What to Learn Guitar!!!!!!!!!!
Learn & Master Guitar Complete 8GB
I was initially apprehensive about whether this course was a scam or not, but having read through positive user opinions on the product by senior members at guitar forums such as Harmony Central, I decided to go ahead and place the order.After waiting for a week, I finally received the Learn & Master Guitar (LMG for short) guitar course, and all I could say was "WOW!" when I opened the package and examined the contents.
The following is a full review of the L&MG guitar course (which won a 29th Annual Telly Award), with snippets from the content and my own thoughts sprinkled in for good measure.I've read through many other books on playing the guitar, and while they were really good in teaching the specifics, none of them really came close to giving me a sense of learning from an accomplished guitar player in private sessions.This guitar program, created by Legacy Learning Systems in association with Steve Krenz promises to lay down a firm training path for aspiring guitarists to follow. You can contact them for more information, read customer testimonials on the course, and discover other training products on offer.Read Mr. Krenz's bio to get more information on his musical background and published work
As mentioned at the official LMG site, these set of DVDs represent the main portion of the course. Each DVD has two sessions in which Steve Krenz presents the lesson and takes you by the hand in grasping the principles.Video and audio quality is very good. Zooming in on Steve every now and then makes it seem as if he's right there in the room speaking to you. The sessions are broken down into easy-to-understand sections, and Steve throws in liberal amounts of tips and gems along the way so that the lessons are never monotonous.I'm about to list down every single topic that's found in the course. It was a pleasant surprise that everything mentioned on the Topics and Styles Covered pages of the L&MG website was well and truly taught in the program. I half-expected to be let down as the site promised a lot. Well, I'm just glad that nothing was glossed over in the training ... they've even got Chicken Pickin' covered!DVD 1Session 1 -
Starting off rightTopics:
Getting to know the guitar
How to tune the guitar
Proper right and left hand techniques
How to read guitar tablature and chord diagrams
Learn the C and G7 chords
Finger and chord exercises. Advice given on recommended amount of practice time.
Getting to know the guitar
How to tune the guitar
Proper right and left hand techniques
How to read guitar tablature and chord diagrams
Learn the C and G7 chords
Finger and chord exercises. Advice given on recommended amount of practice time.
Session 2 -
Reading music & notes on the 1st and 2nd stringsTopics:
How to read music - rhythm, rests, treble clef, time signatures, barlines & measures
Natural notes on the 1st and 2nd strings up to the third fret
1st and 2nd string finger exercises
Ode To Joy jam-along
JingleBells jam-along (listen to the sample clip - scroll to the bottom of the page)
How to read music - rhythm, rests, treble clef, time signatures, barlines & measures
Natural notes on the 1st and 2nd strings up to the third fret
1st and 2nd string finger exercises
Ode To Joy jam-along
JingleBells jam-along (listen to the sample clip - scroll to the bottom of the page)
DVD 2
Session 3 -
Notes on the third and fourth stringsTopics:
Reading music - ties, dots, repeat signs, eighth notes
Natural notes on the 3rd string up to the third fret
Natural notes on the 4th string up to the third fret
Finger exercises for eighth notes, third and fourth string notes
Yankee Doodle jam-along (listen to the sample clip - scroll to the bottom of the page)
When The Saints Go Marchin' In jam-along
Love Me Tender jam-along
Reading music - ties, dots, repeat signs, eighth notes
Natural notes on the 3rd string up to the third fret
Natural notes on the 4th string up to the third fret
Finger exercises for eighth notes, third and fourth string notes
Yankee Doodle jam-along (listen to the sample clip - scroll to the bottom of the page)
When The Saints Go Marchin' In jam-along
Love Me Tender jam-along
Session 4 -
Notes on the fifth and sixth stringsThis is a particularly lengthy session, and typically takes about 2 weeks to finish if you're a complete beginner.Topics:
Natural notes on the 5th string up to the third fret
Natural notes on the 6th string up to the third fret
Finger exercises for notes on the 5th and 6th strings
Recap of notes in the first position, and a C Major Scale example
