What's the best guitar instruction?

Smokey

As someone who is not exactly musically inclined would it be better/easier for me to learn to play from a friend that plays or from a licensed guitar instructor? I hear it's always harder to learn as you get older. I'm 46.

Answer
It's never to late to start. I to have the desire to learn and I'm 53, currently in Iraq, bought a ukulele( I know. Hardly a guitar) and a beginners book. Six weeks into it, I am just now getting the finger positions for chord transitions and the strumming techniques down. I practice for at least 45 mins. a nite. I can see the benefit of advice from an experienced player and know I will not soon play lead.
If you think your serious then by all means take lessons from a pro. Your lesson is scheduled. He is an instructor payed to teach you and can probably help you progress faster then your friend by concentrating on the fundamentals.
I can strum a few songs now but can see that if I want to be better then I need a Pro to help me.
Spend the $20 per lesson and then you can show your friend what you've learned and compare notes. Two for the price of one.
Good luck, Old Dog

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What is the best acoustic guitar instruction book for a total beginner?

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fallbabyy:

I would like to learn by myself but I don't know how to read notes or how to play my guitar at ALL.
I need something that will take me from the very beginning.
Any suggestions?

Answer
hi, try going to http://guitarmanual.typepad.com and getting the ebook that goes along w/ the lesson posts and videos on the site, its taught from a beginners point and shows exactly what to practice to become an advanced player, good luck, email me through the site if you need any extra help !! good luck

http://guitarmanual.typepad.com

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What is a good guitar instruction DVD for a 10 year old?

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Dave S

My 10 year old has taken guitar lessons for about 8 months. She has also taken piano lessons for about 5 years. She knows some chords. We may need to stop her lessons. To keep her learning, we were thinking of an instructional DVD. Is there one that would be especially good for her age. We, as her parents, don't know guitar. Therefore, we want a good program to help her to progress. Thanks.

Answer
There is no video replacement for lessons.

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What is a good guitar instruction DVD for a 10 year old?

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Dave S

My 10 year old has taken guitar lessons for about 8 months. She has also taken piano lessons for about 5 years. She knows some chords. We may need to stop her lessons. To keep her learning, we were thinking of an instructional DVD. Is there one that would be especially good for her age. We, as her parents, don't know guitar. Therefore, we want a good program to help her to progress. Thanks.

Answer
There is no video replacement for lessons.

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What is the best on-line instruction to play in this style?

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wyalusingt

Please watch this performance on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtxJKfjOYg0&NR=1
What style is this? What on-line guitar instruction site is the best to learn that style?

Answer
This is absolutely, IMO, the best online source to learn how to play guitar, as they have over 35 teachers who each have their own style, they are cheap but have high quality videos, and great support.

They teach you many genres and have many different songs to choose from. Best of all they start you from the absolute beginning if you need it. I LOVE this site.

http://www.howtoplaytheguitarlikeapro.com/jamplay

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What is the best on-line instruction to play in this style?

guitar instruction image

wyalusingt

Please watch this performance on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtxJKfjOYg0&NR=1
What style is this? What on-line guitar instruction site is the best to learn that style?

Answer
This is absolutely, IMO, the best online source to learn how to play guitar, as they have over 35 teachers who each have their own style, they are cheap but have high quality videos, and great support.

They teach you many genres and have many different songs to choose from. Best of all they start you from the absolute beginning if you need it. I LOVE this site.

http://www.howtoplaytheguitarlikeapro.com/jamplay

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What is the best acoustic guitar instruction book for a total beginner?

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fallbabyy:

I would like to learn by myself but I don't know how to read notes or how to play my guitar at ALL.
I need something that will take me from the very beginning.
Any suggestions?

Answer
hi, try going to http://guitarmanual.typepad.com and getting the ebook that goes along w/ the lesson posts and videos on the site, its taught from a beginners point and shows exactly what to practice to become an advanced player, good luck, email me through the site if you need any extra help !! good luck

http://guitarmanual.typepad.com

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How do you start learning jazz guitar?

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.

I wanna play jazz with finger picking. So would the natural path be to get a classical guitar instruction book and practice with etudes using a metronome? That's how I practiced classical instrument. Practice for a year then move onto learning how to play codes? Or do I get a how-to book for acoustic guitar playing? What's the best path?

FYI I'm just learning as a hobby. I'm new to guitar.

Answer
Learn your scales in all keys and all positions, and listen to Joe Pass's solo recordings. If all of that doesn't scare you off, you're on your way.

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What is a good guitar instruction DVD for a 10 year old?

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Dave S

My 10 year old has taken guitar lessons for about 8 months. She has also taken piano lessons for about 5 years. She knows some chords. We may need to stop her lessons. To keep her learning, we were thinking of an instructional DVD. Is there one that would be especially good for her age. We, as her parents, don't know guitar. Therefore, we want a good program to help her to progress. Thanks.

