The Guitar Lesson Review

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Learning to play the guitar can be great fun, but sometimes frustrating, perhaps when you don't seem to be progressing as fast as you'd like. Guitar lessons can definitely help make it much more fun and less frustrating! Private lessons with a guitar teacher will help you progress, however these can sometimes prove expensive. There are alternatives though.

Lessons available online have become very popular, since you can download them right away, learn at your own pace, whenever you have some time to practise, and play the lessons over as many times as you like.

At The Guitar Lesson Review, we have taken a look at the various online guitar lessons, and selected those we think are the best. Take a look at these below, and click on the images or the links to see more details on a particular product. In addition to purely downloadable products, some of the ones below also come with physical media such as CDs and DVDs, which can complement the info you can download.

Good luck with your guitar playing!

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Learn and Master Guitar

Overview: Not by any means the cheapest, but the most comprehensive, with high quality DVD, CD and written lessons, as well as online materials.

You get: 10 (or 20 if you opt for the expanded version) full DVDs with step by step video instruction lessons. It starts with the very basic, aimed at complete beginners, and moves on to material suitable for intermediate and advanced players, so whatever your current skill level, you can find a good starting point easily. There are also five audio CDs, which have around 100 jam tracks, in a variety of different styles, and a 100 page book of written lessons. Finally, you obtain access to the members area of their website, which has more training materials.

Our opinion: It's an old adage, 'you get what you pay for', but there is certainly some truth in it, especially regarding this course. It's aimed at guitar students who want a comprehensive set of high quality learning materials, on physical media (DVDs/CDs), and who are prepared to put the effort and time in to practising with the lessons, and reaping the benefits. The material is certainly extremely well presented, and the lessons and instruction are of good quality. The course has plenty to offer guitarists of all abilities. In summary, definitely not the cheapest course out of those reviewed here, but well worth the investment, if you're serious about developing your guitar abilities, considering all the material that's included. Buyers tip: every couple of months, they seem to have a $50 or so discount on the course price, so make sure you keep going back to their website, or sign up for their newsletter to ensure you get notified when the discount will apply.

Rating: 4.5/5.0
Jamorama

Overview: Jamorama is one of the most well known of the online guitar courses. It combines written chapters of guitar lessons with different instruction videos.

You get: 44 written course lessons, starting with lessons for the complete beginner, all the way to lessons for the really advanced player. Also included are 26 full jam tracks, so you can play along with a band. There are several other bonuses included.

Our opinion: Jamorama is great value for money, providing high quality guitar lessons, and lots of bonuses are included. We particularly liked the video lessons, which complement the written lessons extremely well. If you opt for the download only version, then you will need to use your PC when you practise, or print out the lessons. A more expensive physical copy version is available, which some may find more appropriate for their needs. The online version has the advantage of being continually updated - you get access to all future updates.

Rating: 4.5/5.0
TeamMethodGuitar

Overview: Team Method Guitar is actually a newer product from the makers of Jamorama. It is a comprehensive course, with many impressive features.

You get: 44 written course books (beginner to intermediate), 148 video lessons on DVD, Advanced guitar course book and 43 video lessons (focusing on lead guitar), professional band jam tracks, multi-track recording software, and regular Live Support. Other bonuses are also included.

Our opinion: Although some of the content in Team Method Guitar is also in Jamorama, it also has many other unique lessons and bonuses. It's a more comprehensive package, which is reflected in the higher price. It's still very good value however, and there are extra features, such as the lead guitar advanced section, and regular live support access. The idea is that the course covers all the different aspects of learning the guitar, taught by an expert in that particular area (lead guitar say, or fingerpicking).

Overall, a very wide-ranging guitar course, with many great features. It's available in both download and physical copy versions, the download version is less expensive; however, it can be very handy sometimes to have DVDs and hardcopy books available when you're practising.

Rating: 4.5/5.0
Guitar Tutor Pro

Overview: Guitar Tutor Pro offers the 'Mastering Guitar' course, which covers all aspects of learning to play the guitar, in online form.

You get: 3 detailed e-books, ranging from beginner level to advanced pro. The material covers a wide range of subjects, from open and barre chords, to the art of fingerpicking, and understanding scales and modes. The course also includes over 400 audio files, and several extra bonuses, such as a guitar chord database package.

Our opinion: Guitar Tutor Pro provides solid coverage of all aspects of learning to play the guitar. The audio files are especially useful when trying to get the hang of a particular lesson. Overall, the course is good value. It doesn't include video lessons, which is where Jamorama has the advantage, however, it does score well in the range of topics covered.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
Guitar Scale Mastery

Overview:Guitar Scale Mastery is aimed at intermediate to advanced players. Rather than lessons on all aspects of guitar playing, it concentrates on scales and modes, so is more suitable for players wanting to expand their soloing ability.

You get: Access to the Guitar Scale Mastery membership site, the offer here gets you premium membership for 3 years. This includes access to the Guitar Scale Mastery system, which will help you really learn all aspects of relevant scales, and, more importantly, how to incorporate them into your playing. It also includes special backing tracks, called 'Guitar Scale Activators', which realy help you learn the application of the scales.

Our opinion: Guitar Scale Mastery is great for intermediate to advanced players, who are really looking to expand their solo playing and improvisation. All such players know the basic pentatonic scales, but improvising just using these can get a little boring, so it's good to have knowledge of other possible scales. What's more important though, is to know how and when to apply them in a particular improvisation/solo situation, and Guitar Scale Mastery helps you do just that. The advantage of the offer here is that you get access to the member site for 3 years, which includes all updates and new material posted to the site. This is great value for money.

Rating: 4.5/5.0
Jamorama

Overview: The Beginners Guide to Unlocking the Guitar is aimed more at beginner/intermediate players, and claims to get you playing in a weekend.

You get: an e-book with this course, which includes step-by-step lessons with over 150 pictures. There are also several bonus items included, such as a detailed chord chart which shows fingerings, and a sonbook which shows how to play many popular songs with 4 chords or less.

Our opinion: This course is aimed particularly at beginner/intermediate players, and it does a good job of communicating the essential facts that you need to know when starting out. When you first start learning the guitar, it's very important to quickly be able to play something recognisable. This gives you some quick satisfaction early on, and helps motivate you to practise more. The Beginners Guide to Unlocking the Guitar definitely gives good guidance here. If you're just starting out, then this would be a good choice.

Rating: 4.5/5.0
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This is a private list, and your details will never be passed on to other parties.
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Other resources:

Site Name: ABC Learn Guitar
URL: http://www.abclearnguitar.com
Description: Free beginner guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on buying a guitar, songwriting, recording, and creating a music career.

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