Guitar Alliance
Overview
The
Guitar Alliance name refers to a collection of specialized on-line
guitar lesson programs that are accessed only from the internet. These
programs can be purchased separately and include the following:
Guitar Alliance - a general lessons program
Just-Acoustic - “ The ultimate resource for acoustic guitar “.
Guitar Mojo Blues - “ Blues Guitar Exposed “
Riff-O-Matic - “ The amazing formula for learning favorite songs on
the Guitar. “
This review will focus on the general lessons program Guitar Alliance.
The
Contents
This private, members only, website is well organized with a simple and
logical system of navigation. The first time you open the site you will
land on a special “ Getting Started “ page that describes how the
lessons are organized and how to navigate the website. On the left of
most pages is a column of button links that include the following:
Guitar 101 - “The Basics and Beyond “ includes: Getting in Tune,
Why Reading Music is NOT Important, Practice Tips, The Fretboard, Chord
Basics, Intervals and Relative Pitch, Rhythm, Time and Key Signatures,
Reading Tabs and Chord Diagrams.
Technique - Alternate picking, Left and right hand exercises,
warm ups, hammer-ons, pull-offs, stretching, control, building hand
strength and speed and even a free metronome software download.
Licks And Phrases “ Discover Your Own Lead Style “, phrasing,
interpretation and improvisation
Riff-O-Matic Lite - This is a generous taste of the full
Riff-O-Matic program where the emphasis is on putting your new skills to
work learning some of the classic popular guitar songs. Here is a
partial listing:
Best of You by Foo Fighters, Vertigo by U2, Witchy Woman by The Eagles,
Moonflower by Santana, The Thrill is Gone by B. B. King and Imagine by
Chet Atkins, ( just to name a few ).
This section was so much fun that I ended up spending much more time
exploring the songs than necessary to write this part of the review.
Jam Tracks - This is another fun section that is designed for
practicing solos and improvisation with well known, popular songs.
Testing - This quiz section emphasizes learning to hear and
recognize the open strings sounds, chords and key signatures.
Printer Zone - This is an area for printing convenient reference
materials for your practice sessions. Some of these materials include
basic scale patterns, scale modalities, chords, intervals and a
fretboard note diagram.
Resources: This webpage offers additional useful printables like
blank tab and chord diagram sheets for writing songs. Also you will find
some useful links to websites that offer software products for
transposition, recording and slowing popular songs down for easy
learning.
Forums: These contain a wealth of guitar questions and answers
from the many members of Guitar Alliance. The topics range from guitar
selection and maintenance to helpful techniques. They even have opinion
forums that strive to answer fun questions like; what are your top 10
favorite guitarists and guitar solos. Part of the value of these forums
comes from the large number of people that participate.
Other sections of the
Guitar Alliance lessons program include a Chord Guide, Scales,
Arpeggios, Strumming, Songwriting, Finger Style Playing and a Gear
Guide.
Who will
benefit from this program?
I can honestly
say that rank beginners through experienced pros should be able have a
good experience with this program. Beginners will benefit from the
thorough, logical lay out of the lessons with audio assistance even
without the advantages of video. Intermediate and advanced players will
enjoy a polishing of old techniques as well as filling in the gaps of
missing guitar theory. I truly believe everyone will benefit from the
rich forums.
Negatives
The biggest drawback seems to be lack of video. Learning guitar is a
visual, auditory and tactile experience. Teaching guitar by employing
all of these senses is ideal.
This program is offered only by internet which, by definition, ties the
student to a computer. A fairly fast computer with a fast DSL or Cable
internet connection will be important.
Another minor problem is that the audio samples, while excellent in
quality and quantity, are usually offered at full tempo which might be
frustrating for some students. Optional audio examples of songs and
lessons with slower tempos would be helpful for practicing. However, I
discovered that I could listen at full speed then turned off the audio
to practice. When I could play the lesson at close to full speed I would
turn the audio back on and play along.
TIP:
the audio files seem to require double clicking to start.
The Bottom Line
I wasn’t expecting much when I began to explore the Guitar Alliance
Program especially when I discovered that it was an internet only
experience with no video. I was pleasantly surprised. This website is
logically laid out with thorough lessons in technique and music theory
that are supplemented by a great many helpful audio tracks. This is a
fun course because eventually the lessons teach how to play parts of
popular guitar songs. Learning to improvise solos with the Jam Tracks,
while quite a challenge, was also great fun. The informative and
enjoyable forums alone were almost worth the cost of the course. The
annual fee of only $39.95, ( as of this writing ), is an excellent
value.
If you are interested in learning about all of the Guitar Alliance
lesson programs just click the links below for more information.
Guitar Alliance
Just-Acoustic
Guitar Mojo Blues
Riff-O-Matic
