Have you ever heard someone say, "My mother made me take guitar/piano/trumpet lessons when I was a kid and I sure regret it now?" If you are like me, you probably hear just the opposite. It’s the lessons folks quit or gave up on that they regret. People usually wish they had stuck with the training they started as youngsters and often want to go back to their musical education as adults. If you are one of those folks who used to dabble with guitar and would like to go back, or even if you have never played before and want to get started, GuitarTricks.com could be a source of help for you.

Unlike many sets of CD’s or books you can order to be shipped to you directly, GuitarTricks provides video lessons online that you can access for a monthly fee. Jon Broderick started GuitarTricks.com in 1998, making it the oldest website of its kind on the Internet. His goal was to put some of his own lessons on the web that clearly explained how he played some of his favorite solos and invite other guitarists to do the same. His hope was that the lesson-sharing would benefit guitar players of all abilities from all different locations. I think Jon reached his goal.

Basic Information:

There is a lot of information to be had here. As of 2008, the website has collected over 3000 lessons from 45 different teachers around the world. Instruction varies with each lesson; some just teach a short riff or lick, others are well-developed studies of complex topics. Most of the sessions have video, although a few provide audio-only instruction. There are also some older lessons that were shot with some poor lighting or camera work, so it’s hard to see exactly what the instructors are doing. On the whole, though, you can learn a lot from the Guitar Tricks website.

The lessons are organized and categorized in several different ways. You can search according to skill level and choose from Absolute Beginner, Beginner, Easy, Intermediate, Advanced and Extreme. This saves a lot of time because you don’t have to search through concepts that are too easy or too hard for you.

You can also look for a lesson according to the style of guitar you want to learn. Just about any genre of music you can think of is included here and experts in each area teach the lessons. Some of the styles you will find are Acoustic, Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Jazz, Folk, and more.

Another feature I think is unique to GuitarTricks is the search feature that allows you to find lessons in the styles of some of your favorite guitarists. This section is called “By Inspiration,” and it lets you find music similar to that played by many guitar heroes ranging from Carlos Santana to Chet Atkins, and from Eddie Van Halen to Jack Johnson. It’s a pretty sure bet that you will find something that appeals to you with such a wide selection. 

Each lesson at GuitarTricks is accompanied by an “info bar” that shows you the Key, Style, Difficulty Level and Focus of the lesson. The tabs you will need for the lessons are displayed as flash text or plain text, and a graphic overlay illustrates each note as it is played. You also have an option of printing the notes and tabs out to follow along if you want.

There are more than 150 Guitar Theory Lessons available. While theory may not be your favorite thing, it can really come in handy when you need to understand why something does or does not work. Theory topics range from Scales and Chords for beginners, to Improvisation and Chord Inversions for intermediate students, to Chromatic Fretboard Scale Patterns for advanced players.

If you register at GuitarTricks, you will get 24 free lessons with no strings attached. It’s a good way to try out the videos and search engines and see if you think it will work for you. If you decide to become a member of the site, it will cost you $14.95 per month. It is probably worth checking back once in a while, though, because they sometimes offer membership for even less.

Conclusion:

For the most part, I think you can find a lot of good information at GuitarTricks, but there are a few disadvantages. For one thing, it might be tempting to skip all around in your search for lessons. That can keep you interested, but you might miss some necessary skills without a more systematic approach. Another drawback is that you must be in front of your computer to view the lessons, which greatly limits where you can practice. If you are interested in a thoroughly comprehensive guitar system that will teach you all you need to know to become a great player, my top recommendation is a DVD series called Learn and Master Guitar.

To your success,

Crazy Dave

 

...I'm off to the Guitar Licks!