Guitar Tricks, Acoustic Challenge or Jamplay

[Bjbny]

I have been using Tony's Acoustic Challenge for 9 months and highly recommend it. It is designed to give you a skill based exercise every day. Monday's are a warmup, Tuesday are a lick. Wednesday's are a scale and backing track. Thursday is a Chord progression. Friday is focused on switching chords within a key. Each week has a unifying theme (ex, triplets, finger roll, hammer-ons, etc.).

A thorough instructional video, 3 tracks of the exercise at 60bps, 100bps and 120 bps to play along with as you do the exercise and a professionally produced tab are included with each daily exercise.

The weeks alternate between flat picking and finerstyle.

In addition, there is a very supportive forum community and people are encourage to post a video of their weekly scale played against the backing track.

Tony has also posted very detailed song lessons for about 30 songs. Each song lesson involves 6 to 12 sub lessons that are broken down into 2 bar segments.

Tony is an excellent teacher and the videos are lighthearted, but professional and informative.

I am a relative beginner and have seen my skill level advance significantly since I started using it. Each exercise used to take me about 30 minutes when I started, but I can now do them in 10 to 15 minutes.

The concept is that these exercises serve as a way to get you playing the guitar for a few minutes each day and hopefully on most days you keep playing.

The only "criticism" that I might offer is that Tony is primarily a blue grass player, so the song lessons and licks tend to be blue grass style items, although he does work in some blues-like stuff.

I highly recommend it. You can join on a monthly basis, so no major commitment is required and I believe he offers a free one week trial.

[Mrbirdog]

Originally Posted by Bjbny

I have been using Tony's Acoustic Challenge for 9 months and highly recommend it. It is designed to give you a skill based exercise every day. Monday's are a warmup, Tuesday are a lick. Wednesday's are a scale and backing track. Thursday is a Chord progression. Friday is focused on switching chords within a key. Each week has a unifying theme (ex, triplets, finger roll, hammer-ons, etc.).

A thorough instructional video, 3 tracks of the exercise at 60bps, 100bps and 120 bps to play along with as you do the exercise and a professionally produced tab are included with each daily exercise.

The weeks alternate between flat picking and finerstyle.

In addition, there is a very supportive forum community and people are encourage to post a video of their weekly scale played against the backing track.

Tony has also posted very detailed song lessons for about 30 songs. Each song lesson involves 6 to 12 sub lessons that are broken down into 2 bar segments.

Tony is an excellent teacher and the videos are lighthearted, but professional and informative.

I am a relative beginner and have seen my skill level advance significantly since I started using it. Each exercise used to take me about 30 minutes when I started, but I can now do them in 10 to 15 minutes.

The concept is that these exercises serve as a way to get you playing the guitar for a few minutes each day and hopefully on most days you keep playing.

The only "criticism" that I might offer is that Tony is primarily a blue grass player, so the song lessons and licks tend to be blue grass style items, although he does work in some blues-like stuff.

I highly recommend it. You can join on a monthly basis, so no major commitment is required and I believe he offers a free one week trial.

thanks for your comments....you might be the post that puts me into action...have been leaning toward Tony's program and will probably start it next week
Mrbirdog

[StevieS]

I recently finished a one-year subscription to JamPlay. I started with the fingerstyle course, then moved on to the bluegrass course. I found the video lessons and instructors to be thorough and understandable. They also have live courses from time to time. The nice thing about JamPlay is that for one price you can move from one style to another, one instructor to another. I did not try to post any questions, so I don't know if lack of response is an issue. I did get the impression that the sight is geared more to the electric musician, though. I thought it was well worth the price.

I just signed up with Peghead Nation because of my interest in roots music, so my first course is in roots & bluegrass rhythm strumming methods and patterns. The lessons have a little bit different approach and are more for an intermediate learner, but so far I like it. I'm also learning to sing along with my strumming, which I find difficult. I will see how I progress. There are beginner courses on the site as well.

I think there are many places to learn on the internet, you just have to find what works for you.

[acoustictim]

Honestly, they are all good. That's the problem. lol. It really depends on what you want to learn and what types of lessons are offered.

I don't have much experience with Acoustic Challenge, but I have used Guitar Tricks and Jamplay for years. I like them both for different reasons.

Guitar Tricks is great for learning guitar in general. Their courses are really organized and walk you through each step, so you can progress quickly. They also have a good amount of songs to learn.

Jamplay is good for learning different styles of playing. They do a good job of demonstrating how to play specific genres of music like fingerstyle, folk, and country. Every once and while I like to just sneak into a new genre and learn something that is way outside of my wheelhouse. It keeps me awake.

