practice
If you really want to learn to play guitar well you must do one simple thing before anything else. You must learn how learning takes place between your muscles and brain. If you understand the process that your brain must go through to train your muscles your practice sessions will produce predictably effective results.
You have probably heard the term muscle memory. This is the process of your brain learning and storing a set of precise instructions for each group of muscles needed for every small task you want your fingers to perform on the guitar. When muscle memory is solidly established it becomes a naturally effortless and an almost unconscious act to play the guitar well.
These tasks need to be practiced at speeds that are slow enough so that you can consistently perform them perfectly. If you practice the guitar at a tempo that produces lots of mistakes you end up teaching your muscles how to play the exercise with the mistakes included. Unfortunately muscles cannot distinguish between playing with mistakes and playing without them.
Here are 12 tips for having practice sessions that will support the development of good muscle memory:
1. Prepare your whole body for the practice session. Practice while relaxed. Just like an airplane pilot checks over the plane prior to take off you should check your body for any tension, stiffness, tightness, pain or any discomfort. Tight muscles can become tighter during practice which can seriously limit the full range of motion needed to master the guitar. Even tension in the shoulders can travel to the arms and then eventually to the fingers. Stretch and warm your entire body before playing in order to stay loose. Begin practicing with slow, easy exercises to prepare your hands for more demanding new material.
2. Practice in a quiet, comfortable place where you are unlikely to be disturbed.
3. Commit to a specific time each day for practice. Begin each day with a firm commitment to a practice plan that includes the specific details of when, where and what to play.
4. Keep your practice sessions short, frequent and very specific. It is more effective to practice 20 minutes everyday than to practice two or three hours once a week.
5. Always practice with a metronome. Let me repeat that. Always practice with a metronome. It is surprising how often even good guitarists break this rule. Training yourself to play at a consistent tempo will make your music sound professional. This is valuable whether you plan to play just for friends at a party or in a stadium full of screaming fans.
6. Tune the guitar before each practice.
7. Determine your optimum practice speeds. For each part of a scale, exercise or song find the fastest metronome speed that you can play without making mistakes. Practice it for a day at 25% to 30% of that maximum tempo. Follow this with a day at 50% of maximum then another day at 75%. On day four practice at your old maximum speed. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you have a new, faster maximum speed. Be forewarned, however, that this routine might seem ridiculously slow but, hang in there because it really will pay off.
8. Do not try to learn too many different things at each practice session. Practice only small sections of an exercise or song at a time. Working on an entire new song, all in one setting, makes it more difficult for your brain to cement solid muscle memories. Just like a newborn baby can’t handle an entire meal of solid food we need to practice only a few, small musical spoonfuls at a time.
9. Work on the problem parts not just what you already know. This may sound extremely obvious but there is a tendency for new guitarists to play the easy parts over and over while continuing to stumble over the problem spots.
10. Spend the first ten minutes warming up, then split the remaining time equally between new exercises and new songs.
11. Set aside some time to just goof around with the guitar. Make sure to inject a healthy dose of fun in each practice session. If you have been working on blues scales then why not put on some jam tracks or even your favorite blues CD and try to improvise a solo. Select a favorite song to work on at the end of each practice session.
12. If you plan to perform in front of people ... Perfect your songs in private then practice playing in front of sympathetic friends and family members. Create a practice environment that is as close to the conditions of your upcoming performance as possible. If you will perform standing up then practice that way. Tell your friendly practice audiences to feel free to talk and laugh it up during your practice. This will help you learn to become comfortable in a distracting concert environment. Consider recording your practice sessions with a simple home video camera on a tripod.
Opening night jitters can throw off your game no matter how well you know the material. If you have repeatedly practiced playing in simulated concert environments then the real deal can be a breeze.
The bottom line: in order to play well you must acknowledge how your body is programmed to learn then design practice sessions that are complimentary.
Recommended Guitar Lesson Program:
Learn & Master Guitar has earned CompareGuitarLessons.com's highest possible rating for beginner through intermediate players: Rated 10 out of 10.
This is a complete 15 DVD guitar lessons course for beginners through advanced intermediate players. The skills and styles covered go way beyond what we can cover in our free lessons; Acoustic Guitar, Rock Guitar, Classic Finger Style, Blues Guitar, Jazz Guitar and Country. This well produced program is authored by Steve Krenz, a 20+ year veteran guitar instructor, former player for "The Fifth Dimension" and current recording artist in Nashville, Tennessee, USA...
Click Here For My Detailed Video Review of Learn & Master Guitar.
OR Go To The Learn and Master Guitar Company Site For More Information or to Buy.
You have probably heard the term muscle memory. This is the process of your brain learning and storing a set of precise instructions for each group of muscles needed for every small task you want your fingers to perform on the guitar. When muscle memory is solidly established it becomes a naturally effortless and an almost unconscious act to play the guitar well.
