Article by That’s Entertainment!
In the immortal words of Radiohead, “Anyone Can Play Guitar”… apparently. I’m sure I’m not the only person to find the lyric irritating and patronising since, as many of you will know, it’s not quite as simple as that.
Of course, the song was released before the prevalence of online guitar courses, many of which promise to turn you into a rock genius overnight. This is obviously music to the ears of any frustrated bedroom guitarist, strumming away on their Fender Air, but how good can these courses be?
In the interests of research, and with the hope of finally unleashing my inner rock god, I decided to find out. I discovered that, while some courses are almost useless, there are many decent courses out there that make good on their claims. Whatever your ability and budget, there are courses out there to suit you and help you achieve your personal guitar goal.
Frankly, many of the courses aren’t worth the cost of the download, let alone the fee they’re charging, and no-one wants to have to pay for five or six courses before finding one that works. I’ve found two great courses, which I’ve listed below, which will help beginners and frustrated rock guitarists to really get to grips with this complex instrument. Have a look at their sites – if they’re not right for you, make sure you read a lot of reviews before paying for anything else, and go for courses with a money-back guarantee.
Here are my two top picks for you: Jamorama and Guitar Superstars
Best for Beginners: JamoramaA step-by-step downloadable course, this established course will help you develop your skills. Before you know it, you’ll be rocking out with the best of them and showing off to your mates. They don’t need to know you’ve only been playing for a month if you don’t tell them…
Jamorama contains Beginner to Intermediate and Intermediate to Advanced courses within the one package, giving you a year’s worth of lessons.
Value: Currently, the latest version is available for only .95, although their site suggests this will be increasing on the 9th January 2011 so be quick! This is excellent value for such an in-depth course – the equivalent in tuition would cost many hundreds of dollars.
Try it here: Jamorama
Best for Rock Guitar: Guitar SuperstarsThe Guitar Superstars site makes some pretty bold claims – it sells itself as a unique and powerful guitar learning system that can turn you into a great guitarist in a matter of days.
Initially sceptical, I soon realised that this is an exceptional course – in its first lesson alone, it covers material that makes up entire courses elsewhere.
In addition to the excellent guitar tuition, the course provides a lot of advice on forming a band and making it in the music industry. This is a much covered subject, but there is a lot of interesting and unique information you.
Value: At , it’s more expensive than Jamorama, but it’s still exceptional value. The accelerated nature of the learning, and the tips and tricks you receive, are worth far more than the cost.
Try it here: Guitar Superstars
Best of luck with your training. And, to paraphrase the mighty AC/DC, to those who are about to rock, I salute you…