“I'd all but given up ever being better than mediocre, but decided to try the course. Man-oh-man! What a great and easy product to use! I began to master in weeks what had eluded me for years.” –- Home Study Course User
If you want to learn to play guitar, or take your playing to the next level, finding the right guitar home study course or online lessons for your particular situation can be confusing.
Here’s some clear, accurate information to help you make an informed decision.
High quality instruction and a systematic learning process are key, for both beginning and intermediate guitar players.
In-person lessons from a professional instructor are a great way to go, but can be costly, require considerably time for travel, and be tough to fit into your schedule. Home study courses and online lessons provide a cost-effective alternative, or supplement to in-person lessons.
Over the past 3 years we have tried many of the available guitar learning products, and share our observations below. Hopefully this information will help you make a more informed decision, and find the best fit for your skill level, objectives, and budget. Browse our findings below.
Comprehensive multi-media step-by-step instructional home study course
Applicable to all styles including acoustic, rock, blues, fingerstyle, jazz, and country
Designed for novice, beginner, and intermediate guitarists
20 professionally produced DVDs, 5 Jam-along CDs, and 100+ page lesson book
Free online student support site and community
Award-winning music education package (Telly Award)
60 day 100% money-back guarantee
*** New Years Sale!***
The folks over at Learn and Master Guitar are running a great sale. Both versions of LMG are on sale at a deep discount of $100 If you are serious about learning to play well, grab this top-shelf home study course while it's at a bargain basement price!
Summary: The Learn & Master Guitar course is the “cream of the crop” when it comes to a guitar home study package. This DVD-based course is suitable for both beginners and advancing guitarists. The only ding against it is the relatively high cost of the product. However, this is clearly a case of "you get what you pay for", as this course is superior to the alternatives.
If you are serious about wanting to learn to play guitar right, and the price tag is within your budget, you will not go wrong with this course and its extensive multi-media “workshop” format. Learn and Master Guitar overall represents the highest quality offering on the market for learning to play guitar, or taking your skills to the next level.
128 video clips for viewing on your PC; 2 printable PDF ebooks (Basic and Advanced), 26 Jam Tracks, and 1ots of tab
Complete step-by-step approach to learning guitar or advancing skills
Appropriate for novices and beginners, and some intermediate players
Comes with some very good bonus guitar learning software and e-books
Solid guitar learning package for the money
60 day 100% money-back guarantee
Price: $39.95
Summary: This course is a very solid value for the money, and is our top pick among the many downloadable learn guitar e-courses available. It has a lot of content (but not as much Learn & Master Guitar) and is generally of good quality. It has the advantage of being immediately downloadable, while a drawback is that the video lessons must be viewed on your PC, and the e-books and tabs must be either viewed on a PC or printed out. (A physical version of Jamorama is available at a considerably higher price point, but at that level you might as well spend a few extra bucks to get Learn & Master Guitar).
The lessons are generally well-structured and flow logically in a step by step learning process. Coverage of music theory is somewhat lacking in this package, as it just teaches how to read tablature, not standard musical notation. If you don’t mind being to your PC for the multimedia aspect of the course, at $39.95 this course is an excellent value. If you prefer not to spend the more money for Learn & Master Guitar, Jamorama is a perfectly respectable way to go for a quality home study course.