Archive for the ‘Guitar Lessons for Beginners’ Category

I saw one of those “no child left behind” bumper stickers yesterday. It made me wish there was a “no guitar student left behind” program. I think it is sad that the public schools don’t offer more classes in the visual arts or music. Since those were my favorite subjects, I wanted to have the best instruction in music and art. My teachers for those subjects were not happy campers – their programs were always at the bottom of the list when it came to funding (since a lot of emphasis was put on science and math).

I think the schools don’t understand that many people actually make a living in the arts – especially the visual arts and graphic design. I know some musicians can make it too. Sure, not all of them become household names or famous stars. But there are recording arts jobs that don’t require you to be famous – studio musicians, sound engineers, etc. Seems like the “traditional” education systems in America just don’t understand or support creative people.

That leads me to why I think anyone who wants to learn to play the guitar should have as much support as possible. I was lucky to have support (from parents and a little bit of help from music teachers). For those who don’t get encouragement for learning to play an instrument – now there is the world wide web! The Internet isn’t as good as a one-on-one, face-to-face meeting with a mentor or teacher, but it will have to do for many beginner guitar players.

This blog is here to help, too. I not only am trying to get people to stop putting off learning to play the guitar, but I am also trying to get homeschooling teachers (and possibly other teachers) to get really good guitar lessons for their students. There are courses available for anyone to teach – no guitar skills are necessary. So, a music teacher could be an expert trumpeter and still teach this course (because of the teacher’s guide that gives them a clear picture of what to teach and when to teach it).  So, if you think your teacher needs to add guitar lessons to the course curriculum, tell them to look at this review: Learn and Master Guitar – Homeschool Edition.

And I just found out that anyone who bought the regular course – Learn and Master Guitar – can upgrade to the Homeschool Edition for a very low price – $29.99 (the same goes for the Piano course, except that upgrade only costs $24.99). The upgrades will get you the 68 pg. Teachers Guidebook (with a 2-year scope and sequence). In addition, there are 2 Teacher Resource DVDs in the guitar edition and 1 in the piano.

And here is a cool “secret” to saving money. If you buy the regular edition and the upgrade, you pay less than buying the full student/home school version! (upgrade info)

Here is the product link if you want to teach yourself (the regular DVD program – not the Student/Teacher edition) – also this is less expensive than the Homeschool Edition – but you can upgrade it.  Learn and Master Guitar DVDsUpgrade to Homeschool Edition to get 68 pg. Teacher’s/Parent’s Guidebook, and 2 Teacher Resource DVDs: Upgrade Learn and Master Guitar.

Here is where you can find out more about the Guitar Lessons Homeschool Edition.

Technorati Tags: DVD, DVDs, guitar, guitar student, homeschool lessons, homeschooling, learn and master, piano, upgrade

A complete beginner to intermediate home study guitar course – Guitar Made Simple.

These Interactive CD Guitar Lessons are for beginners or for those who want to brush up their guitar playing, this excellent course with guitarist Chirs Standring will take you far. And this course is a step-by-step interactive course for learning either electric or acoustic guitar.


Guitar Lessons at Guitar Made Simple.com


Technorati Tags: acoustic, beginners, chris standring, course, electric, guitar made simple, intermediate, lessons

guitar-or-piano-decisionMaybe you are trying to decide whether to take guitar lessons or piano lessons. It can be a difficult decision. Sometimes the type of music you want to learn can help you decide. For example, if you find that many songs you really love listening to often have piano music in them, you may want to try some piano lessons first.

If you find that you prefer songs or bands whose music has lots of guitar sounds as the basis of their songs, then go with guitar lessons.

It’s not like you can make a mistake here! There isn’t one right answer to this…many people learn to play one instrument and then find that learning a second one is not too hard to do. In my own experience, I learned to play piano first. I like playing the piano, though I am really not that good at it. It gave me a basis for reading music (which helped for singing in chorus or other music groups). I still play piano, but I want to talk about some of the reasons I like playing guitar more.

When I learned to play the guitar, it just was easier for me. I was able to improvise and was able to not get hung up in reading music and sharps and flats and all those things that you have to know to play the piano. I was able to learn to play chords and strum, which at first was enough. And the chords I learned were the same in many songs, so I didn’t feel I was stuck with having to learn something new all the time. Also, practicing the guitar was really more fun – and I could do it alone in my room with no one listening. It’s hard to be private while playing a piano!

Another great thing about learning to play guitar was it helped develop my ability to play by ear. When I heard a song I liked, I would sit down and try to figure out the chords – often I could play a new song in a few minutes. I never could quite get good at playing the piano by ear!

I would buy song books to learn more chords and songs. I also was lucky to have some private lessons. The benefit there was that my teacher taught me songs I wouldn’t have found in books. She also taught me finger picking – which is my favorite thing about playing guitar.

When I learned to play the guitar there was no Internet, no DVD players (yes it was the dark ages…) and the only options for learning were books or private lessons. Today, the choices are amazing and affordable. Why, come to think of it, you may not have to choose guitar or piano – you may be able to decide to learn both!

I’ll still sit down at a piano and attempt to play (and I still enjoy it). But the guitar was the thing that I was able to go a bit farther with (even playing in several groups and performing for others). Oh yeah, and I am a guitar teacher, too.

So, think about the type of music you really like or would like to play before you make your decision about learning to play guitar or piano. Also, consider the expense of buying or renting a piano vs. buying a guitar. I’m sure you already know that beginner guitars are not all that costly.

I have been looking at guitar lessons for beginners (and some piano lesson courses, too). This one company has impressed me the most (Legacy Learning Systems). Their Learn and Master guitar lessons, piano lessons, ballroom dance lessons, and drum lessons are very high quality. Probably the best you can get (with more features than any other course I’ve read about). They even have a course for homeschool teachers which helps them plan the lessons for 2 school years.

I could show you pictures of their courses but I’ll let you go look at what they say on their website - they have so much information that explains their DVDs, workbooks, CDs and all the other great things that come with purchasing their products.

Check them out here – Learn and Master (guitar, piano, etc.) they have a buyer’s guarantee (100% satisfaction or your money back). If you were going to try beginner guitar lessons, piano, dance, or drum lessons, I am sure you won’t be disappointed with Learn and Master’s courses. The best things is, making any decision to learn an instrument or to dance is a good one! Go – learn – now!

Technorati Tags: ballroom, beginner guitar, Beginning Guitar, dance, drums, Guitar Lessons, learn and master, piano

How To Play Guitar for Beginners : Guitar Lessons for Beginners: Guitar Tablature