Answer
There is no video replacement for lessons.

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As a guitar instructor how do I get more clients?

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Mike G

I've recently decided to venture out and start up my own guitar instruction business but as the days go by my efforts seem to be plummeting, all i can think to do is put up flyers, but those dont seem to be qorking how do i get a good client basis, where do i look? What do i do?

Answer
I'm a mom who has looked for private voice lessons for my son. I also toyed with the idea of guitar, my dh plays, but thought I'd wait a bit on that for my son.

Who is your target customer? Kids and adults or ? Be sure you're advertising to your market.

I found two exceptional voice instructors through craigslist, both moved away after a year to do great things with their careers, but the friend of one is now my son's teacher and she's wonderful. See if craigslist is in your area and check out the competition. Put enough detail in the ad to make prospective clients want to call you, especially if you want to teach kids. I didn't even bother with ads that seemed too cryptic.
http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites

MySpace and a website. Two of the guitar teachers I strongly considered had MySpace and another website. I think I found the websites through Google (guitar lessons, Los Angeles) and from craigslist. The voice teachers I chose did also. I like to gather as much info as possible, hear them, see if I like their vibe, see them, so by the time I speak to the teacher the first time, my mind is almost made up. Better to let people sell themselves on you, rather than you have to do it over the phone.

Also, word of mouth. Other musicians, friends, family. Put it out there that you're teaching. Tell everyone. I mean everyone. Have cards made up with your website url, phone #, etc on them.

After school program. Might be tough in this economy but you might try private schools. At my son's private K - 8 we have companies (very small to large) come in after school to teach chess, dance, mandarin, science adventures, etc. I don't know what the financial deal is with the school, like what percentage they get.

Also, there is a shelf full of flyers for lessons, etc in our school's office.

See if there is a newspaper specific to your market. In my area, someone started up a newspaper about a year ago and it's doing great. It's basically full of photos of local private school events, sports, charity events, restaurant review, parenting column, etc and it goes out free in the area. Parents love to look at their kids and know what's going on with other kids in the area. The ads target parents - camps, lessons, tutoring, etc.

Community college extension class - here are some at PCC as an example:
http://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=1011&CategoryID=2&SubCategoryID=11
http://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=1011&CategoryID=1&SubCategoryID=3
The Acoustic Guitar classes may be gone, they have removed some classes since it's almost time for the Spring classes. They have both kids and adult classes. You can check on the website of the community college near you for info on doing a class.

Community and recreation centers may also have similar programs.

Post flyers at your local colleges, there are boards for that. Sometimes you have to get them approved in the office. At the bottom of the flyer, put your website url vertically a bunch of times and make cuts in between each one, so people can easily tear off your url to take with them. (Sort of like the flyer has fringe at the bottom.)

Let a friend who fits your target market look at your flyer, website, card, etc and critique if they think they're appropriate.

This is a really bad time to start up a business selling a *non-essential* service. But try not to get discouraged, there are always customers out thee, you just have to find them. Most of the ideas I gave you are very low cost.

Good luck!

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What is a good guitar instruction DVD for a 10 year old?

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Dave S

My 10 year old has taken guitar lessons for about 8 months. She has also taken piano lessons for about 5 years. She knows some chords. We may need to stop her lessons. To keep her learning, we were thinking of an instructional DVD. Is there one that would be especially good for her age. We, as her parents, don't know guitar. Therefore, we want a good program to help her to progress. Thanks.

Answer
There is no video replacement for lessons.

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What is a good free program for guitar instruction on the internet?

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lord100jac

I have been enjoying guitar lessons on Comcast and I have purchased an Alfred Music DVD Teach Yourself to Play Guitar. I was thinking of subscribing to Guitar Player Magazine on line because they have guitar lessons. I think the subscription is free. Are there any other freebies out there?

Answer
Go to GuitarMasterClass.net BEST SITE EVER FOR GUITAR

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I'm learning guitar and just got a pick, but I can barely play while using it. What do I do?

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Termite

I've been self-teaching myself guitar for a few days now with the guitar instruction book Hal Leonard Guitar Method and just got around to buying a pick. I'd been picking notes with my thumb up until now. Using the pick, I can barely play even some of the simplest tunes that I've learned so far so I have a question:

Is it necessary to use a pick? What are the advantages to using a pick over using my fingers?

Answer
A pick is a completely different technique from finger plucking or finger strumming and if it doesn't work for you now, get good at handling the fingering and all the variations of finger strumming and if you find something where pick works for you, then pick it up then. There are a variety of skills involved in handling a guitar and you have time to learn them

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