These tasks need to be practiced at speeds that are slow enough so that you can consistently perform them perfectly. If you practice the guitar at a tempo that produces lots of mistakes you end up teaching your muscles how to play the exercise with the mistakes included. Unfortunately muscles cannot distinguish between playing with mistakes and playing without them.
Here are 12 tips for having practice sessions that will support the development of good muscle memory:
1. Prepare your whole body for the practice session. Practice while relaxed. Just like an airplane pilot checks over the plane prior to take off you should check your body for any tension, stiffness, tightness, pain or any discomfort. Tight muscles can become tighter during practice which can seriously limit the full range of motion needed to master the guitar. Even tension in the shoulders can travel to the arms and then eventually to the fingers. Stretch and warm your entire body before playing in order to stay loose. Begin practicing with slow, easy exercises to prepare your hands for more demanding new material.
2. Practice in a quiet, comfortable place where you are unlikely to be disturbed.
3. Commit to a specific time each day for practice. Begin each day with a firm commitment to a practice plan that includes the specific details of when, where and what to play.
4. Keep your practice sessions short, frequent and very specific. It is more effective to practice 20 minutes everyday than to practice two or three hours once a week.
5. Always practice with a metronome. Let me repeat that. Always practice with a metronome. It is surprising how often even good guitarists break this rule. Training yourself to play at a consistent tempo will make your music sound professional. This is valuable whether you plan to play just for friends at a party or in a stadium full of screaming fans.
6. Tune the guitar before each practice.
7. Determine your optimum practice speeds. For each part of a scale, exercise or song find the fastest metronome speed that you can play without making mistakes. Practice it for a day at 25% to 30% of that maximum tempo. Follow this with a day at 50% of maximum then another day at 75%. On day four practice at your old maximum speed. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that you have a new, faster maximum speed. Be forewarned, however, that this routine might seem ridiculously slow but, hang in there because it really will pay off.
8. Do not try to learn too many different things at each practice session. Practice only small sections of an exercise or song at a time. Working on an entire new song, all in one setting, makes it more difficult for your brain to cement solid muscle memories. Just like a newborn baby can’t handle an entire meal of solid food we need to practice only a few, small musical spoonfuls at a time.
9. Work on the problem parts not just what you already know. This may sound extremely obvious but there is a tendency for new guitarists to play the easy parts over and over while continuing to stumble over the problem spots.
10. Spend the first ten minutes warming up, then split the remaining time equally between new exercises and new songs.
11. Set aside some time to just goof around with the guitar. Make sure to inject a healthy dose of fun in each practice session. If you have been working on blues scales then why not put on some jam tracks or even your favorite blues CD and try to improvise a solo. Select a favorite song to work on at the end of each practice session.
12. If you plan to perform in front of people ... Perfect your songs in private then practice playing in front of sympathetic friends and family members. Create a practice environment that is as close to the conditions of your upcoming performance as possible. If you will perform standing up then practice that way. Tell your friendly practice audiences to feel free to talk and laugh it up during your practice. This will help you learn to become comfortable in a distracting concert environment. Consider recording your practice sessions with a simple home video camera on a tripod.
Opening night jitters can throw off your game no matter how well you know the material. If you have repeatedly practiced playing in simulated concert environments then the real deal can be a breeze.
The bottom line: in order to play well you must acknowledge how your body is programmed to learn then design practice sessions that are complimentary.
Recommended Guitar Lesson Program:
Learn & Master Guitar has earned CompareGuitarLessons.com's highest possible rating for beginner through intermediate players: Rated 10 out of 10.
This is a complete 15 DVD guitar lessons course for beginners through advanced intermediate players. The skills and styles covered go way beyond what we can cover in our free lessons; Acoustic Guitar, Rock Guitar, Classic Finger Style, Blues Guitar, Jazz Guitar and Country. This well produced program is authored by Steve Krenz, a 20+ year veteran guitar instructor, former player for "The Fifth Dimension" and current recording artist in Nashville, Tennessee, USA...
Click Here For My Detailed Video Review of Learn & Master Guitar.
OR Go To The Learn and Master Guitar Company Site For More Information or to Buy.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
10 Tips For Selecting A Guitar Lesson Program
When I began guitar lessons over forty years ago there were few choices for learning to play the guitar. You either bought a book and taught yourself or you called the local music store to set up lessons with a randomly selected live teacher.
I was only eight years old when I met my first guitar instructor and I remember it like it was yesterday. He was a part time lounge guitarist that always smelled like cigarette smoke and definitely didn’t enjoy teaching kids. He was impatient, grouchy and didn’t hesitate to yell at me when I nervously chewed on my guitar pick. I didn’t understand him, I didn’t enjoy the lessons and soon wanted to quit. Fortunately my mother understood the problem and talked me into continuing with a different teacher.
