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Though like most people we did find pleasure in listening to music so at least there was some kind of interest.
As the youngest of 4 brothers, I grew up on the sounds of various music Rock/pop/soul … The Beatles, Led Zeplin, The doors, The Jam, Meatloat, though mostly rock there was also the sound of Motown (my favorite). I think my brothers had a good ear for music, just not an interest in playing...unlike me who has always wanted to play. I tried piano lessons when I was about 7 and just hated it. The teacher, the idea of what people would think of me, all that combined for such a young age … well, it just sucked.
If you are thinking of learning play guitar and feeling a little apprehensive and you don't know where to start like me, then this honest article may be of an interest to you because, for one, hesitancy is a killer for creativity and I know lots of people who would love dearly love to play the guitar and when they tell their so called friends (and family) there seems to be this keen interest to do anything to fight them there ambition to play and start learning and if you allow those feelings of disheartenment to overwhelm you and allow your friends to the piss and any dreams of learn to play guitar go up the wall.
And, I was determined this would not happen to me. So, the first thing I did was to look for a teacher simply,
I looked in the yellow pages. Found a few teachers, After explaining I’m a total newbie and that I would need a far few lessons...got an idea of how much the cost would be an hour.
How much!? Each lesson (frequency of 4) *$65* for 45 minutes, I just didn't feel four lessons a month at 45 minutes each would be enough – Had I been more experienced then may be so.
Then I had to rethink my game plan.
Firstly, I went to the library found plenty of books on the topic of learning to play guitar, yet nothing to pique my interest.
I wanted something more interactive. So I looked for a DVD and found nothing.
So, over to Amazon, found some things of interest, read a few reviews but still nothing that too my fancy.
I then decided to find any online forums on playing acoustic guitar. I did find some brilliant information on those forums, one that was highly recommended is a resource called Jamorama. So I looked into it.
It’s a multi-media course that sets out to teach newbies like me how to advance from zero to playing the guitar.
It includes video exercises and audio examples that also compliments more advanced guitar players as well.
There’s also some freebies include....Jayde Music Pro – which teaches you how to read music, Guitaredit – how to transcribe songs with accuracy and develop a a good through a multiple choice listening game. Guitar Tuner Pro – a software based program and guit that tunes – according to the publisher is huge problem for beginners, How to tune the guitar – so that the the guitar sounds good while you play. Jamorama metronome – designed to sound like a traditional metronome sound enabling to good timing, speed and control. And Song pond – video lessons teaching by professional music instructors to guiding you to play songs from a wide range of artists, the really cool thing is all these are available for immediate download.
The principle who created the Jamorama, is a guy called Ben Edwards, who I found out has a Bachelors of Education, and what I found really interesting, and inspiring, is the fact, that Mr. Edwards was part of “Degreesk” rock band from Australia – as their lead guitarist.
Before try out Jamorama, there is a five day free course, so I figured that would try that first and I get on with the free course then I'd know if Jamorama is for me, so long as I progress than I’ll go for the full packed.
What I got out of the free trial.
Bare in mind, I’ve never played a guitar before.
I borrowed my friends guitar and followed the instructions in these free lessons...very carefully and was amazed how easy it was for me to follow along.
In the first lesson, the promise was, that we’ll learn some new chords! And rhythm patterns and the expectation is, by the end of the course we'll be able to play the song “midnight special”
Moi? Playing a song on guitar in just a couple of weeks – come on!
The first lesson goes into getting into the correct position, standing and hand position, fretting, holding the pick.
I don’t know about you but just knowing these basics made me feel more comfortable around the guitar. I couldn't wait for lesson 2 … roll on 4 days later...
...lesson 2, arrived in my in-box. And its all about how to read guitar tabular – what the heck is that? So, in the lesson, Ben briefly explains what tabular is and provides multi-media exercises to condition the skill.
At the this point, I’m so impressed with the free version…if this is the quality of the introduction series then I must consider purchasing the full course.
(Although, I do continue with the free lessons regardless…)
By watching and participating along with the videos, which encouraged me to continue to learn to play guitar, the specific benefit, I felt, was getting from the full course, how better I was becoming at chord progression.
Another added pro is how comprehensive the course is, not once did I ever feel bored and I was really happy with my progression...though at times I would be frustrated with myself.
I went though the course, but you do have to cultivate patience and practice and persevere….and practice some more.
Though, I felt with the Jamorama course because its multi-media, encompasing videos coupled with audio, it did not feel monotonous as I would expect to feel if I practiced just from a book.
Progression was steady, because of how well intergrated the videos, .pdf books and audios are well produced.
Plus, the free bonuses, such as the software like the tuning guitar *(I had no idea before I Just picked up Jamorama and then there is Song Pond, just made the learning curve just that little bit more enjoyable and its true if you enjoy doing something, it means you are doing it well.
The the software helped structure to learn to play guitar.
Though, I do have negatives…
Jamorama worked for me because I’m the type of person who can learn new skills on his own, it will work for you if you are the type that will venture to learn of your own accord….then this course is for you.
If not then don’t even bother with this course, if you still want to play, then perhaps you should get yourself private tuition.
Believe me when I say, learning to play guitar takes a lot of time and effort and dedication – there is no miracle pill – even with this excellent interactive course it still takes effort.
Though, in saying that, the monotony of playing guitar on your own, using a book (or whatever) is overcome with a program such as Jamorama, which is based on the principles of “contextual learning” that gets learners (like you and me) to play and jam as soon as possible.
Plus, I do not enjoy the idea of paying a teacher $65 each time, for justa 45 minutes of tuition time which is frankly not enough time learn in comparison to the cost of Jamorama *$39.95* it’s a real steal. You do save considerably.
Is Jamorama for you? That’s depends on your learning goals – Do you see yourself playing the guitar immensely in a years time? Can you keep up the practice on your own?
For more information on Jamorma, Click here. I suggest you take the xix free lessons first and get a taste of what Jamorama can provide for you and then you can see if its for you or not....
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