Frequently Asked Questions
What are online guitar courses?
Put simply, online guitar courses are learning materials to teach guitar playing techniques on a computer. These usually consist of text - usually in an eBook format (so just like a traditional learning book, but on your computer) - often accompanied by audio examples and video lessons so that you can see and hear how the exercises and songs should be played. Many courses also come with software, for example to help with certain learning tasks or utilities such as tuners and metronomes.
Courses may be downloadable or online. Downloadable courses are downloaded to your computer, which may take a lot of time if they contain audio and video and you are on a slow connection, but means you can use them offline. Online courses consist of a website which you are given access to after purchasing the course, which has the advantage of less downloading and easier updates, but mean that you have to be connected to the Internet to use them.
Some courses are also available in hardcopy format, although the cost is likely to be much higher. If you have a slow connection, some course providers may be willing to send the course to you on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM for an extra fee.
Why are they better than traditional learning methods?
Comparing them to traditional guitar course books and DVDs that you might find in your local music shop, the main advantages are technology and cost.
The technology of online courses can often make them more convenient and usable than print books and DVDs. The best courses are fully integrated with the text, audio and video so that you can read the text and instantly click to hear the audio or watch the video - no more scrabbling around to find the CD of audio examples that's got separated from the book! Many commercial guitar tutor DVDs don't even come with printed material, and those that do often have tiny and unusable books sized to fit a DVD case. Compare that with eBooks that can be quickly searched and zoomed to your preference and it's easy to see the advantages. Also, many courses also come with additional software packages to make learning more fun and productive.
The low cost of digital distribution compared with the cost of printing books, pressing DVDs and distributing them to shops means that online courses can cost significantly less than books and DVDs covering the same amount of material. A typical instructional DVD might cost $20-30 and give you 1-2 hours tuition. Instructional books with a CD might cost $15-25. An online course retailing at $40 might contain the content of several books and DVDs and throw in some software as well. Plus, the huge competition in the online guitar course market means that prices are now lower than ever as each course provider struggles to dominate the market.
But isn't it better to get a teacher?
Probably. But that's like saying it's better to get a Rolls Royce than Ford Ka. For the price of many of these online courses, you'd probably only get an hour or two with a teacher and however good they are they couldn't cover a fraction of the material in any of these courses in that time.
Also, whilst there are many great teachers, there are also a lot of bad ones. There are some bad online courses, but you'll have lost a lot less time and money finding that out than you would before you realise your teacher's been wasting your time.
Remember that a lot of famous guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton were self taught and they didn't have the benefit of today's multimedia courses, probably just a stack of records and a battered copy of "Play in a Day"! What they did have is motivation and a determination to learn the guitar, and this is far more important in determining your success than whether you have a teacher or not.
However, I wouldn't dismiss guitar teachers entirely. I think it's probably good to check in with one now and then just to check your technique and go over any problems your having. Maybe teach yourself with an online course and book a few lessons every six months or so. Just make sure you use friends' recommendations to find yourself a good teacher and don't waste your money.
I've seen an online course that promises to make me play like a rock star for $39. Surely this is a scam, isn't it?
Depends what you mean by scam. If you think that just spending $39 will make you a rock star, then probably. However, many online courses probably do give you enough information to learn to play guitar as well as many signed artists, but only you can make yourself a rock star. It takes a lot of practice, and it's really just a matter of finding the learning materials that make the practice as pleasurable and efficient as possible for you.
Generally, very few online courses are actually scams or rip offs. Most of them offer 30 day, 60 day or longer money back guarantees and most of them used established and reputable payment processors such as ClickBank so you can be reasonably confident of getting your money back if anything goes wrong. I'm sure there are people who put up scam courses to make a fast buck (or are just deluded in the quality of their teaching material), but they don't stay in business very long when everyone's chasing them for refunds.
The problem with most online courses is the way that they are marketed. The competition is very strong, so the temptation for course producers to exaggerate benefits and make claims to secrets unavailable elsewhere is great. And it works, so who can blame them! However, it may lead to some disappointment on the part of the buyer so I'd encourage you to look past the marketing hyperbole at what you actually get and what the cost is. Even if the courses aren't always quite as good as their marketing implies, most of them still represent excellent value for money for what they actually are.
I've seen that xyz course gets a five star review on several websites. This must be the best course for me to buy, right?
Well, maybe, but like any other information on the Internet you have to take it with a large pinch of salt! The trouble is that many of these courses are sold through what is known as "affiliate marketing", where websites that promote the courses are paid a commission in return for sales directed through their website. Generally, this is a good thing as it enables small businesses producing guitar courses to promote them cheaply through an army of affiliate marketers. However, one of the most popular methods of affiliate marketing is through review sites where a site reviews a few products, appearing to be unbiased. Unfortunately though, it's difficult to know whether the owners of these review sites have even bought the products their reviewing, much less how unbiased they are. So you have to ask yourself if the product they gave the five star review is really the one they thought was the best, or just the one that pays them the most commission!
Even if you find a review that you're fairly sure is unbiased (and even ones on forums may have been posted by affiliates or the vendor themselves), you still have one major problem - the reviewer doesn't know you. They don't know what your goals are, what your existing skills are, how much time you want to spend or if you prefer to learn through reading or watching. Considering your own personal goals is very important when choosing a guitar course. If your main aim is just to be able to strum songs and sing along at parties and camps then there are courses that concentrate mainly on that (some even include singing instruction!) If you want to play fast licks in a metal band, then buy a course that will cover rock lead guitar techniques.
Overall, there is no one course that is best for everyone. Decide on what your goals are and what your learning style is and choose the course that ticks the most boxes based on that. And yes, this website does use affiliate links, but I'm not going to pretend to rate one course as better than another - just give you the information to make your own mind up which course is best for you to buy.
But is it safe to enter my credit card details over the Internet?
There are hundreds of millions of credit card transactions taking place over the internet every day and with modern browser security the chance of fraud is fairly minimal and less than with most other places you'll happily use a credit card.
I understand though that most of the online guitar course providers are small businesses and even those of you comfortable with large online stores such as Amazon may be wary of purchasing from smaller retailers such as these. However, the majority of the courses listed here do not do their own payment processing but use large and well established companies such as ClickBank to process their payments so you can buy with greater confidence.