Minuet in C jam-along
Reading music - introducing sharps, flats and natural signs
The A Minor and E chords, plus finger exercises
Simple Gifts jam-along
The Star Spangled Banner jam-along
Minuet in G jam-along
Natural notes on the 5th string up to the third fret
Natural notes on the 6th string up to the third fret
Finger exercises for notes on the 5th and 6th strings
Recap of notes in the first position, and a C Major Scale example
Minuet in C jam-along
Reading music - introducing sharps, flats and natural signs
The A Minor and E chords, plus finger exercises
Simple Gifts jam-along
The Star Spangled Banner jam-along
Minuet in G jam-along
DVD 3
Session 5 -
Basic open chordsTopics:
Learn the C, G, Am, E and Dm chords - chord diagrams and basic strumming pattern / rhythm exercise
Learn the G, D7, Em and B7 chords - chord diagrams and basic strumming pattern / rhythm exercise
Learn the D, C7, A, A7 and E7 chords - chord diagrams and basic strumming pattern / rhythm exercise
Morning Has Broken jam-along
America The Beautiful jam-along
Learn the C, G, Am, E and Dm chords - chord diagrams and basic strumming pattern / rhythm exercise
Learn the G, D7, Em and B7 chords - chord diagrams and basic strumming pattern / rhythm exercise
Learn the D, C7, A, A7 and E7 chords - chord diagrams and basic strumming pattern / rhythm exercise
Morning Has Broken jam-along
America The Beautiful jam-along
Session 6 -
Minor seventh and suspended chordsTopics:
Learn and practice strumming patterns / rhythms with the Am7, Dm7 & Em7 chords
Music reading - strumming patterns with and without ties
Learn and practice strumming patterns / rhythms with the Asus, Dsus & Esus chords
Three basic 4/4 strumming patterns
Practicing the open chords in the key of C - C, Am, Am7, Dm, Dm7, G7, G, Em and Em7
Practicing the open chords in the key of G - G, Am, Am7, C, D, D7, Dsus, Em and Em7
Practicing the open chords in the key of D - D, D7, Em, Em7, G, G7, A, A7 and Asus
Scarborough Fair jam-along
Greensleeves jam-along
The Banana Boat Song jam-along For me, the highlight of this session is the practice of open chords in the key of C, G and D. It's rare to find guitar books that teach what chords fit into a particular key, and even more rare to find beginner books that include suspended and minor chords in the progressions. Two thumbs up.
Learn and practice strumming patterns / rhythms with the Am7, Dm7 & Em7 chords
Music reading - strumming patterns with and without ties
Learn and practice strumming patterns / rhythms with the Asus, Dsus & Esus chords
Three basic 4/4 strumming patterns
Practicing the open chords in the key of C - C, Am, Am7, Dm, Dm7, G7, G, Em and Em7
Practicing the open chords in the key of G - G, Am, Am7, C, D, D7, Dsus, Em and Em7
Practicing the open chords in the key of D - D, D7, Em, Em7, G, G7, A, A7 and Asus
Scarborough Fair jam-along
Greensleeves jam-along
The Banana Boat Song jam-along For me, the highlight of this session is the practice of open chords in the key of C, G and D. It's rare to find guitar books that teach what chords fit into a particular key, and even more rare to find beginner books that include suspended and minor chords in the progressions. Two thumbs up.
DVD 4
Session 7 - Barre chords on the sixth stringTopics:
Music theory - half-steps and whole steps
Natural notes on the 6th string up to the twelfth fret
Learn and practice movable 6th string barre chords - F, F7, Fm, Fm7 and Fsus
Music theory - major scales
Home on the Range jam-along
Yellow Rose of Texas jam-along
Music theory - half-steps and whole steps
Natural notes on the 6th string up to the twelfth fret
Learn and practice movable 6th string barre chords - F, F7, Fm, Fm7 and Fsus
Music theory - major scales
Home on the Range jam-along
Yellow Rose of Texas jam-along
Session 8 -
Barre chords on the fifth stringTopics:
Natural notes on the 5th string up to the twelfth fret
Learn and practice barre chords - B, Bm, B7, Bm7 and Bsus
Music theory - keys and key signatures, plus tips and tricks on determining a key from the key signature
Parallel major and minor scales, and the relationship between them
Jamaica Farewell jam-along
Natural notes on the 5th string up to the twelfth fret
Learn and practice barre chords - B, Bm, B7, Bm7 and Bsus
Music theory - keys and key signatures, plus tips and tricks on determining a key from the key signature
Parallel major and minor scales, and the relationship between them
Jamaica Farewell jam-along
DVD 5
Session 9 -
The secret to great strummingTopics:
What constitutes a good strumming technique?
