A lot of the easy songs use techniques not covered in the tutorials. Also I think it would be better to incorporate the music genres into the beginner music paths. So show the chords and techniques first then link to a country rock or blues song that uses what you've learned. At this point I can't bring myself to go through part two of fundamentals as I know it's gonna be a massive slog.
Where's all the songs by British Bands?? The Smiths. Joy Division. Echo and the Bunnymen. PiL.
Originally Posted by: treatedbadlyA lot of the easy songs use techniques not covered in the tutorials.[/quote][p]I'm not sure what songs or tutorials you are referring to. GT has 5 general levels of difficulty.
1 - absolute beginner
2 - beginner
3 - easy
4 - intermediate
5 - advanced
The difference between these level is covered in depth here.
https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/Difficulty-Ratings-Explained
In general, GF 1 is level 1 & 2. Near the end of GF 2 & into the style courses the difficulty rises to 3. By the end of Style courses 2 you are getting into level 4 difficulty. So, after successfully completing the skills & ideas in GF 1 you should be able to tackle most 1 & 2 level songs.
In fact if you go to the landing page for GF 1 you will see a list of suggested songs of level 1 & 2.
https://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=fundamentals1
That's not to say every student will automatically know every skill & idea & therefore be ready for every song! You might have to work on some specialized chord or strum or idea in some song. The difficulty ratings are after all a general guide. And every guitar student learns at a different rate, has different strengths & weaknesses.
If you, or any GT student, has trouble with anything, that's what the forum is for! And I would be willing to bet the skill or idea in question is covered in some tutorial somewhere on GT if not in the courses!
Originally Posted by: treatedbadly[p]Our teaching approach is that an absolute beginner has more than enough to learn & do just manipulating the guitar than to start focusing on genres. In other words, a C major chord is a C major chord regardless of style. Likewise for scales & reading music. GF 1 & 2 are about building skills from zero. And you have to be able to know & play a basic C major chord confidently & consistently before you can play it using genre specific techniques.Also I think it would be better to incorporate the music genres into the beginner music paths.
So, including genre specific techniques is beyond the intended scope of GF 1 & 2.
Having said that, there are suggested songs from several genres in that listing I mentioned. Those have to be in their own Songs category because they were publisher rights secured material.
I think Lisa did a great job of creating original songs intended to incorporate the skills & ideas taught at the right time in the right place in the courses.
[quote=treatedbadly]At this point I can't bring myself to go through part two of fundamentals as I know it's gonna be a massive slog.
If you already have the skills taught in GF 2 then go forward to your chosen Style course!
Another option is to try my older GF 2 & see if it better suits your learning preference.
https://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=fundamentals2(discontinued)
Hope that helps!
Hats of to Billy and Chris for patient diplomacy.
This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!
Thank you for your kind reply. I was simply relaying my experience regarding the site. I wasn't trolling or asking someone to fix it. I took out a yearly membership and I'm not really satisfied so I thought I'd post my feelings on the forum. I have other issues regarding the layout of the site which I find confusing but I won't go in to that. I don't think there's anything here which can't be found elsewhere on the internet for free with a little digging.
Where's all the songs by British Bands?? The Smiths. Joy Division. Echo and the Bunnymen. PiL.
The fact your user name is treated badly and your other posts were saying you find the lessons boring and can't be bothered to watch them makes me wonder how you think you will learn guitar at all. You probably can find everything you need on the internet for free if you spend enough time looking for it but it won't be giving you a structured approach to learning the instrument that you get from a subscription site.
Learning an instrument isn't easy and requires dedication and commitment, GT and other subscription sites give you a proven structured approach to learning plus a huge library of lessons from multiple instructors on other techniques for the instrument along with licenced song lessons for a very reasonable cost compared to private 1 on 1 lessons.
The website is clear and easy to navigate so I'm sure if you spend a bit more time having a good look around it you'll find lots of useful stuff here.
Originally Posted by: fuzzb0xThe fact your user name is treated badly and your other posts were saying you find the lessons boring and can't be bothered to watch them makes me wonder how you think you will learn guitar at all. You probably can find everything you need on the internet for free if you spend enough time looking for it but it won't be giving you a structured approach to learning the instrument that you get from a subscription site.
Learning an instrument isn't easy and requires dedication and commitment, GT and other subscription sites give you a proven structured approach to learning plus a huge library of lessons from multiple instructors on other techniques for the instrument along with licenced song lessons for a very reasonable cost compared to private 1 on 1 lessons.
