Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar Boxed DVD/CD Set Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been playing guitar for nearly 20 years but have always been frustrated by my limitations. My only formal training was an intro guitar class in college and a few months worth of private lessons some time later. I taught myself to finger pick to an intermediate level but have never been very accomplished on lead playing and am not versatile at all. I recently stumbled across some info on the Learn & Master Guitar series on a couple of guitar websites and thought it sounded interesting. As I researched the course, I found it nearly unanimously praised and I eventually decided to bite the bullet and spend the $150 (it seems that the course is nearly always "on sale" on their website). I am so glad I did, just wish I'd had this course 20 years ago!
My problem has always been simple ignorance - I had no idea where to begin. This course does a great job of guiding the player from the most basic principals through to more advanced studies. The instructor on the videos is very warm and is a good teacher - he takes things slowly and methodically and explains everything clearly (and he is also a great guitarist). The course does a good job of keeping things dynamic, mixing theory with hands on learning and offering a number of different resources to help the learning process - the DVD sessions, lessons from the workbook, and CDs with accompaniment tracks to jam along with. The content is also quite diverse - you'll work on strumming, finger picking, soloing, chords, scales, rock, blues, and jazz styles, and on and on. The videos are well produced and have a really pleasant vibe. Each session has a suggested time period for mastering that session's material based upon an assumed practice schedule of 15-30 minutes per day. Some sessions may take a week, others a couple of weeks, etc. I think the time estimates are fair for beginners, though some more accomplished players and/or those with prior music theory knowledge may move more quickly through the course. One other very helpful part of the course is the online experience. There is an active community of online users and forums at [...] and the instructor interacts there from time to time in addition to the help & encouragement found from other students.
There are two real sticking points for this course in my opinion. First, your practice time will be self-directed, so lazy folks may not be motivated to follow through. I think this type of course is best suited to self-starter types who are disciplined enough to practice without someone else making them. A flip-side benefit is that you can learn at your own pace based upon your existing skill level and your time availability. Second, this course is pretty heavy on the music theory. For people who just want to learn some cool-sounding riffs and rock out, this course may not be your thing. This series really is about learning and mastering the guitar, and that cannot happen without learning some good solid music theory. This is a strength in my opinion but I know it will turn some others off (heck, I was a 10 year old kid taking piano many moons ago, and I remember how little interest I had in learning to read music!). Highly recommended if you've got the time and inclination to work hard - if that's you then this is money very well spent! This course was initially sold independently but later branded under the Gibson name. It's no wonder Gibson picked it up, it's really good.

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With Gibson s Learn & Master Guitar you get 10 instructional DVDs, 5 Jam-along CDs, 100+ page lesson book and online support. Designed for those wanting to learn acoustic and electric guitar from the ground up, you ll start with fundamentals (how to strum, use a pick, notes on the strings) and progress to advanced skills (soloing, playing up and down the neck) all while learning musical styles (rock, blues, jazz, fingerstyle and country).

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Learn & Master Guitar with Steve Krenz, Original Edition (10 DVDs, 5 Jam-Along CDs, Lecture Book& Unlimited Access To Support Site) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you prefer to buy one curriculum of material that is well organized instead of a bookcase full of booklets that don't tie together very well, this is the course you have been looking for.
This starts from zero and teaches you exactly what you need to know to really learn to play guitar. You will develop knowledge and skills in theory, music reading, technique, variety of styles, etc.
The course is appropriate for beginner and intermediate level guitar players. Many who think they are intermediate level will find they are beginners when they tackle this course.
The course will take most people 10-14 months or more to complete, but when you are done you will be able to read music (treble clef, anyway), understand how music works (thoery), you'll have a basic understanding of acoustic and electric gear, some effects, what you need in an amplifier, and other basic gear. Most importantly, you will have learned how to play guitar, and will be able to speak, read and write the language of musicians, and will have the basis to take your playing into any genre and develop further. You will have developed technique for a variety of styles, and will be able to play notes, chords, rhythms, and actualy know what you are doing, and why.
The course is supported with an active discussion board and many users worldwide. Also blogs, a user sponsered yahoo site, user contributed materials, and more. The author participates in the discussion boards and answers questions as well.
It is well organized, the instructional design is very good, you can see where you are going (unlike with lessons) and you can do it at your own pace, at your own time. I'm not knocking lessons, they have their place, but I think this is an excellent way to learn to play guitar if you are committed to learning.
If you aren't, buy a tab book and plink out some notes you can't name. If you are looking for a magic potion or something that will turn you into a great guitarist in a month...sorry - that does not exist. Join the ranks of the guy who ranked this a "1".
The course is well done, not a scam, and highly recommended. It is professionally produced and a good value at the new price listed here of $229. I paid slightly less buying it on sale. I bought this new, it was worth every penny. Make sure you get the full course with bonus materials, they are worth the extra money. At around $200, this delivers what you might get from around $1000 worth of lessons. Google Learn and Master Guitar and make sure you buy it on "sale".

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Learn & Master Guitar consists of 10 fully-produced dvds (Region 1 NTSC) and 5 Jam-Along cds, all crammed with step-by-step instruction, clear demonstrations, and cool songs you already know. Also included in the Learn & Master Guitar Lesson Book, a detailed guide with pages and pages of songs and exercises to go along with each of the video lessons, giving you even more material to practice with on your own!You'll learn:* Foundational techniques for beginners* Ear training* Basic chords* Reading music & tablature* Barre chords* Strumming patterns & techniques* Arpeggios & finger picking* Pentatonic scales and much more!