I was luckier with my second teacher, Miss Mosier. She was a twenty-something hippy that loved kids as much as she loved to teach. I actually began to look forward to my lessons. When she introduced a little finger picking exercise that lead to playing an old Bluegrass song called Buck Dancers Choice, I was hooked. Finally, I was actually learning to play guitar and having fun!
Today, due to inexpensive video technology, there are many options that take the guess work out of learning to play guitar. Now it is possible to bring world class instructors into your home to teach guitar for less money and often in less time then it takes to learn from a randomly selected local instructor.
Here are 10 tips for selecting a guitar lesson program:
1. The Medium: find a dvd based or online guitar lesson program that offers both video and audio lessons with a book as a reference guide. This combination should work well whether your primary learning style is reading, listening, watching or a combination of all three.
2. Good Production Values: the video lessons should be thoughtfully organized. There should be lots of close ups of both of the instructors hands as they demonstrate each lesson. The audio needs to be clear so that each note and chord can be distinctly heard.
3. Skill Level: If you are a rank beginner make sure that the guitar lesson program states that it is geared for beginners. A beginning guitar program should teach the parts of the guitar, re-stringing and tuning as well as the fundamentals of scales, chords, keys, reading tabs and playing songs. If you are interested in a specialized program like Blues Guitar Lessons check to see what level of skills are required before you begin.
4. The Instructor: ideally should have experience as recording studio musician as well as touring with a band. A college degree in education and lots of hands-on teaching experience are equally important.
5. Music Theory Instruction: should be peppered through out the guitar course. A basic understanding of how scales, keys and chords work can free you from the limitations of just memorizing songs. This can provide the musical tools necessary for writing songs and improvising solos over just about any kind of music.
6. Guided Practice Sessions: this means that the video instructor first teaches you a system for practicing the guitar then plays along with you to help establish good habits. Much enjoyment and progress can be lost due to poor practice routines. In fact, I would be willing to bet that a high percentage of the people that quit do so because of a poor understanding of good practice fundamentals. Only one guitar lesson course that I am aware of gets this exactly right.
7. Jam Tracks: these are usually short recorded songs or rhythm tracks that provide a way for a guitar student to practice playing with a band. Jam Tracks can be invaluable for learning to play rhythm guitar parts in synch with other musicians or while improvising solos.
8. Individual Pacing: a guitar lesson program should provide an environment where the student can learn at a pace that is ideal for their individual learning style.
9. Fun: that’s exactly right, a guitar lesson program should be fun. If it isn’t fun early in the program it will be hard to stay motivated long enough to develop even basic guitar skills.
10. Price: expect to pay about $130 to $200 for a top-notch, dvd based, guitar lesson program that is aimed at rank beginners through intermediate acoustic and electric guitar students. There are many lesson programs available in the $30 to $60 range that have some of the important benefits mentioned above but I have found most of them to be somewhat incomplete and inconvenient. For detailed guitar lesson reviews go to a website like CompareGuitarLessons.com.
While a great, organized, video guitar lesson program taught by a top instructor can be critical to learning to play the guitar there are also a few other essentials:
- Start out with the highest quality guitar you can afford. Too often cheap beginner guitars won’t stay in tune, are hard to play and just don’t sound very good. A guitar that is priced in the $200 to $500 range will be much more satisfying to play. Why make learning guitar harder than necessary?
- Expect that playing the guitar will feel awkward at first but that slowly it will become easier and smoother. Don’t quit. Practice frequently in short bursts of 10 to 20 minutes. When your hands are sore or you start to become frustrated take a break.
- Learn how to practice like a professional: this is a significant weakness of many, if not most, guitar lesson programs. Rarely is there enough emphasis on learning how to practice effectively. A good practice routine should have a definite structure and purpose with fun activities at the end as a motivator. Practice sessions that are generally short, frequent and fun usually stimulate rapid learning. For more information on this topic read an article called “Learn To Play Guitar Twice As Fast In Only Half The Time” at CompareGuitarLessons.com.
Recommended Guitar Lesson Program:
Learn & Master Guitar has earned CompareGuitarLessons.com's highest possible rating for beginner through intermediate players:
Rated 10 out of 10.
This is a complete 15 DVD guitar lessons course for beginners through advanced intermediate players. The skills and styles covered go way beyond what we can cover in our free lessons; Acoustic Guitar, Rock Guitar, Classic Finger Style, Blues Guitar, Jazz Guitar and Country.
This well produced program is authored by Steve Krenz, a 20+ year veteran guitar instructor, former player for "The Fifth Dimension" and current recording artist in Nashville, Tennessee, USA...
Click Here For My Video Review of Learn & Master Guitar.
OR... Go To The Learn & Master Guitar Company Site For More Information or to Buy.
When I began guitar lessons over forty years ago there were few choices for learning to play the guitar. You either bought a book and taught yourself or you called the local music store to set up lessons with a randomly selected live teacher.
