Best Online for Beginner?

JMoto · #1 05-13-2016, 01:33 AM

Here's what I've found with good reviews for beginners so far. I'd love your thoughts on which/where to start. Don't mind paying, just want to learn a lot quickly!
TrueFire
Justin Guitar
Lick n Riff
Guitar Tricks
Center Stage Guitar Academy
Tony Polecastro

ALCO · #2 05-13-2016, 01:43 AM

What type of music do you want to play?
Kind regards,

JMoto · #3 05-13-2016, 01:45 AM

I like a lot of different stuff.
Artists I like most: Eric Clapton, Tenacious D, Ani Difranco, You+Me, India Arie, The Civil Wars, The Family Stone. So folk and R&B mostly?
Cheers!

ALCO · #4 05-13-2016, 02:35 AM

Good choices!! I'm also just starting to learn but maybe differ from you in that, whilst I practice for hours everyday I'm not in a hurry to learn lots of things quickly. However, I'm progressing well by concentrating on only a few techniques that are logically connected, by following Richard Lloyd's 'The Alchemical Guitarist' method. I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you would like to message me I will explain more about it. Also, if you find my other posts on the forum you will see that I have talked about it a lot. A lot!!!
I also use Andrew Wasson's online lessons.
Try to find the amazing John Frusciante on YouTube demonstrating his style, including playing Funk. I'd like to know what you think about it.
Kind regards,

ALCO · #5 05-13-2016, 02:43 AM

Here is the link:

James Brown/Funk style at around 08.06 minutes.

phxguy · #6 05-13-2016, 05:01 AM

For a beginner I highly recommend Justin Sandercoe (justinguitar.com). I like the way he lays out and progresses through the the basics.

Rossco02 · #7 05-13-2016, 05:28 AM

As per PHX I'd highly recommend Justin Guitar. Starting on the Beginners Course and then working through Intermediate. It's certainly where I learnt to play (not sure that's a good advertisement or not!)

SprintBob · #8 05-13-2016, 07:19 AM

Another vote for Justin's beginner and intermediate courses. The content, structure, and progression are very good. It's free and if you donate by buying a couple of his songbooks, it's a great deal. His video instruction on the songs on his site and out of his songbooks is very good also.

I would be careful about YT videos. There are probably lots of nuggets available but you need a structured path getting started and that is the biggest advantage that Justin's course work offers. Once you have a foundation, you can then determine the style you prefer and re-align/re-aim where you want to go. In my case (3+ years into the journey), I am pursuing primarily fingerstyle playing and at the same time learning some flatpicking technique to enhance my rhythm playing, all acoustic.

Good luck and have fun.

JonPR · #9 05-13-2016, 11:02 AM

Justinguitar - no contest (unfortunately). I mean, I've seen a whole load of video lessons on youtube, for some years, and none of them come anywhere close to justin's.

His site has a really enormous range of material, all well organised, with plenty of real basics for a good foundation. (You can buy stuff from him, but he gives away all you'll ever need for free.)

I only say "unfortunately", because he's going to get big-headed, and really there should be some competition out there. But there just ain't, not for covering so many bases. And not for free anyhow.

JMoto · #10 05-13-2016, 11:39 PM

Thanks for all the votes!

Clallam · #11 05-14-2016, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Another vote for Justin's beginner and intermediate courses. The content, structure, and progression are very good. It's free and if you donate by buying a couple of his songbooks, it's a great deal. His video instruction on the songs on his site and out of his songbooks is very good also.

I would be careful about YT videos. There are probably lots of nuggets available but you need a structured path getting started and that is the biggest advantage that Justin's course work offers. Once you have a foundation, you can then determine the style you prefer and re-align/re-aim where you want to go. In my case (3+ years into the journey), I am pursuing primarily fingerstyle playing and at the same time learning some flatpicking technique to enhance my rhythm playing, all acoustic.

Good luck and have fun.

+1 on this.

Beginners don't know what they need to learn. If you try to learn by piecing YouTube videos together you are bound to miss some important parts. Also, a common problem with experienced players is the stuff they take for granted. If they don't bother to explain something because they think that everyone knows it, their video will be great for another experienced player and of less use to a novice. I got very frustrated with YouTube for that reason. Justin starts at the beginning and covers everything in a organized way. If you complete his courses you will have a foundation you can take to any style.

It's also a whole lot less frustrating trying to learn songs if you have some of the basics down. I'm just finishing Justin's beginner course now and it has helped me a lot. I can play a lot of stuff now. As I'm trying to learn more songs I am realizing that most of the technique I still need to make them sound better is in his intermediate classes so I'm going there next. It will save me a lot of time and frustration in the long run.

Justin's course is self-paced. Therefore, it is up to you to set the speed. It's no different than any other field of study, how fast you learn depends on how much you practice.

If you decide to use his stuff do the right thing and buy something or donate to him. He gives away almost everything for free and his costs to do all that and pay for the hosting have to be high. It will still be cheaper than paying a monthly subscription to some other site.

ALCO · #12 05-14-2016, 04:00 AM

If the comments about learning from YouTube are in response to the John Frusciante video, I need to make it clear that I wasn't advocating that JMoto watch it for that reason. I hoped he might find it inspirational.
Kind regards,

SprintBob · #13 05-14-2016, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonPR

Justinguitar - no contest (unfortunately).

I only say "unfortunately", because he's going to get big-headed, and really there should be some competition out there. But there just ain't, not for covering so many bases. And not for free anyhow.

Say it ain't so! He sure seems like a laid back and likable person.

JamPlay is also pretty good on their beginner courses and have some contributing artists that provide a lot of diversity while maintaining structure and emphasizing steady progression. Justin endorses them when you feel his site does not offer the range or go into more detail. Not free, about $13/mo if you buy their annual subscription. I did my first beginner acoustic course with them and it was good.

Mdinterman · #14 05-14-2016, 09:53 AM

I only say "unfortunately", because he's going to get big-headed, and really there should be some competition out there. But there just ain't, not for covering so many bases. And not for free anyhow.

I sure don't know what you base this on. Pretty presumptuous.

Blueser100 · #15 05-14-2016, 10:06 AM

Justin is great for beginners. Solid teaching approach and excellent and well-organized book and media materials.

I really like Lick n' Riff but his arrangements are more intermediate to me. I like his laid back approach and personality, and his chicken scratch tablature, no frills here! His arrangements are different from most in that he teaches you instrumental versions of favorite tunes and shows you how to incorporate the melody line in the arrangements. Perfect for people who don't sing but want to play more than strumming or a single note line.

EDIT: I just recently signed up for a month at Guitar Tricks. I don't care for the title, and it's mostly electric stuff, but the acoustic songs are ones I really want to learn (mostly stuff from 60s, 70s). I got a coupon from their site for 20% off so it's less than $16 for a month. The website is very well organized, uncluttered, and simply laid out. The lessons are done very well.