Do you Dream of Learning to play the Guitar? Let me Help you choose the right Guitar Lesson Course for you!

Welcome to GuitarLessonsReviewed.com, my name is Ian and I'm a guitar player. I've created this website to help you, a beginner, find the best way to learn to play the guitar.

I've used a combination of online guitar lesson videos and guitar lessons dvd courses to sharpen my skills and learn new techniques for a couple of years now. During that time I've noticed a few similarities in what made a good guitar instruction program and what the others were missing.

What's important when you're a Beginner trying to Learn to Play Guitar?

Quality of the Instruction and Explanation

This encompasses a lot. A good teacher is important so that you feel confident you're learning the right material. Quality videos are needed so you can see exactly what you're supposed to be learning and through explanation is a must so you're not left unsure of anything.

Easy to Follow Lesson Plans

This is a big one. There are a lot of guitar lesson membership websites out there but few of them have their lessons grouped into lesson plans or series. Having a logical lesson plan is important so that you learn new skills in the proper order and you never find yourself trying to learn something you're not quite ready for. It also avoids frustration and the chance that you give up on trying to learn.

In contrast to online beginner guitar courses a beginner guitar dvd course usually follows a straight forward and easy to understand lesson plan.

Student to Teacher Interaction

You need to be able to ask questions. If you get stuck or are unsure of something there needs to be an open line of communication between you and the instructor. This saves you from getting frustrated and potentially putting down your guitar for a while if you can't get past it.

There are only two beginner guitar lesson products I feel meet these criteria.

Learn & Master Guitar

Learn and Master is a guitar lessons dvd course that spans across 25 discs (20 DVD's & 5 CDs). The course is authored and taught by Steve Krenz (read Steve's Bio) who is a world renowned teacher and performer. With this program you can rest assured that the quality of the lessons & videos is top notch.

The lessons in this guitar instruction dvd course follow a very logical format (see the lesson plan). So it's easy for you to understand without confusion if you're a beginner. Each video lesson is broken down into easily digestible chapters that you can watch in just a few minutes, so even if you're busy you can find the time to learn guitar.

Beyond the videos on each learn to play guitar dvd Learn & Master includes 5 Jam Discs and a 100 page printed lesson book.

The Jam Discs contain full backing tracks (listen to some now) you can play along with while practicin. This makes practicing a lot more enjoyable even when you're just getting started.

The lesson book is the perfect supplement to the dvd lessons. The book has 20 chapters, one for each session on the DVDs. You use the lesson book to refresh what you've learned in the videos, so you don't have to re-watch the video each time you practice, it also supplies additional practice exercises and songs.

For the interaction portion of the course they have developed an online support website. You can ask questions, get feedback and encouragement from Steve Krenz, the instructor and other students who are following the course. This ensures you stay motivated and avoid getting frustrated if there's something you don't understand.

The course is aimed at taking you from a beginner to advanced guitar player in 12-18 months, and if you follow the lessons and practice regularly you will get there. Learn and Master guitar also comes with a 60 day satisfaction guarantee.

JamPlay Online Lesson Videos

JamPlay is a completely online guitar lessons solution. Like Learn & Master guitar, JamPlay, also uses video lessons (see a sample lesson). Video lessons are the easiest form of self study instruction to understand, so you learn quickly.

There are a lot of Guitar membership sites on the web, but this one stood out to me because of the organization of the content.

Most of the sites I've used offer you a lot of video content, but it's not very organized. This is alright if you're an advanced player looking to pick up a few new techniques, but for a beginner it's a nightmare.

You don't know where to start, and if you do figure select a lesson to start with you don't know where to go next. Eventually you get frustrated and just cancel your membership. Chalking it up to a “learning experience”, and not in a good way.

JamPlay has taken a unique approach to online guitar lessons for beginners. They have 30 different instructors that specialize in a particular area (see what JamPlay teaches). This way you're getting specialized instruction from a teacher who' background is in that style.

Each teacher creates a lesson series of 10-30 videos on their topic(s). With this lesson format you get continuous instruction from the same teacher along with an easy lesson plan to follow. So you're able to pick up new techniques, skills and styles very quickly.

As a beginner guitar player you have the option of learning on the electric or acoustic guitar and from several different teachers. I suggest you watch a couple of the lessons from the variety of teachers that have have beginner lessons and choose the one you like best. This gives you a choice of teaching styles so you feel comfortable with the way you're being taught.

Interaction on the JamPlay site comes in two forms:

1. Daily WebCam Live Lessons
2. On Support Website

The webcam lessons are held several times each day. You can learn new tips and techniques and also ask questions.

Inside the support site you can post questions to the individual teachers you're taking lessons from and get direct answers from those teachers. With this direct interaction you avoid getting frustrated and can smoothly continue through a lesson series from beginning to end at your own pace.

JamPlay also has a great library of support and practice materials. Like Learn & Master guitar they have backing tracks for you to play along with. Unfortunately they aren't as straight forward as those from Learn & Masters lesson book but they're fun none the less.

Also in the practice tools section there is a Chord Library, Scale Library and Lick & Riff Library. These are quick access libraries of information you can refer to when you're stuck (see the bonus features you get with JamPlay).

So Which Guitar Lessons are Right For You?

The nice thing about JamPlay is it's a month-to-month membership website, while Learn and Master guitar is a one time payment. So you're not shelling out as much cash up front to get started with JamPlay.

How ever I feel that Learn & Masters guitar instruction dvd course is easier to follow for beginners. Their course has a very straight forward road map that instructs you to learn A, then B then C etc. Until you master the instrument.

Both are fantastic guitar lessons for beginners and I have both, a monthly membership to JamPlay and a copy of the Learn & Master guitar course. How ever I don't believe that as a beginner guitar player you need both right now.

If you're someone who has a few basic skills already and are interested in picking up some specific tips I'd suggest you try JamPlay first. You'll get immediate access and can start learning new material today.

If you're a complete beginner and/or enjoy easy to follow organized materials when you're learning something new then I suggest you pick up a copy of Learn & Master guitar.

Also if you plan on continuing to learn the guitar beyond chords and basic scales and dream of mastering the instrument I'd suggest you pick up a copy of Learn & Master guitar, it will save you money in the long run.

Click here to read my full Learn and Master Guitar review

Click here to read my full rJamplay Review.