I was only eight years old when I met my first guitar instructor and I remember it like it was yesterday. He was a part time lounge guitarist that always smelled like cigarette smoke and definitely didn’t enjoy teaching kids. He was impatient, grouchy and didn’t hesitate to yell at me when I nervously chewed on my guitar pick. I didn’t understand him, I didn’t enjoy the lessons and soon wanted to quit. Fortunately my mother understood the problem and talked me into continuing with a different teacher.
I was luckier with my second teacher, Miss Mosier. She was a twenty-something hippy that loved kids as much as she loved to teach. I actually began to look forward to my lessons. When she introduced a little finger picking exercise that lead to playing an old Bluegrass song called Buck Dancers Choice, I was hooked. Finally, I was actually learning to play guitar and having fun!
Today, due to inexpensive video technology, there are many options that take the guess work out of learning to play guitar. Now it is possible to bring world class instructors into your home to teach guitar for less money and often in less time then it takes to learn from a randomly selected local instructor.
Here are 10 tips for selecting a guitar lesson program:
1. The Medium: find a dvd based or online guitar lesson program that offers both video and audio lessons with a book as a reference guide. This combination should work well whether your primary learning style is reading, listening, watching or a combination of all three.
2. Good Production Values: the video lessons should be thoughtfully organized. There should be lots of close ups of both of the instructors hands as they demonstrate each lesson. The audio needs to be clear so that each note and chord can be distinctly heard.
3. Skill Level: If you are a rank beginner make sure that the guitar lesson program states that it is geared for beginners. A beginning guitar program should teach the parts of the guitar, re-stringing and tuning as well as the fundamentals of scales, chords, keys, reading tabs and playing songs. If you are interested in a specialized program like Blues Guitar Lessons check to see what level of skills are required before you begin.
4. The Instructor: ideally should have experience as recording studio musician as well as touring with a band. A college degree in education and lots of hands-on teaching experience are equally important.
5. Music Theory Instruction: should be peppered through out the guitar course. A basic understanding of how scales, keys and chords work can free you from the limitations of just memorizing songs. This can provide the musical tools necessary for writing songs and improvising solos over just about any kind of music.
6. Guided Practice Sessions: this means that the video instructor first teaches you a system for practicing the guitar then plays along with you to help establish good habits. Much enjoyment and progress can be lost due to poor practice routines. In fact, I would be willing to bet that a high percentage of the people that quit do so because of a poor understanding of good practice fundamentals. Only one guitar lesson course that I am aware of gets this exactly right.
7. Jam Tracks: these are usually short recorded songs or rhythm tracks that provide a way for a guitar student to practice playing with a band. Jam Tracks can be invaluable for learning to play rhythm guitar parts in synch with other musicians or while improvising solos.
8. Individual Pacing: a guitar lesson program should provide an environment where the student can learn at a pace that is ideal for their individual learning style.
9. Fun: that’s exactly right, a guitar lesson program should be fun. If it isn’t fun early in the program it will be hard to stay motivated long enough to develop even basic guitar skills.
10. Price: expect to pay about $130 to $200 for a top-notch, dvd based, guitar lesson program that is aimed at rank beginners through intermediate acoustic and electric guitar students. There are many lesson programs available in the $30 to $60 range that have some of the important benefits mentioned above but I have found most of them to be somewhat incomplete and inconvenient. For detailed guitar lesson reviews go to a website like CompareGuitarLessons.com.
While a great, organized, video guitar lesson program taught by a top instructor can be critical to learning to play the guitar there are also a few other essentials:
- Start out with the highest quality guitar you can afford. Too often cheap beginner guitars won’t stay in tune, are hard to play and just don’t sound very good. A guitar that is priced in the $200 to $500 range will be much more satisfying to play. Why make learning guitar harder than necessary?
- Expect that playing the guitar will feel awkward at first but that slowly it will become easier and smoother. Don’t quit. Practice frequently in short bursts of 10 to 20 minutes. When your hands are sore or you start to become frustrated take a break.
- Learn how to practice like a professional: this is a significant weakness of many, if not most, guitar lesson programs. Rarely is there enough emphasis on learning how to practice effectively. A good practice routine should have a definite structure and purpose with fun activities at the end as a motivator. Practice sessions that are generally short, frequent and fun usually stimulate rapid learning. For more information on this topic read an article called “Learn To Play Guitar Twice As Fast In Only Half The Time” at CompareGuitarLessons.com.
Recommended Guitar Lesson Program:
Learn & Master Guitar has earned CompareGuitarLessons.com's highest possible rating for beginner through intermediate players:
Rated 10 out of 10.
This is a complete 15 DVD guitar lessons course for beginners through advanced intermediate players. The skills and styles covered go way beyond what we can cover in our free lessons; Acoustic Guitar, Rock Guitar, Classic Finger Style, Blues Guitar, Jazz Guitar and Country.