Strumming with eighth notes, with and without ties
Music theory - diatonic intervals
Music theory - harmonic, major and perfect intervals
Double sharps and double flats, plus a warning about enharmonic notes
La Bamba jam-along
The Wabash Cannonball jam-along
Blues in E jam-along
What constitutes a good strumming technique?
Strumming with eighth notes, with and without ties
Music theory - diatonic intervals
Music theory - harmonic, major and perfect intervals
Double sharps and double flats, plus a warning about enharmonic notes
La Bamba jam-along
The Wabash Cannonball jam-along
Blues in E jam-along
Session 10 -
Fingerstyle guitarTopics:
Keys to good fingerstyle technique, and exercises
Merle Travis fingerstyle technique
Giuliani studies for classical guitar
House of the Rising Sun jam-along. Listen to the sample clip (scroll to the bottom of the page)
Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D jam-along
Keys to good fingerstyle technique, and exercises
Merle Travis fingerstyle technique
Giuliani studies for classical guitar
House of the Rising Sun jam-along. Listen to the sample clip (scroll to the bottom of the page)
Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D jam-along
DVD 6
Session 11 -
Pentatonic scalesTopics:
Music theory:
Definition of the pentatonic scale
Parallel major and minor roots
The five pentatonic forms
Common pentatonic patterns in pentatonic form #1
A Minor Pentatonic Blues jam-along
G Major Pentatonic jam-along
Around the Pentatonic World jam-along
Music theory:
Definition of the pentatonic scale
Parallel major and minor roots
The five pentatonic forms
Common pentatonic patterns in pentatonic form #1
A Minor Pentatonic Blues jam-along
G Major Pentatonic jam-along
Around the Pentatonic World jam-along
Session 12 -
Advanced chordsTopics:
Open & movable Two chords - theory and exercise
Open & movable Major 7th chords - theory and exercise
Open & movable Minor 11th chords - theory and exercise
Chord substitution for major and minor chords
Rockin' jam-along
Suspended Smooth jam-along
Acoustic Groove jam-along
Open & movable Two chords - theory and exercise
Open & movable Major 7th chords - theory and exercise
Open & movable Minor 11th chords - theory and exercise
Chord substitution for major and minor chords
Rockin' jam-along
Suspended Smooth jam-along
Acoustic Groove jam-along
DVD 7
Session 13 -
Playing the bluesTopics:
Music theory - defining the blues scale
Comparing C Major vs C Blues vs C Minor Pentatonic vs C Minor Pentatonic with Added Flatted 5th scales.
Pentatonic forms with blues notes
The Blues Chord Progression, and an example in C
Music theory - triads: major, minor, augmented and diminished plus an example in C
C Jam Blues jam-along
Johnny's E Blues jam-along. Listen to the sample clip
Music theory - defining the blues scale
Comparing C Major vs C Blues vs C Minor Pentatonic vs C Minor Pentatonic with Added Flatted 5th scales.