Both of these are fairly cheap and that's why I've subscribed to both for so long. It's a good resource to have whenever you want to learn something new.

As a few have said, Justin guitar is great too. Most of his stuff is free, which is even better. He does a really good job of teaching songs and helping you understand the techniques behind them.

All in all, I don't really think you can go wrong with any of these. It's just about what you want to learn. I'd recommend looking at each course in a little more detail to see if it has to style/types of lessons you want to learn before making a decision. I think some of these also have a free trial or something that you can sign up for and actually use their lessons for a short period. That might help you make your decision as well.

Regardless which you choice, you are on the right track just by wanting to get lessons.

[srick]

I think the choice of these sites depends so much on your interests and where your skill level lies. (note that Jamplay has merged with Truefire) The large sites almost offer too much at once. It's like being an immigrant from a third world country walking into an American grocery store: It's all food, but where do you start?

Justinguitars does provide a nice lesson plan and has been a mainstay of many on the AGF, but not all of us learn in a linear fashion. In my case, I was scattered, but it made me happy. I purchased online lessons, streaming DVDs, books, live workshops, you name it. In a way, it demystified playing and it demystified all of the great music that I craved to play, but it wasn't a direction.

Looking back on these 13 years (I started at age 53), I would do it a little differently.

1. I would find a teacher who I liked (no easy feat) and learn how to play rhythm and some basic chords. Also, a teacher will hopefully see any bad habits developing and correct them before they became ingrained. Similarly, I would find others to play with who would accommodate my skill level. I would jam as much as possible with these folks.
   
2. As a next step, I would start working on songs with the goal of playing in front of others. This forces you to a higher level and makes you listen critically to your playing (it's all about listening, BTW). Once you start recording yourself and listen critically, you will begin the essential process of self-correction. Then, if you can play in front of others, you can do anything.
   
3. I would then add in licks. Online lessons are great for this as there is so much cross-over between genres. This is when you learn how to navigate the fretboard, develop your ear and hear chordal progressions. But if you don't have the basics and you can't play with others, you will be severely handicapped in your progress.
   
4. At this point, the world is your oyster. With basics in place, once you get to the intermediate level, you can explore to your hearts content.

As I implied, I did it scattershot. I liked the breadth of Truefire's lessons, but most were beyond my technical skill level. Homespun's DVDs\streaming were excellent as the lessons were produced extremely well. I tried just about every website out there. But my first real breakthroughs came when I played with a good friend who patiently made me strum along with him. My second real breakthrough was attending several weekend workshops. Nothing beats pleasing your teacher.

I don't think I would have done this any other way. If I had been more structured, I would have achieved my goals more quickly, but honestly, I already have a pretty intense day job and for me, guitar was 'play time!' I didn't want to work at it. Funny thing is that I am now getting to where I wanted to go anyway. Now that I have the basic tools in place, everything is coming easier.

Enjoy, explore. There is no shortage of advice out there (or here), but at the end of the day, learn to love playing and listening to your music. Try as many websites as you like: you'll find that some fit your style and some do not.

Two websites that I will add to the list are: littletobywalker.com and activemelody.com. Toby is a great mentor and a great teacher. IMO, if you want to learn fingerstyle guitar, go here. Brian, of activemelody has a a wonderful gimmick: The first part of every lesson(and it's generally 20 minutes or more) is free. If you want the tab, the soundstream, and the detailed breakdowns, there is a monthly fee, but it is very reasonable. Of course, there are many others.

And, let us know how your journey goes. AGF is a great partner on your journey.

best,

Rick

[innocent75]

I use TrueFire a lot and like that I buy a course and I have access to the course. I work full time, am working on my MBA, and have a 4 year old. There are months when I only get to play an hour or two. Some months are a waste fo4 a monthly fee for me.

I have used, and will go back to using Artist Works once my MBA is finished and I get some evenings back. Their video exchange is remarkable but the courses are genre specific worked well for my case as I am interested in bluegrass guitar.

I had noticed huge gains in ability with artist works very quickly (within a few video exchanges) and slow with truefire due to it being self taught and self paced. Whatever gets you playing and pushing yourself forward.

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by Warrenaines

Curious as well, I liked Justinguitar enough to support his site. Haven't used the others, would be happy to pay for a service that has a good instruction in a structured format. ... I think I'm going to go through Justin's intermediate program and make sure I have that down and go from there

+1 on justinguitar.com. Lots of free lessons. He's been updating many of the beginner videos recently. I've subscribed to his $9.99/6 months subscription that gives access to the entire music theory course, which has been very helpful.