This well produced program is authored by Steve Krenz, a 20+ year veteran guitar instructor, former player for "The Fifth Dimension" and current recording artist in Nashville, Tennessee, USA...
Click Here For My Video Review of Learn & Master Guitar.
OR... Go To The Learn & Master Guitar Company Site For More Information or to Buy.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
REVIEW: Blues Guitar Secrets
Question: What do Muddy Waters, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and John Mayer share in common? 
Answer: besides having the distinction of being just a few of the many notable guitarists from the last 60 plus years, they also came from a Blues background or at least had a strong appreciation for the beauty of this mode of music.
Question: what do the musical styles of modern country, rock, metal and pop music share in common?
Answer: they represent some of the many musical genres that are often influenced by the Blues.
Blues Guitar Secrets
Besides the sheer fun of learning to play Blues Guitar it is also a highly recommended way to increase the musical tools that a student can use to write, accompany or solo with many types of music. Learning Blues Guitar can be a smart, educational progression for any guitar student with at least some proficiency with a few basic scales and barre chords.
The Purpose of the Blues Guitar Secrets DVD guitar lesson program is to quickly teach the student:
Is Blues Guitar Secrets For Acoustic Or Electric Guitar Players?
Both. Even though the author begins the course explaining the interesting details of his electric guitar set up, he demonstrates the lessons using a mix of both electric and acoustic guitars. One of the lesson sections is entitled “Acoustic Guitar Blues Riffs”.
The Contents of Blues Guitar Secrets:
(1) Jam Tracks* CD ( included in the Gold Edition only )
(1) Book - DVD Companion: Here’s All The Notation, Tab and Chord Symbols That’ll Have You Playing Like A Blues Master In No Time!”
(1) Book - “Mastering The Pentatonic and Blues Scales: Discover the Secrets To Creating Your Own Solos and Killer Blues Riffs”
(1) Book - Complete Step By Step Guide To The Jam Tracks* CD! - Includes tabs, chord symbols, fretboard diagrams and a complete theoretical analysis of each Jam Track* ( included in the Gold Edition only ).
(1) Progress Tracker
(1) Intro Letter
(1) Step by Step Guide: “How To Use Your Blues Guitar Secrets Course”
A Partial List of The Lessons:
Intro To Blues Guitar
The Pentatonic Minor Movable Scale Patterns in 5 Positions
The Blues Pentatonic Movable Scale patterns
Blues Chord Progressions
Using Minor 7th, Dominant 7th, VI Major 7th, Dominant 9th and Minor 9th chords and scales as well as combination forms.
12-Bar Blues: Open Position Chords
Acoustical Guitar Blues Riffs
Classic Blues Solo Licks
Blues Runs
Solo Practicing Techniques
Adding Bends
Strumming Techniques
Using Syncopation
Bonus Videos
The Positives:
The Bottom Line:
I can, without hesitation, recommend Blues Guitar Secrets for anyone that has basic guitar skills and a desire to learn the essential Blues Guitar basics including how to improvise solos. The course is organized, logical and priced right.
For More Information Or To Purchase Blues Guitar Secrets Click Here
About The Reviewer: John Mackinnon started taking guitar lessons over 40 years ago and still enjoys the learning process. His website, http://www.CompareGuitarLessons.com is dedicated to reviewing dvd based and online guitar lesson programs, offers guitar related articles, guitar resource links and a free newsletter.
Answer: besides having the distinction of being just a few of the many notable guitarists from the last 60 plus years, they also came from a Blues background or at least had a strong appreciation for the beauty of this mode of music.
Question: what do the musical styles of modern country, rock, metal and pop music share in common?
Answer: they represent some of the many musical genres that are often influenced by the Blues.
Blues Guitar Secrets
Besides the sheer fun of learning to play Blues Guitar it is also a highly recommended way to increase the musical tools that a student can use to write, accompany or solo with many types of music. Learning Blues Guitar can be a smart, educational progression for any guitar student with at least some proficiency with a few basic scales and barre chords.
The Purpose of the Blues Guitar Secrets DVD guitar lesson program is to quickly teach the student:
- 12-bar blues in multiple variations
- blues chords and progressions
- blues scales in all positions and keys
- improvising Blues Guitar Solos
What makes a great guitar lesson program?
1. A great instruction program will go beyond the limitations of just reading a book by offering clear audio and video demonstrations of each lesson.
2. The program’s author should ideally possess the following credentials:
- play well themselves
- have played in a band
- toured with a band
- recorded
- must be a gifted and preferably experienced, formally educated guitar teacher.
About The Author Dan Denley:
Dan has an easy to listen to voice coupled with a relaxed style of communicating. He wisely leaves in some playing mistakes while demonstrating the lessons. This is one of the reasons that makes Dan easy-to-relate-to and therefore effective in his teaching.
