Anybody had good results with any of the online guitar lesson providers?

[MichaelPerkins]

I'm sure you guys have noticed that there has been a pretty big up-tick in advertisements for online guitar lessons. Almost every guitar sharp shooter on YouTube begins and ends each of their videos with... "Check out the link in the description to my online guitar courses, and start... blah blah..."

I was just wondering if any of you guys might steer me toward (and away) from some of those folks. I'd love to hear any big thumbs up endorsements, as well as any "stay away" condemnations.

Thanks guys!

 

[teleman1]

I hope this yields some good ideas. My friend is an exceptional Jazz guitarist and teacher. 50 years ago I sometimes gave him a lift to Joe Pass's home for lessons,Joe actually let him on stage to play with him.Thats how good my friend still plays. He is in Palm Springs and I suggested video teaching and he doesn't think it would work.

 

[Obsessed]

Perhaps it is because I am where I am today as a guitarist, but ActiveMelody.com seems to be aimed at teaching songwriting, impromptu type of thinking. Lots to learn there.

 

[Wallaby]

I have had a subscription to Ken Carlson's Country Guitar Chops in the past, and thought they were pretty good.

I don't have other online learning to compare them with, but I still have some of the takeaways from them.

 

[guitarsophist]

This year I got an all access pass to Truefire, one year for $99. I think that sale is still going on. I am enjoying it. There are some famous players on there, but famous players aren't always good teachers. There are lots of good teachers however. The courses seem well designed. I haven't worked my way through any of them completely, but I have been exploring a lot of them. I have learned a lot, even from the beginner's courses. I keep having that "Oh, so that's how you play that!" experience. I will say though, that it is up to you to keep motivated. If you have a live teacher who assigns exercises and such, you might find it easier to stick with it. There are those moments where what is being presented requires some thinking, some practicing, and some work. But the various courses I have sampled have gotten me out of some long-standing guitar ruts I have been in.

 

[Lake Placid Blue]

I like Banjo Ben. Membership includes guitar, banjo and mandolin lessons, full access to all the lessons and tablature on his website, he sells instruments and accessories, you can ask questions and you’ll hear back from him.

 

[Oldsmobum]

I hope this yields some good ideas. My friend is an exceptional Jazz guitarist and teacher. 50 years ago I sometimes gave him a lift to Joe Pass's home for lessons,Joe actually let him on stage to play with him.Thats how good my friend still plays. He is in Palm Springs and I suggested video teaching and he doesn't think it would work.

Was he doing in person lessons before the end of the world?

 

[Novak]

I've improved my guitar playing through Damian Bacci and Sandra Sherman. Just the YouTube lessons. I've subscribed to Texas Blues Alley just because every "jam session" I encounter eventually descends into the blues and I don't want to suffer by comparison anymore. Great course...... Your mileage may vary.

 

[DjimiWrey]

i check out the free lessons and since i've had no formal training some of the theory lessons
have helped me connect the dots on things i stumble across and "accidentally learn" in my meandering

i also slowed down the video so i could learn roy nichols solo on haggards workin man

love the youtube

 

[Mission6_OG]

I’ve had good results from justinguitar

 

[SacDAve]

I also did Truefire a couple months ago ($99. deal) The only problem is trying to find time. The little time I've spent with it I really like it, so many artist/teachers you can find the ones that fit your needs.

 

[Call Me Al]

I’ve been enjoying ActiveMelody’s free content, and have (pretty much) decided I’ll be signing up with them. I just seem to click with the way he explains things, I like how he peppers in theory, tips & tricks to shift things to other keys or “how it all fits together”, and just the scope of genres he presents.

I steered away from truefire and jamplay because I’ve found (from previous online bass lessons) I like to get into a groove with one instructors style, and don’t really gel with the “myriad of instructors” thing. Plus the presentation/format almost seems like too much content, too little direction. (I know many love these sites, just a comment on my learning style.)

I also like banjo Ben, however that’s a little more narrow in terms of genre.

