Uniden Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I seem to play the same stuff every day and have been thinking an on-line or CD/DVD course might get me practicing better. Looked into a few, but they all talk the talk. Thought seriously about Claude Johnson, but found a ton of bad press so he's out. I'm thinking Jamplay, Gibson's Learn and Master Guitar, or Guitar Tricks. Bit unfair to put Gibson''s course on this forum, but any comments would be appreciated. As far as ability goes, I would say I am extreemly ... average. Maybe at the lower end of intermediate. Any experience or comments, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Online lessons can be a great resource (some I find are more instructive than others of course), but there is no substitute for a good teacher whose techniques suit your learning style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Okay, I'm functionally totally self-taught in the pre-Internet day. I think there's no substitute for working hard to pick up technique. Period. I think the Gibson lessons are very worthwhile. Some Youtube lessons are less worthwhile but offer a lotta ways to loosen up your head. I think, too, that a teacher like our own Matt Sear probably is worth his weight in gold, not just for cramming stuff into your head, but I'll wager he offers music "education." The word education, by the way, comes from the Latin and almost literally means "to lead out from." Yeah, you've also gotta figure I never really had much of a chance to have an official teacher. The advantage to a teacher is learning music and technical concepts in some hopefully progressive mode; in guitar, the weakness is that there are thousands of ways to play and even to teach. That's because the instrument is so potentially rich. Classical guitar probably is the only variety of pickin' that has a relatively consistent style of teaching as well as playing. But teacher or self-taught, there's no second place to wanting and thinking the instrument. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 There's enough free stuff out there.........Sort through what's free............ ( I'm retired, I have the time, I learn a bit, but, eh, ADD is a hinderence...) I do study some jazz on-line though.......for free............... .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uniden Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 There's enough free stuff out there.........Sort through what's free............ ( I'm retired, I have the time, I learn a bit, but, eh, ADD is a hinderence...) I do study some jazz on-line though.......for free............... .... There is a lot of free stuff. Definitely worth looking through, but as you say, takes a bit of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 If you are just starting out on line lessons are great! That will get you going. That's what I did to get started too... When I switched to a teacher/professor it was a whole new ball game. A teacher can see what you are doing wrong and correct it, see where you are at and need to go... Sounds to me like you can play guitar but want to expand and improve... Get a teacher!! Then get yourself in a band play with other musicians, that is where you will learn the most... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl M Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I'm self taught too, and made a living with it for a long time, but I am sure I could have been much more accomplished with a good teacher. In my day, in the rural area I lived, it wasn't an option. My teenage son leaned, and continues to learn, almost totally by YouTube. It seems no matter what song he is into, there is someone on there showing the riffs. My youngest son is learning keys the same way. For a generation that lives and dies with their electronic gadgets, it sure beats Guitar Hero! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Daryl M... I agree with you almost in the entirety that you wrote - and obviously I've been in a rural area where I actually was as close to being a practical guitar teacher as anybody else, and actually some of my students ended up full or part time entertainer/musicians. The problem with guitar teaching, as I see it, is that there are so many ways to think of, and to play guitar. In short, is an exceptional classical teacher going to be an exceptional bluegrass or folkie teacher? I dunno. Will a rock-oriented teacher help a kid who wants to learn Bach, or hurt the kid's learning? For example, a Bluegrass picker may be the most valuable guy in the band with excellent rhythm guitar and vocal skills - period. So teaching timing, various strums, ear training and basic music theory may be the most important thing for a student. Emphasis on reading music and playing note-by-note passages probably would bring some significant frustration. I haven't the slightest idea how to teach a current rock player beyond the very basics of chords, theory and ear training not dissimilar to the above. Classical? That's in ways basically teaching classical piano with guitar technique. Etc., etc. When I taught, I made certain that students knew what it was that I offered, and in what sorts of playing it could be most effective and at what point they likely would be best off with another perspective. Essentially I taught folk guitar 101 and 201 with some very basic transposition and ear skills. Oddly I never had a person ask me to teach them who did not already have a basic ability to read music, although some were even worse sight readers than I was and remain. Today's Youtube-like web pages offer an opportunity for players, young and old, experienced and raw beginners, a way to see how different people approach different sorts of music on one of the world's easiest and yet most difficult musical instruments. I've done that on occasion and it's frequently quite worth the time. Frankly had I the opportunity to study regularly with an exceptional teacher, such as I found classical guitarist Christopher Parkening to be in my only two official "guitar classes," I'd do it even now. But I've also so much I want to do with the instrument that is pretty much a matter of rearranging stuff to play with how I do things in kinda my own off-kilter finger style. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uniden Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 Thanks for the thoughts everybody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Thanks for the thoughts everybody Good luck let us know what you decide on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uniden Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Thanks again for the comments. I ordered the Gibson CD course. I appreciate that the right teacher would be better, but this lets me work at my own pace4, is always there, and was pretty cheap. I'll let you know what I think in when I get going on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee M Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I have been playing for years though essentially self-taught (I did take actual lessons for about 18 months after I had already developed 30 years of bad habits.) If I hear a particular song I want to learn, I still find YouTube very helpful. I can generally learn the chords by ear but often need help with some of the riffs. It's easy to get in a rut and always play the same stuff. Best way to get out of that mode is to find others to play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 No substitute for a good teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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