Vladimir Dolezal asked:
A few days ago I discovered an interesting free 10-minute blues guitar instruction mini-course on the Internet and I realized what some other courses I have come across were missing. If you want to find out what to look for in your guitar course to achieve the highest possible level of improvement in the shortest possible time, please, continue reading.
The following information is only relevant to online learning courses and possibly DVD and video courses. I believe that unless you have a private tutor, every music course (learning an instrument) should contain following elements – pictures, actual audio recordings of what is to be learned, video recordings, and ideally also text descriptions of the activities. The reason is twofold. We all have different primary senses of perception, meaning that some people learn the best by watching, others by doing, and yet others by reading or listening to instructions. The more methods of learning and tools we are given, the higher is a chance we will actually learn something.
Going back to the previously mentioned blues guitar instruction course, there were several aspects that caught my attention I like to share with you. First was the quality of the video recording. It was superb, meaning that both picture and sound were of a really good quality. Not only that, the way the camera was used also played an important part in why I was so impressed with it. The camera focus was predominantly on the left hand (the hand on fret board), which allowed the person viewing it to easily follow the instructions that were given at the same time by the tutor. However, the right hand (strumming hand in this case) was not excluded. When strumming was explained, the focus shifted on the strumming hand. The close view of hands and fingers took up around 95% of all video. Only about 5% of the total time the body of the tutor was in view, which allowed you to see his posture and the way he hold the guitar. This is a very good ratio, in my opinion.
Second, there were lots of repetitions of simple licks, however, it was fun to follow, which is a must if you are to continue your learning. If you do not enjoy it, you would soon give up. Even simple licks with proper strumming technique can bring great results. Many parents learned that hard way, when their kids got so excited about learning simple, but great sounding techniques that they then repeated over and over (I did the same thing with songs).
The video I am describing here left a very good impression on me, but it did not provide any pictures or written descriptions of chords used, which I think is necessary for many people in order for them to succeed. The actual pictures of hand and finger position both from front and side views, as well as standard diagrams of chords (with finger positions numbered), can be very useful and I would want them included if I was to buy a blues guitar course.
If you are a beginner, also make sure that your course teaches you the basics, such as how to hold your guitar, what is the proper position of your hands while playing the instrument, how to tune the guitar, and how to hold the pick. They seem elementary, but you would not believe how hard it is to relearn old bad habits, which might prevent you from attaining higher levels of performance.
Some blues guitar instruction courses offer additional online tools, such as learning games, access to song pond (database of most popular songs with instructions how to learn them), etc. Those are great, but look at them as a bonus rather than as a necessity. If there is a course that has all the parts described above, is fun to follow, and is reasonably priced, than there should be nothing to prevent you from attaining your goal of becoming a respected blues guitar player.
A few days ago I discovered an interesting free 10-minute blues guitar instruction mini-course on the Internet and I realized what some other courses I have come across were missing. If you want to find out what to look for in your guitar course to achieve the highest possible level of improvement in the shortest possible time, please, continue reading.
The following information is only relevant to online learning courses and possibly DVD and video courses. I believe that unless you have a private tutor, every music course (learning an instrument) should contain following elements – pictures, actual audio recordings of what is to be learned, video recordings, and ideally also text descriptions of the activities. The reason is twofold. We all have different primary senses of perception, meaning that some people learn the best by watching, others by doing, and yet others by reading or listening to instructions. The more methods of learning and tools we are given, the higher is a chance we will actually learn something.
Going back to the previously mentioned blues guitar instruction course, there were several aspects that caught my attention I like to share with you. First was the quality of the video recording. It was superb, meaning that both picture and sound were of a really good quality. Not only that, the way the camera was used also played an important part in why I was so impressed with it. The camera focus was predominantly on the left hand (the hand on fret board), which allowed the person viewing it to easily follow the instructions that were given at the same time by the tutor. However, the right hand (strumming hand in this case) was not excluded. When strumming was explained, the focus shifted on the strumming hand. The close view of hands and fingers took up around 95% of all video. Only about 5% of the total time the body of the tutor was in view, which allowed you to see his posture and the way he hold the guitar. This is a very good ratio, in my opinion.
Second, there were lots of repetitions of simple licks, however, it was fun to follow, which is a must if you are to continue your learning. If you do not enjoy it, you would soon give up. Even simple licks with proper strumming technique can bring great results. Many parents learned that hard way, when their kids got so excited about learning simple, but great sounding techniques that they then repeated over and over (I did the same thing with songs).
The video I am describing here left a very good impression on me, but it did not provide any pictures or written descriptions of chords used, which I think is necessary for many people in order for them to succeed. The actual pictures of hand and finger position both from front and side views, as well as standard diagrams of chords (with finger positions numbered), can be very useful and I would want them included if I was to buy a blues guitar course.
If you are a beginner, also make sure that your course teaches you the basics, such as how to hold your guitar, what is the proper position of your hands while playing the instrument, how to tune the guitar, and how to hold the pick. They seem elementary, but you would not believe how hard it is to relearn old bad habits, which might prevent you from attaining higher levels of performance.
Some blues guitar instruction courses offer additional online tools, such as learning games, access to song pond (database of most popular songs with instructions how to learn them), etc. Those are great, but look at them as a bonus rather than as a necessity. If there is a course that has all the parts described above, is fun to follow, and is reasonably priced, than there should be nothing to prevent you from attaining your goal of becoming a respected blues guitar player.
