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Thread: Do You Pay Or Are You Paid For Online Instruction?

  1. #1
    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Do You Pay Or Are You Paid For Online Instruction?

    Trying to bump up the signal to noise ratio here. I'm adding some noise.

    I have repeatedly said that had the Internet existed when I first picked up a guitar, I'd be a guitar hero by now. Because there's no privacy on the Internet, I seem to see no end to the commercials for guitar learning online. Some of these guys are pretty darn good! Marty Schwarz got a cover on Wood & Steel, Taylor Guitars' free magazine for owners. Justin guitar is recognized as being one of the top free instructional sites.

    Looking at some -- okay, maybe many -- of these sites I come away with mixed impressions. I know that different people have different tastes, and some learn better one way than another, so I'm not casting aspersions. The fact remains, there seems to be something for everyone on the 'Net.

    I have found some very helpful sites, and they are similar in that they offer a portion of the lessons for free, and then a paid version, which might include things like backing tracks, tabs, etc. And while I like the free stuff, I haven't yet taken the bait and gone for the paid content.

    Has anyone either bought online guitar stuff, or gotten paid for online material? Most of what I've seen are YouTube videos linked to web sites, but there are also sites that sell books and (for lack of a better term) gimmicks ("the magic capo that will transform you into the next Keef"). Do you buy or sell any of this, and what is your impression of them?
    Striving to be ordinary

    Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!

  2. #2
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: Do You Pay Or Are You Paid For Online Instruction?

    I get bombarded with those ads. I've tried a couple of the paid ones but almost always immediately end up having to cancel them. I neither need nor want 7 emails a day extolling the virtues of their 'proven' methods, or the constant upselling "join our super premium private members only club for 200 euros/pounds/liters a month". I'm exaggerating of course but not excessively so.

    90% of what they 'sell' is or should be common knowledge, 5% may be some actually useful new stuff I hadn't heard or thought of, and 5% may be something I already knew but presented in a different way that finally made sense and thus stuck.

    Mostly what I want is how to play a song, present not just with a "put your finger here then there" but also some theoretical "this section starts off with the fourth chord, a D and ends on the 2nd a B whatever (minor?). And please, tell us the name of the key and chords of the song is in with a graphic. B, C, D, E and G all sound alike when you say the letter hurriedly.

    If possible, spare us the long winded stories of how you played the song at an Elks club during a hurricane and a tree crashed through the roof and took out your drummer and the gig just got better after that.
    "Live and learn and flip the burns"

  3. #3
    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
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    Re: Do You Pay Or Are You Paid For Online Instruction?

    The only formal online instruction I've taken was with Andy Hall at ArtistWorks. Lessons were for dobro. He's a killer dobro player. I was fairly pleased. The material was well produced (professionally, not by the instructor) and I certainly benefitted. The ArtistWorks platform is well thought out.

    I'd avoid YouTuber type of lessons. You get what you pay for. That said, I've skimmed some stuff by Troy Brenningmeyer (lap steel, pedal steel) and picked up a few bits and pieces along the way. His stuff is OK, he has his own style and does his absolute best to produce a quality product. But he's a musician, not a professional instructional video maker. And simply limited by the constraints of the YouTube platform.

    Overall, I'm not much of a guitar lessons guy. Just don't have the patience. Most of the lessons I have taken were more for filling theory gaps than for manual skill development. I've probably only taken 15-20 guitar lessons my entire life and that's allowed me to achieve the pinnacle of mediocrity that I'm well known for!

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