If you are like lots of other guitar players out there, you have some level of skill. Maybe you took a few lessons years ago, or taught yourself to play some chords as a teenager. Is now the time when you are ready to move to the next level? It sounds appealing, doesn’t it? Next Level Guitar offers lots of different products that are designed to help you do just that. The question is: are these products effective? The answer? A definite maybe.

Free Video Lessons:
There is no doubt that the folks at Next Level Guitar have produced a lot of guitar lessons. In fact, there is so much information on their website that it is a little hard to figure out how to navigate it. To start with, the site contains 42 free video lessons covering a wide array of topics and styles. The instructor is David Taub, and the tutorials are quite well done. Many of the lessons give tips for guitarists who want to learn to play like some of their favorite artists, so you can find hints for sounding like Jack Johnson, CCR, Eric Clapton, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and many more. David Taub says that he intends to keep providing free content like this because of a desire to be a part of the online guitar community. Nice guy!

Website Membership:
Of course, he also wants to sell some products. There are a lot of things to choose from here, as well. You can become a premium member of the website and have instant access to many more video lessons. It looks like there are well over three hundred of them, so you can probably find something that will interest you. There are 150 lessons for beginning players, and two large sections for intermediate guitarists that are separated into lead and rhythm instruction. There are quite a few advanced topics covered, as well as some education on things like guitars, amps, effects, etc. Your membership will also allow you to read and print 29 written lessons that often include chord diagrams and tabs.
But wait…there’s more! You will have access to an entire group of lessons about chords, a set of instructions on strumming, and a selection of jam tracks that allow you to play along with a band in different styles. The final perk of membership is the ability to join a forum of like-minded guitarists to ask questions and get feedback. This is a nice idea, but the message board did not appear to be very active, which means you may have to wait quite a while to receive an answer to your query.

DVD’s For Sale:
If you are not a fan of practicing your guitar in front of your computer all the time, you may want to purchase some of the same lessons that are on the website to have in DVD format. Next Level Guitar offers a big selection of these. The information on the website for beginning players has all been gathered into two DVD sets. Set One has four discs, and contains eight hours of lessons that start from the most basic topics like tuning and holding your guitar. Set Two continues from there, and gets into things such as embellishments, barre chords, and ear training. These sets are $129, a price that includes shipping charges.

For guitarists that are past the beginning level, NLG offers some DVD’s that are unique among the products I have seen. The company has produced at least 22 two-hour videos that are each based around a different popular song. So, if you have always wanted to be able to play “Twist and Shout,” or “Smoke on the Water,” for example, you can purchase an entire disc dedicated to helping you learn it. All parts of the song are dissected and taught in small bites, so that you can learn the intro or chorus first, before adding the bridge or verse. Each song is used as a vehicle to teach new techniques appropriate for the piece, and the idea is that you will be able to apply what you have learned to other songs in the same genre. It’s an interesting concept and might really appeal to someone who has been dying to learn a favorite tune and does not mind paying $25 for the privilege.
 

Conclusion:
While there are some good things about Next Level Guitar, (the best part being all the free videos) it does not compare to the comprehensive program put out by Learn and Master Guitar. This is a series of lessons that will give you all the fundamental knowledge you need to get started as a guitarist and help you with advanced skills in nearly every style of music, as well. If your desire is to be a well-rounded player with a firm understanding of the basics, Learn and Master Guitar is the program for you. Click the link to read my full review of this outstanding product.