My thoughts on…
Video Guitar Lessons. Let’s start with the announcement that fans of videos probably won’t like. Video materials are not suitable for learning guitar. They are not because video provokes unconscious imitation of the techniques. At best, it just produces no results At worst, it might mislead you from the proper way of learning techniques since all of us have different anthropometric measurements, and the demonstrator’s skills to apply these techniques might be far from perfect.
To better understand what I mean, let’s present an example of my own. When I was learning how to play the violin, one of my first teachers couldn’t grip the bow fully with his right hand because the little finger was shorter than usual due to an injury. If I had followed his example and left my little finger hanging, I would not have been able to hold the bow as securely as required and could never have played many of the most beautiful and difficult compositions.
But let’s get back to the guitar… I am deeply convinced that a teacher is supposed to explain, not to show. He should be capable of explaining everything so that the student understands what is expected of him to succeed.
Of course, all these explanations can be demonstrated by means of video. But learning sheet music, rhythmic patterns, and figures in text format are much more convenient. Furthermore, it has been proven that information is processed better and stays in the memory longer through reading rather than through watching videos. So, read my lessons in PDF format and master your playing techniques (section «Guitar Lessons»). Only watch the video materials, which are currently in Russian but which will soon be translated into English, to confirm that you are on the right track.
Video Analysis of the Compositions. For whom are these intended? For those who know nothing about the guitar, but want to learn as fast as possible. But this is not the right approach. This is why you are hardly able to repeat what the demonstrator shows you. You do exactly the same, but the sound quality is far from perfect. It’s not because your guitar is of poor quality (for example, the space between the strings and neck is too wide, or the strings are too taut). It’s probably because you place your fingers at the wrong angle in relation to the neck. Or you don’t have enough strength to hold down the string. Or your nails are too long on the fingers that hold down the strings. Or…there are a lot of «or» scenarios that should be taken into account by all beginner guitarists but are not spoken about during the video analyses of the songs.
But it’s another thing if you stick to the academic guitar training program. In this case, you get the full range of knowledge and skills that will allow you not only to play the guitar but also to master guitar techniques by yourself. I know that you have been told many times that the academic course (classical guitar training course) is a long and difficult process that requires learning notation. But is it not long to learn just one song in half a year by watching a video? Only five songs within three years? Within such a period of time, you will be able to undergo the entire classical guitar training course and play all the songs you want, not only those that are shown in the video. What else can be «difficult»? The training is organized from the easiest content to the hardest. So difficulty will not be an issue. One more thing that should be mentioned here is sheet music. Reading sheet music requires memorizing only a small amount of information and learning how to apply it in practice. Just believe me — it’s as simple as reading ordinary text. You can read, can’t you? So draw your conclusions and go to the section «Guitar Lessons», download the first page, and start learning the art of guitar playing. All lessons are written as a self-teaching guide, so there is no need for a teacher. Good luck!