A few tips for beginning guitarists

If you're just starting to learn to play guitar, you may be wondering what you can do to make the process a little easier.  Here are a few brief tips that will help you out.

1. Playing vs. practicing
Practicing means doing scales and technical exercises - everything that will strengthen your fingers and technique.  Playing is strictly fun.  Make sure you know the difference and do both.

2. The metronome is your friend
You need to learn good timing from the very start.  This is one of the most important things to do when you're first learning, because getting down rhythm and timing from the start will determine whether you're a good or bad guitarist down the line.  Developing good habits from the start is crucial.

3. Listen to all different kinds of music
The best guitarists are those who have a wide-range of tastes and technique.  No style of music is bad, though some may appeal to your tastes more than others.  You can get ideas even from songs you don't necessarily like.

Author's pick: Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top Electric Guitar

This guitar is ready to go as soon as you unpack it.  It plays and sounds much like a Gibson, but it's cheaper and better for beginners/intermediate players who want good sound for an affordable price.  It won't give you quite the same quality as a Gibson, but comes pretty close.

It's got a thick, warm tone on clean channels and looks fantastic, even if it isn't as detailed as a Gibson.  The ebony model is very clean and pretty.

Bottom line:

If you want a cheaper alternative to a $3000 Gibson but don't want to sacrifice sound, durability, and quality, this is your best option, hands down.

Rocket Piano: A Fast Way to Learn Piano

From the makers of Jamorama comes Rocket Piano, which is now one of the most popular downloadable online piano courses.  It covers not only classical piano techniques, but also jazz and gospel.

This program can take someone who's completely new to piano or music in general and show you exactly how to become an excellent intermediate pianist within just weeks.  The easy-to-follow, clear design of this program cuts down on the difficult learning curve that's often a hindrance with other methods of piano instruction.

Ruth Searle, a pianist with 15+ years of experience and a Bachelor of Arts degree, is your tutor.  She's funny and easygoing and presents the information just like a real life piano teacher would.  In fact, Ruth's instruction is one of the best things about this program.  Her ebooks and course materials are written in a very user-friendly, accessible way, which is why this program is so great for beginners.

When you order Rocket Piano, you get:

-a 165 page beginners' piano book
-a 65 page intermediate book
-a 59 page advanced book
-Introduction to Jazz
-Advanced Techniques
-Fingering Techniques and Exercises
-Introduction to Gospel Piano

And that's just the ebooks.  Rocket Piano also includes professional, high-quality jam tracks you can play along with - as well as videos - as you advance through the course.  There are also audio tracks of each song without piano accompaniment so you can play along with the band in the tracks on your own.

Software included in the package is:

-Chordinator (sightreading program that teaches you how to read piano chords)
-Perfect Your Pitch Trainer Pro (helps you develop your musical ear)
-Jayde Musica Pro (also included in Jamorama; another sightreading program)
-Rocket Piano Metronome (helps you hone your rhythmic skills)
-Keycelerator (helps you identify real chords)

Rocket Piano has both an FAQ section in the members area for any questions you may have, as well as dedicated email support, so you can ask questions any time you want.  All the material is downloadable, of course, and though there's quite a bit, it's very well organized and with a fast connection can be downloaded in just a few minutes.

There is a 60-day 100% moneyback guarantee if you aren't happy with Rocket Piano, so you can get your money back  without any problems.

Rocket Piano is priced at $40, which is a great price for this wealth of information which is presented in such an accessible way.  You'll not only be saving money by not paying for private lessons, but also be advancing more quickly because you can go at your own pace.

Final thoughts:

Rocket Piano is definitely the best online piano course I have seen yet.  As someone who took professional lessons for 4+ years and taught music theory, I've learned things from this course I'm now using to teach my own students.  For the price, Rocket Piano is a great resource for beginners who want to start learning piano.

Read more about Rocket Piano

Jamorama: Downloadable Guitar Lessons

If you're trying to teach yourself to play guitar, chances are you've heard of Jamorama.  This program is a downloadable guitar instruction kit.  Obviously, you'll need your own guitar before you can start.

My summary after testing out the program:

Pros:
-Easy to use even if you've never taught yourself an instrument before
-Video and audio files are integrated with each lesson
-Clear instructions supported by good-quality videos
-Very quick and easy to set up
-Teaches you both beginner and intermediate guitar techniques, so it can be useful even for those with some prior experience
-Lets you play along with a band

Cons:
-Not great for advanced players
-Minor issues with the feedback style (animations aren't great)

Here's what you get for your $40 when you download Jamorama:

-2 downloadable ebooks: Jamorama Beginners and Jamorama Advanced
-148 video lessons
-26 active jam tracks
-1000s of guitar tab lines
-Several audio files to support written instruction

There are also a few small bonuses included with the software package.  I wasn't terribly impressed with these, but they're not bad.  The bonuses are:

-How to Tune Your Guitar (ebook)
-Advanced Learning Techniques for Guitar
-Free email instructor line
-Full access to lifetime online updates (so you always have the 'latest version')
-Jamorama metronome
-GuitearIt! (game for eartraining)
-Jayde Musica Pro (teaches you how to read music)
-Guitar Tuner Pro

For the price, Jamorama is actually very good.  You'll basically learn the same things you'd learn over the course of several months if you paid an instructor to teach you.  It's very easy to follow and the graphics/layout are top notch, as are the video lessons which show right and left hands simultaneously, as well as a fretboard diagram.  So it's not that far from having a professional tutor teach you right from your own home.

Here's a screenshot of an actual Jamorama lesson:

I liked Jayde Musica Pro as a beginning sight reading guide.  As someone who's actually taught sight reading and music theory, I've seen many, many different ways of doing it.  This guide is very clearly laid out and and doesn't give you any complicated terms or instructions to have to deal with; just plain, basic directions and pictures.

Anyone who says you have to start learning an instrument at a young age is wrong.  With dedication and the proper tools (and of course the instrument of your choice), you can teach yourself to play anything.  Jamorama is further proof of that.  I've known several people who have successfully used this program, and while I'm not a professional guitarist myself, I'd definitely use it as a beginning tool.

You can read more about Jamorama here.