Who Will Benefit Most From This Guitar Lesson Program?:
Although learning to play basic blues guitar does not require advanced playing ability it does help if you are comfortable with at least one of the movable major or minor scale patterns and some barre chords. However, the Blues Guitar Secrets course will walk you through the Pentatonic and Blues Scales that are the fundamental building blocks of Blues music.
Is Blues Guitar Secrets For Acoustic Or Electric Guitar Players?
Both. Even though the author begins the course explaining the interesting details of his electric guitar set up, he demonstrates the lessons using a mix of both electric and acoustic guitars. One of the lesson sections is entitled “Acoustic Guitar Blues Riffs”.
The Contents of Blues Guitar Secrets:
* Jam Tracks are comprised of short blues songs that create an opportunity to practice rhythm parts or improvising solos while playing with a recorded back up band.
A Partial List of The Lessons:
Intro To Blues Guitar
The Negatives:
It would be nice if this course came with a protective case or organizer to keep all of the materials together. None of these issues are significant but rather are just minor annoyances.
The Positives:
- The author: Dan Denley is experienced at putting together effective guitar instruction courses like “Amazing Guitar Secrets”.
- The author: Dan Denley is an expert, experienced guitarist and a trained educator.
- The author: has a relaxed, organized and easy-to-relate-to style of communicating.
- This course takes the mystery out of how to improvise solos on the guitar.
- This course is easy to follow and understand
- Excellent use of close ups to clarify fingering chords and scales.
- Includes a Jam Track CD for developing essential skills for playing with a band.
- This course uses video, audio and the illustrated written word to appeal to all of the important senses when learning to play guitar. This is especially important if the student’s learning style requires more than reading a book alone can provide.
- This course is primarily a video course with written support materials and not the other way around. I have found that it is less effective and more difficult if you must first read an instruction manual then find a video snippet on your computer that supports the book lesson. I like the much richer experience of watching, listening then emulating a live instructor demonstrating an entire lesson. It is much more effective to use the instruction book only as a means to clarify the video lesson. Blues Guitar Secrets got this part exactly right.
The Price Analysis:
- The Standard Edition is $127 USD, (as of this writing ), and includes all of the items mentioned above in the “Contents” section without the Jam Track CD or Book.
- The Gold Edition is $159 USD (as of this writing ), and includes all of the items mentioned above in the “Contents” section including the Jam Track CD and Book.
Blues Guitar Secrets by Dan Denley contains the equivalent of 6 months to one years worth of guitar lessons if you were to space them out as if you were taking lessons from a local guitar instructor. A local instructor typically will charge anywhere from $20 to $50 per weekly lesson. Your minimum cost, ( not including materials ), at only $20 per lesson for 6 months would be at least $520.
The choice comes down to:
- the Blues Guitar Secrets DVD Program at $127 to $159 or
- a local instructor at $520 to $1040.
Guarantee:
Blues Guitar Secrets comes with a 90 day, unconditional, money-back guarantee.
The Bottom Line:
I can, without hesitation, recommend Blues Guitar Secrets for anyone that has basic guitar skills and a desire to learn the essential Blues Guitar basics including how to improvise solos. The course is organized, logical and priced right.
For More Information Or To Purchase Blues Guitar Secrets Click Here
About The Reviewer: John Mackinnon started taking guitar lessons over 40 years ago and still enjoys the learning process. His website, http://www.CompareGuitarLessons.com is dedicated to reviewing dvd based and online guitar lesson programs, offers guitar related articles, guitar resource links and a free newsletter.
Review: Learn And Master Guitar by Steve Krenz
"Learn & Master Guitar is serious guitar training. It is by far the world's most complete video instruction course for the guitar... it is the only instructional package you'll ever need for total mastery of the guitar. All you provide is the practice! "
About The Author: Steve Krenz, according to the Learn & Master Guitar web site, has a degree in music and has played professionally with a broad range of bands from symphony orchestras to the well known “Fifth Dimension”. Steve is currently an active guitarist playing and recording in Nashville, Tennessee. Besides having taught thousands of lessons to students of all ages and skill levels he has held guitar playing and music workshops all over the world.
I found Steve to be soft spoken and down to earth with out being boring. His matter-of-fact style of teaching made me feel like I could really succeed. His teaching was logical and thorough while moving along at a good pace. He cleverly offers short , fun and impressively inspiring performances as transitions between many lessons.
The Package: Includes 10 well produced DVDs that include 20 learning sessions, a 108 page companion book that follows the contents of each DVD and five Jam Along audio CDs that contain a full band playing all of the songs offered in the lessons. You can play along with the Guitar part or turn down the guitar by reducing the left stereo channel. The Jam along CDs were definitely the most fun of the entire course… a nice payoff to all the hard work. The package includes a well organized, convenient plastic case that completely encloses the DVDs, the audio CDs, and the work book.
