Computer-based Guitar Training?

rfischer asks: "I am hoping that Santa brings me a guitar for Christmas this year. I know there are a lot of computer- and web-based tools for teaching yourself guitar, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what's best, and if any of these computer-based methods have any advantage over the classic training courses. Anyone been down this road before?"

Comments

Don't. Not as the only source.

[JabberWokky]

I would highly recommend using anything non-real world strictly as a supplement to real world teaching. You have to learn how to hold your body, how to express notes...

It's a bit like learning acting over the net. Not useless, but insufficent to teach what is necessary.

Unless you just want to "fake" some songs - then you can likely just buy a couple fakebooks (check your local music store for fakebooks), some of which come with DVDs. Learning a song or two is very different than learning to play the guitar.

--
Evan

GuitarPort Online

[gwynnebaer]

Shameless plug: http://guitarport.com
Don't take my word for it. Take a look.

Online Guitar Instruction

[two_socks]

The only one I'm familiar with that is related to an actually well-known guitar player is http://www.zagerguitar.com/. Zager is half of Zager and Evans, a group that had an international hit ("In the Year 2525") a long time ago.

I especially like the fact that he refers to himself as the "world's greatest one hit wonder". There are plenty of videos on the website for you to decide what you think.

I'm self-taught

[Prien715]

I happen to think I'm not that great, but hey, I never played guitar to be good. I learned to play becuase I wanted to be able to play certain songs.

This site has some stuff I found really good including mp3s to play along with to get trickier rythyms or strumming techniques.

If you want to play in a band type setting, I suggest you find like-minded people with similar skills or lack thereof.

Needing a professional tutor or some crap seems a popular thing in this thread, which I don't quite understand. I played clarinet for 10 years (including 4 in university ensembles) before I started guitar and I don't understand what the point of lessons is. What I learned from both instruments is that practice is the most important. Not legnth, but frequency. I think I've progressed more on my second instrument faster because I'd just pick it up and do a few chord shapes for a few seconds.

Professional teachers are only a recent phenomenon and I don't see why they're being embraced with such enthusiasm by practioners of an instrument that has has become a popular symbol of rebellion and freedom.

How many of you people would argue that you need professional classes to use a computer? How many of you are mostly self-taught?

Re:I'm self-taught

[damiam]

I played clarinet for 10 years (including 4 in university ensembles) before I started guitar and I don't understand what the point of lessons is.

I've played violin for 13 years, and I think you're either a dumbass, a crappy clarinetist, or you had a crappy teacher. Extensive practice alone is next to useless if you're not focusing on the right aspects of your playing, or if you're just playing the same thing over and over and reinforcing mistakes. A good teacher will draw your attention to things that you'd never have noticed, and they'll show you techniques for practicing effectively.

For whatever reason, teachers don't seem to be as common or necessary in guitar playing as in most symphonic instruments; many guitar masters were/are self-taught. However, it's almost impossible to become skilled with most wind/brass/string instruments without a good teachers. As evidence, go to your local symphony and ask everyone who has gotten there without a teacher to raise their hand. I guarentee you no one will. I don't know if a professional teacher is the best approach for a beginning guitar player, but lessons definitely do have a lot of value.

How many of you people would argue that you need professional classes to use a computer?

Last time I checked, many computer professionals spend at least four years learning pretty much full-time how to "use" a computer.

A good resource once you know a bit

[njriley]

I fmay be somewhat qualified to answer, as I'm largely self-taught, and I have used a lot of online sources. If, as it sounds like, you're starting from the very beginning, it's true that you really need someone to show you the basics. Once you have that down, though, you can learn a lot by downloading the tabs to songs you like. I don't know what you're interested in, but I use these:

http://dsrmusic.com/
http://www.singularitymetaltab.net/
http://www.deathwarp.com/DeathWarp/tabs/tabs.htm

Those are mostly for rock and metal, but you can find similar sites for whatever style you're into. As you'd expect, start with simpler songs and work your way up - you can learn a lot of technique this way, as well as forms and applications of the theory you'll also want to be studying. For some basic chord and scale patterns, check out:

http://www.guitar-dreams.com/

Another good site for a lot of exercises as well as some theory is:

http://ibreathemusic.com/

This is really one of the best guitar sites I've seen; I can't recommend it enough. Along with the above, it forms a very good reference for patterns and exercises, but you're still missing some structure. This is a major problem with online materials - there's so much of it it's hard to sort out. As such, I'd recommend using all of this as source material, but have a friend who plays give you some guidance as to what to practice, even if you don't take lessons per se. If that's totally impossible, buy a method book or two - the Troy Stetina ones are excellent for rock and metal, but they're available for all styles. That will give you some idea of the order in which to practice the various subjects.

Hope this helps,

Nathan

Re:Don't. Not as the only source.

[Eideewt]

That's just right. Nothing can replace a teacher who is there with you and able to correct posture and technique and give you a little experience playing with others. You can learn theory from the web well enough, and you can get a lot of great information on all aspects of the instrument, but you need a teacher to at least get you off on the right foot. It's true that many great guitarists are self taught, but that doesn't mean the rest of us can just pick up and figure it out all on our own.

You should visit Guitarnoise.com (See the post above if you really need a clickable link); it's a great community.