The website is clear and easy to navigate so I'm sure if you spend a bit more time having a good look around it you'll find lots of useful stuff here.
Impressively well stated, fuzzb0x.
Many don't understand that It takes effort, discipline and dedication to play guitar. Sooner or later a structured approach is mandatory.
I believe it's easier for some more than for others but not easy for anybody and for years I've had the Chet Atkins quotation below for my Forum Signature. To paraphrase Robert Earl Keen, 'the road goes on forever, the journey never ends.'
john
Thanks for the replies. I am fully aware that learning guitar takes time hard work etc. I do practice most days. My point is I very rarely use this site even though I have a full years membership. That speaks volumes to me. When I do practice I mostly go on YouTube and find a song I want to play. So maybe this site is hamstrung by the song choice as they have to get the rights to the song. If the lessons included songs I wanted to play then Id probably use the core lesson plan more. I still fail to see what this site has that you can't find anywhere else.
Where's all the songs by British Bands?? The Smiths. Joy Division. Echo and the Bunnymen. PiL.
Originally Posted by: treatedbadlyI still fail to see what this site has that you can't find anywhere else.
All the information can be found elsewhere on the internet but you have to go looking for it at multiple places which takes a lot of time, what a subscription site offers is a one stop shop for all of the information needed to learn the instrument and in a structured approach proven to work, that's why it costs money because it takes a lot of time and effort to put it all together in a comprehensive and thought out manner.
YouTube is full of good guitar tutorials but it's also full of low quality lessons that don't lead onto the next technique in a structured way to help you maximise your learning potential.
It really does come down to how serious you are at learning guitar and getting the most out of your time on the instrument I've been playing for over 20 years and in my 6 years subscription to GT my playing and technique has improved massively and has encouraged me to want to learn more.
You pay your money (or don't) and you make your choice.
Face it! All these people are telling you that they are learning great amounts of knowledge form this program. Maybe guitar is not for you.
Captcha is a total pain in the........
Because you don't like a particular guitar site doesn't mean that you dont like guitar or aren't practising. I try and practice most days I just don't use the content in this site. Anyway I suppose we'll agree to disagree. I have six months left on my subscription and I won't renew unless they change the design of the site and add a lot more songs. Good luck everyone with your playing.
Where's all the songs by British Bands?? The Smiths. Joy Division. Echo and the Bunnymen. PiL.
I feel pretty confident that if you have the will to learn an instrument that you will find a way to play it. I also have met more than enough guitar players that sound amazing yet have never taken a formal lesson, some cannot provide any explanation of music theory. You know what, that is OK.
I have had a GuitarTricks membership for one year, and I too found that it did feel like work getting through Fundamentals1. I never thought I would enjoy playing an easy version of Simple Man but it did make sense in the context of the lesson material at the time. So I supplemented it with other training tools (Rocksmith, Ultimate Guitar Tab, youtube) to keep my interest up and would try out the other lessons available in the Styles sections of the GT site.
I also subscribe to and watch a few youtube guitar channels. The thing is, whenever I watch those contributors I notice that they usually quote some kind of music theory that I don't fully grasp yet...and I realize I am just copying someone else's work. So back to the grindstone with more fundamentals I go. Sort of like deciding between learning to memorize vs learning to be a critical thinker and come up with your own unique point of view. For example, I had figured out how to power chord my way through a bunch of Greenday songs before I ever tried Guitar Tricks and was happy enough to make awesome guitar sounds! I was only looking for a lesson system to satisfy my desire to understand the instrument more fully and considering the cost of 1-on-1 lessons this site won my business.
I am also fairly certain that I could progress much faster if I had access to 1-on-1 with an instructor from GT every day for 30-60 mins. They could point out small issues right away as opposed to me having to self evaluate. The problem is that you don't always connect with every human you interact with and guitar teachers are not exempt from this rule.
The point is that you could very well be happy memorizing a bunch of lick/riffs/songs and that is OK. To each their own. I will say this though, I have learned more with Guitar Tricks than on my own. If you are a beginner, it has everything you need to get you going in the right direction. The rest (practice) is up to you.
TL;DR GuitarTricks can take you from beginner to confident and there are other methods out there. Don't quit learning, just evaluate your progress and evolve your lesson plan.
