Beginner Guitar System Provides Good Value for Beginner Players

The newest beginner guitar dvd course I’ve reviewed is the Beginner Guitar System, authored by Nate Savage.

While I’m still a huge fan of Learn and Master Guitar, the Beginner Guitar System has a few things going for it that could make this the right guitar course for you.

As the name of the course suggests, the Beginner Guitar System was authored with beginner guitarists in mind. With that being said if you’re a newbie just starting out the $97 price tag on this course makes it a great value compared to private guitar lessons that could cost 8-10 times as much to learn the same material.

Like other dvd guitar courses the Beginner Guitar System includes more then just DVDs.

Lesson Book

The 177 page workbook is meant to be used alongside the dvd video lessons. Like other courses the work book contains practice exercises and a review of what was taught on the DVDs.

The lesson book is a great companion to use when you’re not watching the videos and as a refresher if you need to refer back to a previous lesson.

Lesson DVDs

The Beginner Guitar System contains 4 lesson DVDs. This was the first point that struck me when I was comparing it to my top pick in Learn and Master Guitar which contains 20 DVDs.

The 4 Discs included can be broken up into 25-30 individual lessons.

The lessons start with basic foundational techniques such as holding your guitar and proper hand positioning.

Multiple Angles and On-Screen Graphics

Nate, the instructor, uses a few different guitars during the videos (electric’s and acoustic’s) to illustrate the parts of the guitar as well as how to change strings.

Besides straight video each lesson uses on screen graphics such as chord blocks, sheet music and guitar tab to illustrate points. The video quality is amazing, and they have taken advantage of picture-in-picture technology to supply multiple angles for each lesson.

The video quality is a step above Learn and Master Guitar but I believe this is because the Beginner Guitar System is a brand new program and the cost of video technology has progressed a lot since Learn and Master Guitar was created a couple of years ago.

Play Along DVDs and CDs

It’s become some what standard practice for both guitar lesson dvd and online courses to provide backing tracks for practicing.

The Beginner Guitar System has gone one step further and created play along DVDs where you can see the full band playing on screen.

There are 10 songs available on the Cds and DVDs. On the CD there are 3 versions of each song. One without guitar, one without guitar but with a metronome track and one with the guitar part.

Each practice track covers a genre of music you’ll learn through out the course. The quality of the backing tracks is fantastic although I would have liked to see a few more different tracks added for practicing.

Online Support

While it’s not publicized on their website there is an online support forum available exclusively for owners of the Beginner Guitar System.

You need to email Nate after purchasing your course to gain access. As the course is new the community in the forum is still small. When compared to the support and community forum at Learn and Master Guitar I’d have to say that the Beginner Guitar System has a way to grow yet.

Conclusion

For beginners who want to save a few bucks the Beginner Guitar System is a solid course. How ever for the extra $52 Learn and Master Guitar is a more in-depth course that will take you further in learning guitar.

The video quality is fantastic with this course, beyond any other dvd guitar lessons I’ve used and reviewed. This makes watching the lessons very enjoyable.

If you feel you only want to learn some basic chords and start playing some songs you hear on the radio then the Beginner Guitar System is going to get you there. If you’re more interested in expanding your knowledge about the guitar, or if you’re an intermediate player then I’d suggest purchasing Learn and Master Guitar.