JamPlay compared to GuitarTricks on YouTube

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Hello to all my faithful readers out there, just wanted to let you know that Tom Fontana from TheGuitarLesson.com just published a really detailed and insightful video comparing the 2 big guitar tutorial sites, Jamplay.com and Guitartricks.com.

We have a reviews of both of these sites on LearnMusicEasy as well, here is the one on Jamplay and the other one on GuitarTricks, but this video does a great job of explaining the differences between the 2 sites.

The method Tom chose to carry out the review is very interesting, he actually placed the 2 websites side-by-side, and compared their similar features, so you can really see the differences between them. Make sure you put in on full screen and choose HD, otherwise everything will be a bit too small.

It’s really interesting to see the similarities and sharp differences between the 2 big sites as the video progresses, I think the most dramatic point was when the 2 video screens were compared towards the end of the video. JamPlay obviously looks much better, but Tom correctly states a few interesting points on why design won’t win over educational value.

GuitarTricks has a couple of things going for it for sure, but then again, so does JamPlay. Watch the video and decide for yourself, and make sure to visit our reviews on both of these sites, where you can pick up a coupon to save a few $ off your membership.

Guitar learning guide

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Learning to play guitar is a truly wonderful endeavor, and if you persevere, you will in return, develop a truly great and unique skill that’s your’s to keep for life.

BB KingThere is just one problem with learning guitar. It isn’t easy, and by no means is it quick.

Some guitar guides promise to teach you guitar in 30 days, 60 days, 2 weeks, etc. Those are simply lies, created to sell more things to aspiring guitarists. This actually creates a false illusion in beginners, that they’ll be playing like BB King in 60 days. And of course, when this doesn’t happen, they get demotivated, and either:

  • stop learning guitar all together
  • move on to the next magic bullet product with good marketing

You want to know the secret to learning guitar?

Practice effectively for a few years.

Guitar learning guide

Here is what you need to do to learn guitar:

  • Practice for at least an hour per day. In the beginning, you’ll only get about 15 minutes per session, since your fingers will be hurting a lot. That’s ok, just aim to increase your practice session time as you can.
  • Be consistent in your approach, don’t jump from on YouTube video to the next. You will never learn anything like that. When you watch an average beginner guitar lesson on YouTube, be prepared to work on it for maybe even several days, before you can do what the teacher does in the 5 minute video.
  • It’s best to find a teacher you like and find motivating, and stick with a course outlined by the teacher. Here are some great online guitar courses for beginners:
    Beginner’s guide to learning guitar by TheGuitarLesson.com (free)
    The Core Learning System at GuitarTricks.com (paid, find coupon here)
    Guitar courses at JamPlay.com (paid, here is a coupon)
    Justin’s Beginners Guitar Course by JustinGuitar.com (free)
  • Practice, practice and practice some more 🙂

I know a lot of guitarists, and guitar students. I would say on average, it takes about 5 years for someone diligent to become an acceptable guitar player. The quickest students I’ve seen learned guitar in 3 years to a level that I achieved after 10, but he basically locked himself in his room for 3 years, and practiced non-stop. Most people won’t do that of course, but it’s good info for you.

The point is that learning guitar is not a quick process, but with the right guidance and well maintained guitar learning material, you can make it as quick as possible. Granted, you can start enjoying it fairly quickly, but don’t expect to be Slash anytime soon. Oh, Slash actually sleeps with his guitar, the first thing he does in the morning is play, and the last thing he does is….. Well, you figure it out 😉

The importance of tuning your guitar

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Oh man, there is nothing worse than an out of tune guitar.

Oh no, there is… It’s someone playing an out of tune guitar.

I can hear when a guitar is not tuned up from a mile away, and I’m sure many other people can as well. The thing I can’t figure out is why do people not tune up regularly? Doesn’t it hurt their ears? It shouldn’t be that way, people should learn how to tune their guitars.

I saw a YouTube video of a girl performing a song, I forgot what it was, but it was really weird, since she played semi-well, but her guitar was really out of tune. I guess she missed that day when her teacher taught tuning. Read more

Practice guitar with a free online metronome

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online metronome

Let’s face it, guitar players are notorious for bad timing. That’s just the way it is.

The problem is timing is very important in music. So what now? Guitarists with bad timing shouldn’t play the guitar?!

Of course they should, thankfully God invented metronomes to help develop our rhythm. Actually, it was a guy call Johann Maelzel, who patented the first ever metronome in 1815.

So if your timing and sense of rhythm sucks and you want to do something about it, you’ll need a metronome. Now you have several choices here:

  1. Buy a metronome at the store
  2. Download a metronome app onto your smartphone
  3. Use an online metronome

If you prefer the last, here is a great free online metronome developed by TheGuitarLesson.com. It has all the bells and whistles you would expect from an online metronome, and a few extra features to make life just a bit easier. Read more

Learning guitar tablature

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All beginner guitarists have to learn to read guitar tablature, it is a very important skill. You’ll be using tabs for the rest of your guitarist days, learning hundreds of songs through tabs, so it really is important.

At first sight, tabs may seem complicated. All those lines, numbers, what’s going on?

It’s really easy actually, here is a great video tutorial on the topic, and make sure you download this tablature symbol reference guide.

Once you know how to read tabs, a brand new world of opportunity comes your way. Read more