Pentatonic forms with blues notes
The Blues Chord Progression, and an example in C
Music theory - triads: major, minor, augmented and diminished plus an example in C
C Jam Blues jam-along
Johnny's E Blues jam-along. Listen to the sample clip
Session 14 -
Giving your playing some styleIn this section, Steve teaches techniques such as tapping, bending, sliding and finding the sweet spot for palm muting. These can later be used in playing lead guitar and Session 19 - Soloing. I particularly like the section on bending, and here Steve shares a secret handed down to him by Larry Carlton on the difference between a proper bend and the "lazy man's" bend - that's one I hadn't heard of before.Steve also shows what he terms as the "Eddie Van Halen" technique. This combines hammer-ons, pull-offs and tappings to form the basis of Eddie's style. Add in a little distortion and delay for a rock 'n roll effect and the riff sounds really, really close to the real thing. I now know where I went wrong when I tried to play something similar years ago - I had forgotten to execute the pull-off bit.Jazz octaves is also another excellent addition to this session, and Steve gives a tip on how to make your playing sound closer to that of Wes Montgomery - that's a really nice touch!Jam-alongs for this session:
Bending the Blues
Jazz Octaves
The Funky Mute
Bending the Blues
Jazz Octaves
The Funky Mute
DVD 8
Session 15
- Electric guitars - the heart of rock & rollTopics:
Power chords - chord diagrams for movable F5 & B5 and open E5, A5, G5 & D5
Power chord exercises
Country Chicken Pickin' exercises
Country Bends example
Country Arpeggio example
Sliding Fourths example
The Harmonized Major Scale - major, minor and diminished
Jam-alongs:
Power Chord Rock. Listen to the sample clip (scroll to the bottom of the page)
Power Riffs
Power chords - chord diagrams for movable F5 & B5 and open E5, A5, G5 & D5
Power chord exercises
Country Chicken Pickin' exercises
Country Bends example
Country Arpeggio example
Sliding Fourths example
The Harmonized Major Scale - major, minor and diminished
Jam-alongs:
Power Chord Rock. Listen to the sample clip (scroll to the bottom of the page)
Power Riffs
Session 16 -
Advanced strummingTopics:
Sixteenth notes - theory and exercise
Strumming exercises - 11 patterns, out which 8 are for strumming with accents
Jam-alongs:
Rolling Along
A Little Bit Rocky
Electric Funk
Sixteenth notes - theory and exercise
Strumming exercises - 11 patterns, out which 8 are for strumming with accents
Jam-alongs:
Rolling Along
A Little Bit Rocky
Electric Funk
DVD 9
Session 17 -
Going beyond the first positionThis is an impotant session because you learn how to be able to play notes on the entire neck of the guitar.Topics:
Three note on a string scales - 1st to 7th forms of the F major scale are presented so you learn how to play all the way up to the twelfth fret. This helps build the foundation skills necessary for speed, executing the triplet technique and soloing.
Music theory - the six types of Seventh chords - major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th, augmented 7th, diminished 7th and half-diminished 7th.
Jam-alongs:
Triplet Scale Practice
Pop Ballad Groove
ZZ Shuffle - extremely powerful stuff! Listen to the sample clip (scroll to the bottom of the page) Session 18 - JazzTopics:
Introducing Chord Melodies
Movable Major 7th Chords - Fmaj7, Bmaj7, Dmaj7, Emaj7 and Gmaj7
Open Major Seventh Chords - Amaj7, Cmaj7, Dmaj7, Fmaj7 and Gmaj7
Movable Minor Seventh Chords - Fm7 and Cm7
Ninth Chords - A9 and C9
How to Jazz up Chord Progressions - add color tones, ii-V progressions and / or dress up the dominant seventh chord
Jam-alongs:
All of Me - this is such a beautiful track! Listen to the sample clip (scroll to the bottom of the page)
On Green Dolphin Street
As Time Goes By
Three note on a string scales - 1st to 7th forms of the F major scale are presented so you learn how to play all the way up to the twelfth fret. This helps build the foundation skills necessary for speed, executing the triplet technique and soloing.
Music theory - the six types of Seventh chords - major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th, augmented 7th, diminished 7th and half-diminished 7th.
Jam-alongs:
Triplet Scale Practice
Pop Ballad Groove
ZZ Shuffle - extremely powerful stuff! Listen to the sample clip (scroll to the bottom of the page) Session 18 - JazzTopics:
Introducing Chord Melodies
Movable Major 7th Chords - Fmaj7, Bmaj7, Dmaj7, Emaj7 and Gmaj7
Open Major Seventh Chords - Amaj7, Cmaj7, Dmaj7, Fmaj7 and Gmaj7
Movable Minor Seventh Chords - Fm7 and Cm7
Ninth Chords - A9 and C9
How to Jazz up Chord Progressions - add color tones, ii-V progressions and / or dress up the dominant seventh chord
Jam-alongs:
All of Me - this is such a beautiful track! Listen to the sample clip (scroll to the bottom of the page)
On Green Dolphin Street
As Time Goes By
DVD 10
Session 19 - SoloingTopics:
Where Do I Start?
What makes up a good solo?