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Learn and Master Guitar, Expanded Edition, Steve Krenz, 20 DVDs, 5 Jam-Along CDs & Lecture Book, from Legacy Learning Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let me first say that I had tried, unsuccessfully, to learn how to play the guitar for 7 years. And without Learn & Master Guitar, I would probably still be trying to learn how to play today.
I have seen some concerns on other reviews, so as someone who has owned this for just over a year, I will address those, and at the end I will give you my pros and cons of the course.
First, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of video of examples out there for you to decide whether or not to buy this. I don't know if that is a "Learn & Master" thing, or a Steve Krenz thing. Learn & Master offers other courses such as ballroom dancing, painting, drums, and piano...presumably taught by an expert in each field. So maybe they are the ones who don't allow sample video to be shown.
Anyway, this was a concern of mine since I didn't know if Krenz's style of teaching would jive with my style of learning. The reason I took a chance was the 60-day, no questions asked guarantee. I don't know how easy it is to return the product because I have no desire to do that. It turns out Krenz wasn't the ogre, shyster, or taskmaster I thought he'd be. In fact, he couldn't be a nicer, laid-back, easy-going guy.
I also see some people are concerned that there are fake websites out there offering to review various guitar lessons, which are in fact just shills for Learn & Master Guitar. I honestly don't know why they do this. This program is good enough to sell on its own merit without having to trick anyone into buying it.
When you get the series, you get a book of lessons, and a bunch of DVDs. Krenz starts out with the basics, showing you how to hold the pick and where your hands should go. He even differentiates where your hand should be when strumming versus picking notes, which may be basic for some, but I found it quite helpful. You can tell this guy has taught quite a bit.
He then goes on to show you the different notes in the first four frets, and progresses to different chords. After each lesson, the DVD goes to an exercise section where he plays the exercises with you. If you feel like practicing more, you can go back and do it with him again or you can just use the book and do it on your own.
One thing I really like about this program is I am a busy person with a lot of demands on me. I have two dogs, a girlfriend, family in the area, two jobs, etc. And just because you buy lessons doesn't make you better, you have to practice. The amount of time people have to practice will vary, so what might take you two days to get your fingers used to might take me two weeks. In between sessions, I can practice as long as I'd like before moving on.
I tried Hal Leonard books and a couple other programs, but Learn & Master guitar was the only thing I tried that really built a solid foundation for me to expand from. I also took lessons from a guy who charged $30 per half hour session and seemed to care about the money way more than he cared about me. Plus I had to fit into his schedule at odd hours. I was going to try another place where I liked the teacher better, but they close right when I'm getting off work. This series is cheaper and more convenient for me.
I see another reviewer called this an amateur video production. I have worked in the video production industry for nearly 15 years and I have to disagree. It is not "Avatar in 3D Teaches Guitar", but who needs that? What you need is clarity of content, and ease of use. For my purposes, Learn & Master guitar fits the bill. And you'd be surprised how hard it is to make an easy to follow video that teaches guitar. Just check out YouTube for all the bad examples...see if you can follow along.
And as far as people who already know how to use the guitar and think this series sucks or you want to "jam along with something else", return it and get your money back. If you can't play songs by the time you know all the chords, all the notes, and various strumming/picking/plucking patterns and techniques, I don't know what it's going to take to make you happy.
Pros:
*Steve takes his time to make sure you understand the concepts and what you are doing
*If you are having trouble, you can just watch that section over again
*At the end of each thing he teaches you, he takes some of the exercises in the practice book and practices with you at a very comfortable pace
* You can easily see what fingerings you are supposed to use, as well as what strings you are supposed to strum
*Workbook allows you to practice at your own pace without the DVD in
*Way cheaper than in-person guitar lessons, at least in my area
*You can work at your schedule. I might take a month off because I'm busy at work, but I can pick right back up where I left off. It's a personal guitar teacher who goes at MY pace.
*He uses different types of guitars in his lessons, so you can see these principals work on electric just as well as acoustic
Cons:
*There are some places where the copy of the tablature they use on the DVDs is a little faded, so if you don't look at the book at the same time, or it is your first time on that lesson, you might try to play an F when it is really an A
*It does seem to be a little expensive, but when you price guitar lessons I think you'll find this is much cheaper. Plus I read there are a few times a year they offer a discount. For example, I just looked and right now the 10-dvd series is going for $119 instead of $219, and the 20-dvd series is going for $149 instead of $249. Maybe these are always the prices, and they just use this as a special "if you buy now" offer to put pressure on you. But if money is a concern, you might wait until you see one of these sales or buy it used.
*If you already know guitar, I might not be the one to judge how much you will get out of this. Since I take this at my own pace, I don't know what the advanced lessons teach yet. I might as well have been a complete beginner, so this worked really well for me who didn't know exactly what to do.
Overall, none of these cons detract from the fact that I literally spent years, on and off, trying to learn to play the guitar. And since this was the only course that I personally experienced that worked for me, I don't see how I have any choice but to give this thing 5 stars.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Learn and Master Guitar, Expanded Edition, Steve Krenz, 20 DVDs, 5 Jam-Along CDs & Lecture Book, from Legacy Learning

Winner of the 2008 Acoustic Guitar Magazine Players' Choice Awards, two Telly Awards and an AEGIS Award for Excellence in Education, Learn & Master Guitar is widely recognized as the best home instruction course for learning guitar available anywhere. It consists of 20 professionally produced DVDs, 5 Jam-Along CDs, a 100+ page lesson book, and a free online student support site. It is the only instructional package you'll ever need on your journey toward mastery of the guitar.

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