The Lessons: Each Lesson is divided into three main parts; a play along video lesson demonstrated by Steve Krenz followed a video tips section that offers helpful information on useful auxiliary equipment, guitar maintenance and protection as well as how to pick out a guitar. The final section of each lesson is called the Workshop. This is a guided, play along practice session. I found the Workshops to be an ingenious way to learn exactly how to practice. This built in structure prevents wasting time. It’s almost like having your teacher helping you at every practice session without the additional cost. As far as I am aware, this is the only guitar lesson system with "guided practice sessions".
The Lesson Topics:
Starting Off Right
Reading Music
Notes on the 1st and 2nd Strings
Notes on the 3rd and 4th Strings
Notes on the 5th and 6th Strings
Basic Open Chords and Roll
Minor 7th Suspended Chords
Barre Chords on the 6th String
Barre Chords on the 5th String
The Secret to Great Strumming
Fingerstyle Guitar
Pentatonic Scales
Advanced Chords
Playing the Blues
Giving Your Playing Some Style
Electric Guitars - The Heart of Rock
Advanced Strumming
Going Beyond the 1st Position
Jazz
Soloing
All the Chords You Need to Know
Support: A members only website includes a discussion board for posting questions. Other resources, such as additional exercises are also available.
Children: The Learn & Master Guitar course is definitely appropriate for most children to learn independently from about 8 years old and over. Children under 8 years old may need some initial supervision at first in order to establish good habits and a good practice routine. They need lots of encouragement in the beginning which is often a time of hard work and the least fun. Once they get over the hump of learning to play a few notes and chords, the fun will follow. The author, Steve Krenz, states that it is possible to learn a few simple songs in just a few weeks. I found this to be a reasonable claim.
Beginners: This course is nearly perfect. It begins with the assumption that the student knows almost nothing about the guitar. First the parts of the guitar are named followed by a quick but smooth transition to the first two guitar strings and two chords. Simple songs are soon introduced to break up the tedious work of playing notes and chords smoothly. I found that I actually progressed much faster with the video lessons than when I had a conventional live teacher. The play along Workshop practice sessions are nicely designed to teach efficient and effective practice habits.
Intermediate Players: As an intermediate player I found new ( to me), material in about the 5th CD. I found that although I knew most of the beginner lessons I was glad they were there as a refresher. The early lessons are a good reference.
Advanced Players: Someone that has played many styles of music over a long period may have to travel quite a ways into this course before finding something new. Probably the biggest advantage to an advanced player is to pick up knowledge about guitar styles that you may not have tried yet. This course is also a good resource for review. However the $200-$250 price tag is not likely to bring nearly as much value to a seasoned pro as a beginner or intermediate player. A less expensive and more targeted “internet only” course would save a lot of money and might offer more in-depth coverage of an individual guitar style, ( Jazz, Funk, Blues etc. ).
Guitar Teachers: I believe Learn & Master Guitar would give a student a distinct advantage maximizing practice time between your live sessions. The video workshop sections of each lesson would teach efficient practice skills because each practice session is performed in unison with the video teacher. I can see this cutting off bad habits before they have a chance to become ingrained. This could should move students along much faster than if they are left to their own devices between Live lessons. Better practice time should help the student progress faster.
Minor Negatives: …and I do mean minor. The book doesn’t lay flat. A wire binding would solve this problem. The special style sections for Jazz, Blues, Funk and Country Chicken Picken were well done but too short. I really enjoyed these style sections and was able to pick up a few fun beginning skills. I was left feeling hungry for much more. Because this is a general guitar course that covers a very broad spectrum it is not reasonable to expect every thing under the sun to be covered in exhaustive detail.
Money Back Guarantee: If you are not satisfied with it for any reason, simply return it within sixty days for a full refund of the purchase price.
Payment Options: 1, 2 or 4 payment options
The Bottom Line:
Learn & Master Guitar easily earns my highest rating of 10 out of 10 points. It is one of the best general guitar courses I have ever seen. It has been designed to suit many different learning styles and is the only Guitar Lesson Program with "Guided Practice Sessions". It involves no set up. Just grab your guitar, pop in the first DVD and everything is on autopilot. It's simple, fun and jammed with tons of lessons, songs and tips..... but, best of all it really works.
For more information or to purchase Learn and Master Guitar click here.
About The Author: Steve Krenz, according to the Learn & Master Guitar web site, has a degree in music and has played professionally with a broad range of bands from symphony orchestras to the well known “Fifth Dimension”. Steve is currently an active guitarist playing and recording in Nashville, Tennessee. Besides having taught thousands of lessons to students of all ages and skill levels he has held guitar playing and music workshops all over the world.
I found Steve to be soft spoken and down to earth with out being boring. His matter-of-fact style of teaching made me feel like I could really succeed. His teaching was logical and thorough while moving along at a good pace. He cleverly offers short , fun and impressively inspiring performances as transitions between many lessons.