[Dickey Clapton]

I joined the UGS(unstoppable guitar system) and love the extensive self paced lessons for understanding theory. One time purchase price with periodic additions included in original purchase-constant “flash bulb” moments of finally understanding music processes. Joined guitar tricks about a year ago for the song lessons—one advantage of their program is the provided TAB s which many of the utube lessons don’t/can’t provide for I assume copyright rules.
Enjoy Justin,Marty and joined rob swift on Patreon platform
All have been beneficial—-it is a good time to be a wan-a-be guitar player with all the internet has to offer

[Lesbark Wagmore]

I'm a big fan of Caren Armstrong's lessons on Guitar Tricks. She was the best for me.

[mtrinske]

+1 for this earlier comment:

"would be happy to pay for a service that has a good instruction in a structured format."

I'm looking for a structured lesson/practice plan. Not so interested in the scatter shot "what do you want to learn" approach. More interested in "Here's the lesson, here's what and how you need to practice, and we'll review your progress at the start of the next lesson and polish it up.


Any leads would be appreciated.

[Sax Player Guy]

Originally Posted by mtrinske

I'm looking for a structured lesson/practice plan. Not so interested in the scatter shot "what do you want to learn" approach. More interested in "Here's the lesson, here's what and how you need to practice, and we'll review your progress at the start of the next lesson and polish it up.

Any leads would be appreciated.

That's exactly what I was looking for, too. I ended up getting a year's subscription to Guitartricks, and the main reason was because they have a plan that you follow that takes you from absolute beginner and moves in a progressive manner. I agree with earlier posters, though, who commented on the, um, not particularly engaging teaching style of the teacher. She is a good teacher, but it became a slog.

Lately, thanks to references to it on the AGF and thanks to being shut in by the pandemic, I looked into Truefire. They have a 30-day free trial membership that allows you free run through their entire site. I discovered that they also have a step by step plan. If you click on "Learning Paths" you can select from among Rock, Blues, Jazz, Acoustic, and Country. No matter which path you pick, they all begin with foundational courses (Learn Guitar 1; Learn Guitar 2; etc.) that start from the very beginning. As you move through your course path, you see it occasionally peppered with level-appropriate supplemental courses in the style you're interested in.

The nice thing about the 30-day trial was I was able to sample numerous courses and find favorite courses and teachers, which I then placed in my "favorites" so I can easily find them later. I bought a few courses, but then decided to get a year's subscription, which gives me access to everything. So far, I'm finding Truefire much more engaging than Guitartricks. They have got some seriously high-quality, engaging teachers there, and I'm making progress.

Good luck in your search, and keep us posted on what you find that works for you!

[Graylocks]

Originally Posted by Sax Player Guy

The nice thing about the 30-day trial was I was able to sample numerous courses and find favorite courses and teachers, which I then placed in my "favorites" so I can easily find them later. I bought a few courses, but then decided to get a year's subscription, which gives me access to everything. So far, I'm finding Truefire much more engaging than Guitartricks. They have got some seriously high-quality, engaging teachers there, and I'm making progress.

around black friday Truefire tends to have a really AWESOME sale. i've picked up a number of full courses at ridiculously low prices over the years. keep that in mind before you stockpile any more courses right now.

[Sax Player Guy]

Originally Posted by Graylocks

around black friday Truefire tends to have a really AWESOME sale. i've picked up a number of full courses at ridiculously low prices over the years. keep that in mind before you stockpile any more courses right now.

Thanks for the tip, Graylocks. I certainly have enough courses going at the moment to keep me busy until then!

[roylor4]

I looked at Truefire, but it had an F rating with the BBB then, so I passed.

I joined Jamplay for a year, but the instructors were very good or very bad, without much between. They also automatically renewed my membership at the end of the year and were rude when I called to cancel.

Just my .02.

I've used and like Justin's site as well.

[Vancebo]

I just tried a seven day free trial with Jam Play because I got a coupon for buying strings. I downloaded all of the content for a Bluegrass class. It was right at my ability level. I didn’t continue membership yet. Before that, I tried Tony’s Acoustic Challenge and found that it is too easy for me. I emailed them for a refund and they sent me back a refund without any hassle. I think it would be a great program otherwise. I think I am going to work best with a program that I can pick the topic, style and level and have the freedom to work at it at my pace and not a monthly or yearly ongoing fee. Right now, I have time to practice. There will be long stretches when there is no time when life gets back to normal.