Chord tone soloing exercises
Ear training exercises
Stevie's Groove jam-along
Every Breath jam-along One important thing to note about this session is that you won't become a great lead guitar player just from going through this chapter. What it does do for you is tell you they whys and hows of soloing. You develop an appreciation of why some solos work and others don't. You won't be taught a large list of soloing or lead guitar styles.If you thought this soloing chapter lets you learn the secrets and licks of the great lead guitarists, you'd be disappointed, just like I was initially.But then I realized that more than any other course, the LMG program and all the 20 sessions within it thoroughly prepared me to venture into other material specific to playing the lead guitar. These specialized guitars courses assume a certain ability in reading music and prior understanding notes, scales and progressions, and I gave up very early due to a lack of music theory knowledge on my part.One example I can think of is the Chicken Pickin' technique that was taught in Session 15. It teaches you enough to play simple country riffs and backing, but for the more advanced stuff, you'd want to sit down through an advanced course like Joe Dalton's Big Twang. Browse Joe's video samples, especially Chicken Pickin' Solo 1 - notice how he assumes that you already have a strong guitar playing foundation and knowledge of major and minor pentatonic scales? That's what I'm talking about. By hte way, the Big Twang forms the basis of the style played by the late guitarist Danny Gatton, one of my favorite guitarist of all time.Me, I'm looking forward to once again going through those lead guitar / jazz books that I bought a long time ago.
Where Do I Start?
What makes up a good solo?
Chord tone soloing exercises
Ear training exercises
Stevie's Groove jam-along
Every Breath jam-along One important thing to note about this session is that you won't become a great lead guitar player just from going through this chapter. What it does do for you is tell you they whys and hows of soloing. You develop an appreciation of why some solos work and others don't. You won't be taught a large list of soloing or lead guitar styles.If you thought this soloing chapter lets you learn the secrets and licks of the great lead guitarists, you'd be disappointed, just like I was initially.But then I realized that more than any other course, the LMG program and all the 20 sessions within it thoroughly prepared me to venture into other material specific to playing the lead guitar. These specialized guitars courses assume a certain ability in reading music and prior understanding notes, scales and progressions, and I gave up very early due to a lack of music theory knowledge on my part.One example I can think of is the Chicken Pickin' technique that was taught in Session 15. It teaches you enough to play simple country riffs and backing, but for the more advanced stuff, you'd want to sit down through an advanced course like Joe Dalton's Big Twang. Browse Joe's video samples, especially Chicken Pickin' Solo 1 - notice how he assumes that you already have a strong guitar playing foundation and knowledge of major and minor pentatonic scales? That's what I'm talking about. By hte way, the Big Twang forms the basis of the style played by the late guitarist Danny Gatton, one of my favorite guitarist of all time.Me, I'm looking forward to once again going through those lead guitar / jazz books that I bought a long time ago.
Session 20 -
All the chords you need to knowTopics:
Chord formulas and abbreviations
Altered chords
Inversions and alternate bass chords
How to construct your own chord
Funky Groove jam-along
Dancing on the Ceiling jam-along
Chord formulas and abbreviations
Altered chords
Inversions and alternate bass chords
How to construct your own chord
Funky Groove jam-along
Dancing on the Ceiling jam-along
Conclusion and recommendationThere's no doubt in my mind that the LMG course is one of the best guitar lessons (if not the best) money can buy. Nothing beats having a great guitar teacher who will teach you well and gives out lessons to small groups, but it's pretty challenging to find that great teacher who can fit their schedule to yours and teach at a convenient location.Guitar books are a dime a dozen - you can see them lined up on the shelves at bookstores. These books are generally more suited to intermediate and advanced guitar players, and none of them provide a total multimedia experience in lesson delivery.The numerous books that claim to focus on beginners lack components such as jam-along CDs or instruction DVDs that make all the difference in whether you can stick to the program and end up competently playing the guitar, or give up after a while.It's extremely tough to learn the guitar just from reading books and looking at pictures - take it from me, I've been there and done that.This course has got me all excited about learning the guitar from scratch, and filling the gaps in my playing (especially in reading music and theory of pentatonic scales and jazz chords and progressions) and I daresay that I play much better and more confidently now than I ever have.Another big plus is the thriving LMG online community which provides support and a forum for students and Steve Krenz to openly communicate. Yes, there is such a forum, and you can join for free and browse around to see the enthusiastic activity in there from members who've purchased the course and discuss about their learning progress and almost everything else about guitar playing.
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