 

[teleman1]

Was he doing in person lessons before the end of the world?

Yes

 

[Telecasterless]

I thought this guy Paul Davids might be good. But now I am not so sure. I think he just puts out good videos and is a solid youtuber and dumped his guitar class on youtube and then not long after, he has a fantastic house and tons of guitars.

Me thinks he landed tons of subscribers and made a bundle on his program. Nothing wrong with that I guess, maybe I am just envious of youtubers making it big.

You could always do Carlos Santana's or Tom Morello's master class.....just kidding, but I wonder what those cost and who actually buys them.

 

[strat a various]

I hope this yields some good ideas. My friend is an exceptional Jazz guitarist and teacher. 50 years ago I sometimes gave him a lift to Joe Pass's home for lessons,Joe actually let him on stage to play with him.Thats how good my friend still plays. He is in Palm Springs and I suggested video teaching and he doesn't think it would work.

Players looking to learn Jazz ... my friend Bob Conti does online Jazz Guitar instruction, he know his snit. Good guy.

 

[unixfish]

I was taking lessons from GuitarMasteryMethod. I think the lessons were planned out and explained well. The teachers had the knack of turning gain way down, and not having the guitar overpower what they were saying. I found them easy to follow and broken up into digestible chunks.

 

[MichaelPerkins]

I thought this guy Paul Davids might be good. But now I am not so sure. I think he just puts out good videos and is a solid youtuber and dumped his guitar class on youtube and then not long after, he has a fantastic house and tons of guitars.

Me thinks he landed tons of subscribers and made a bundle on his program. Nothing wrong with that I guess, maybe I am just envious of youtubers making it big.

You could always do Carlos Santana's or Tom Morello's master class.....just kidding, but I wonder what those cost and who actually buys them.

The Paul Davids guy from the Netherlands is precisely the guy I was thinking about when I started this thread. I really enjoy his videos, and his playing is pretty much exactly how I would like to play... meaning... he is "flashy" enough to really be able to bang out with the best of em, but he isn't one of those dive-bomb, no-longer-even-musical wanks who plays so many notes, so fast, it just sounds like Nintendo music. Also... he seems to really have a firm firm grasp on theory.

Basically, if I am 100% glove-off honest with you guys, I want to increase my chops until I can play every note on Appetite for Destruction (both Slash and Izzy's parts, Lol!)... but also be able to describe what's going on from a theory point of view at any given point in any of the songs. Because, right now, my fingers are quick enough to watch a YouTube video on "Welcome to the Jungle Guitar Lesson" and follow along as I learn each note. But I am pretty lost as to what's really happening. My brother showed me the good ole minor pentatonic scale when I was 14, and he specifically said, "This is all Slash is doing, the whole time, on every song, all throughout the whole song." While Slash is obviously a "Blues based" rock guitarist, he is definitely NOT "just running though the minor pentatonic scale in his solos.

Paul Davids though... I kinda think you are right, @Telecasterless. I am nervous to plunk down $200 on some online guitar courses when my intuition is telling me that 99% of his material is already online, for free, in his YouTube videos.

 

[dcupright]

I am really liking Fretboard Biology, been there a couple of months and really like Joe Elliots way of teaching.

 

[RobRiggs]

I was taking lessons from GuitarMasteryMethod. I think the lessons were planned out and explained well. The teachers had the knack of turning gain way down, and not having the guitar overpower what they were saying. I found them easy to follow and broken up into digestible chunks.

+1 for GMM

 

[The Angle]

I subscribed to Guitar Tricks for two years. Its library of songs and courses is tremendous but I never warmed up to any of the instructors. I always enjoyed Marty Schwartz's videos, so I switched to his website. It's poorly organized, somewhat amateurish, and covers topics sporadically, but I enjoy Marty's presentation so much more than the dry, clinical approach of Guitar Tricks that I spend more time there and consequently have learned more.

In other words, I think online and video lessons can work fine if you find an instructor whose style engages you.