The Package: Includes 10 well produced DVDs that include 20 learning sessions, a 108 page companion book that follows the contents of each DVD and five Jam Along audio CDs that contain a full band playing all of the songs offered in the lessons. You can play along with the Guitar part or turn down the guitar by reducing the left stereo channel. The Jam along CDs were definitely the most fun of the entire course… a nice payoff to all the hard work. The package includes a well organized, convenient plastic case that completely encloses the DVDs, the audio CDs, and the work book.
The Lessons: Each Lesson is divided into three main parts; a play along video lesson demonstrated by Steve Krenz followed a video tips section that offers helpful information on useful auxiliary equipment, guitar maintenance and protection as well as how to pick out a guitar. The final section of each lesson is called the Workshop. This is a guided, play along practice session. I found the Workshops to be an ingenious way to learn exactly how to practice. This built in structure prevents wasting time. It’s almost like having your teacher helping you at every practice session without the additional cost. As far as I am aware, this is the only guitar lesson system with "guided practice sessions".
The Lesson Topics:
Starting Off Right
Reading Music
Notes on the 1st and 2nd Strings
Notes on the 3rd and 4th Strings
Notes on the 5th and 6th Strings
Basic Open Chords and Roll
Minor 7th Suspended Chords
Barre Chords on the 6th String
Barre Chords on the 5th String
The Secret to Great Strumming
Fingerstyle Guitar
Pentatonic Scales
Advanced Chords
Playing the Blues
Giving Your Playing Some Style
Electric Guitars - The Heart of Rock
Advanced Strumming
Going Beyond the 1st Position
Jazz
Soloing
All the Chords You Need to Know
Support: A members only website includes a discussion board for posting questions. Other resources, such as additional exercises are also available.
Children: The Learn & Master Guitar course is definitely appropriate for most children to learn independently from about 8 years old and over. Children under 8 years old may need some initial supervision at first in order to establish good habits and a good practice routine. They need lots of encouragement in the beginning which is often a time of hard work and the least fun. Once they get over the hump of learning to play a few notes and chords, the fun will follow. The author, Steve Krenz, states that it is possible to learn a few simple songs in just a few weeks. I found this to be a reasonable claim.
Beginners: This course is nearly perfect. It begins with the assumption that the student knows almost nothing about the guitar. First the parts of the guitar are named followed by a quick but smooth transition to the first two guitar strings and two chords. Simple songs are soon introduced to break up the tedious work of playing notes and chords smoothly. I found that I actually progressed much faster with the video lessons than when I had a conventional live teacher. The play along Workshop practice sessions are nicely designed to teach efficient and effective practice habits.
Intermediate Players: As an intermediate player I found new ( to me), material in about the 5th CD. I found that although I knew most of the beginner lessons I was glad they were there as a refresher. The early lessons are a good reference.
Advanced Players: Someone that has played many styles of music over a long period may have to travel quite a ways into this course before finding something new. Probably the biggest advantage to an advanced player is to pick up knowledge about guitar styles that you may not have tried yet. This course is also a good resource for review. However the $200-$250 price tag is not likely to bring nearly as much value to a seasoned pro as a beginner or intermediate player. A less expensive and more targeted “internet only” course would save a lot of money and might offer more in-depth coverage of an individual guitar style, ( Jazz, Funk, Blues etc. ).
Guitar Teachers: I believe Learn & Master Guitar would give a student a distinct advantage maximizing practice time between your live sessions. The video workshop sections of each lesson would teach efficient practice skills because each practice session is performed in unison with the video teacher. I can see this cutting off bad habits before they have a chance to become ingrained. This could should move students along much faster than if they are left to their own devices between Live lessons. Better practice time should help the student progress faster.
Minor Negatives: …and I do mean minor. The book doesn’t lay flat. A wire binding would solve this problem. The special style sections for Jazz, Blues, Funk and Country Chicken Picken were well done but too short. I really enjoyed these style sections and was able to pick up a few fun beginning skills. I was left feeling hungry for much more. Because this is a general guitar course that covers a very broad spectrum it is not reasonable to expect every thing under the sun to be covered in exhaustive detail.
Money Back Guarantee: If you are not satisfied with it for any reason, simply return it within sixty days for a full refund of the purchase price.
Payment Options: 1, 2 or 4 payment options
The Bottom Line:
Learn & Master Guitar easily earns my highest rating of 10 out of 10 points. It is one of the best general guitar courses I have ever seen. It has been designed to suit many different learning styles and is the only Guitar Lesson Program with "Guided Practice Sessions". It involves no set up. Just grab your guitar, pop in the first DVD and everything is on autopilot. It's simple, fun and jammed with tons of lessons, songs and tips..... but, best of all it really works.
For more information or to purchase Learn and Master Guitar click here.
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