Guitar instructional dvds vs lessons

[MuyLoCo444]

My primary goal as of late is to get better with sweep picking and tapping. I really don't want to take lessons because of the money factor, but I saw some instructional dvds on amazon that looked interesting and compatible with my goals. So my question is, are these dvds worth it or should I take private lessons instead? Bear in mind I've been playing guitar for 15 years, and what I'm interested in learning is technique and not something which requires mental training and explanation(harmonies, phrasing, theory). What say you guys?

[MuyLoCo444]

THese are 2 dvds I'm interested in, anyone have them or know anything about the player?

[Li Shenron]

Lessons are always great and blah blah blah (insert usual explanations here).

The fact is, if you've been studying (not just owning...) the guitar for 15 years, you should know what you need to practice to get better in a certain area. Well, mostly...

After such a long time, if you get lessons they should be specialized lessons, either in technique, in a specific music style/genre, or another more general music skill such as theory or composition. What you certainly don't need is a generic music teacher, unless you are totally stuck to the point that you have no clue of what to study and want a sort of "reset".

But... here you have a clear understanding on what you want to study now: sweep picking + tapping. Two specific techniques.

What is the main problem here?
1) Do you have troubles or at least doubts at the basics of these techniques? Meaning you're not sure you're doing the best movements when playing them?
2) Are you out of ideas about which exercises will make you develop?
3) Are you out of ideas about how to apply the two techniques in your playing?

If the problem is 1), then I suggest finding a teacher, someone that you know can play and teach those two techniques specifically. Presumably someone who plays live around your area, and you've seen him demonstrate his technique. Hire him as a technique teacher and then make sure he doesn't stray away and try to teach you other things, unless you want to. He will surely also provide good material for 2) and 3).

If 1) is not a problem, I suggest you first try on your own, because then you probably just need practicing... Honestly I think you probably don't even need books and DVD that much, after 15 years you should be able to create your own exercises based on the various scales and modes you're already familiar with. If you really want a book/DVD to feel more confident, buy 1 or 2 but not more, so that you have only a few exercise to start from (this way it's easier to stay focused instead of jumping through too many exercises in a practice session) and create your variations using them as a starting point.

Personally I would prefer books that DVD. A book has so much more material in terms of exercises. The DVD has visual instructions that are of course useful, but if you have problem 1) the DVD alone is usually not enough, and if you don't have problem 1) then you're not so much in need of visual clues. A very nice book I've found for practicing tapping is http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Tapping-Licks-Musicians-Institute/dp/0634027603 (but know that this book has NO instructions on the basics, only exercises for those who already understand the basic mechanics of tapping).

For 3) applications, start at least by checking out records & songs by guitarists that are famous users of sweeping and tapping: buy transcription books with tabs, because these 2 techniques are practically always used very fast, so tabs will help if you have troubles figuring out by ears.

[Oaksong]

DVDs are awesome. The hard part is finding good ones.

 

Me, I got a TON out of the various metal method DVDs. And they aren't just good for "metal". Playing this stuff requires tremendous chops and the MM DVDs deliver that quite well. The DVDs are well produced, have on-screen tab, quality explanations, etc.

 

If you are REALLY interested in drilling technique for speed/badassery... go with the speed kills and speed lives series. I like more blues rock stuff, but in terms of "technique" drills.... these will test the hell out of you.

 

Now, if you are looking for rhythm technique instead of lead... just go get some tab books by some bands that you think have impressive rhythm chops and learn all the cool chords, phrasings, etc. I am doing this right now with Jimi Hendrix and it is paying off.

[gennation]

Those links don't say who the guitar player is, so we can't really comment about the player. But it says Lick Library. You should check on youtube, chances are parts of your vids are there as there's a BUNCH of Lick Library footage there: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lick+library&aq=f

 

Nothing beats sitting down with someone who knows what's going on. Plus, you ALWAYS get better when you're playing or hanging with someone whose better.

[kevinace]

I'm a bit biased since I work with a guitar lesson site but to be honest, I'd try all the mediums out there to see what works for you. Some of our competitors (Rock House Method) have some pretty kickass DVDs from artists if you're into more rock/metal stuff. There are some 12 DVD sets that sell (Learn & Master Guitar) that I hear are quite good. Of course you can ravage through the endless amount of content available on YouTube...the only downside there is that you'll run into a lot of garbage.

 

If you're going to go with YouTube, I recommend sticking to the channels for some reputable companies (Lick Library as linked above, Guitar Tricks, JamPlay (the site I work with).

 

Best of luck!

[BydoEmpire]

I have the Lick Library two-handed tapping DVD. It's pretty good, it covers the basic stuff, but it didn't go far enough. The selection of exercises is somewhat limited. If you want someplace to start with, you could do worse. The guitarist is good and he explains things clearly.

 

As with anything, the more you put into it, the more you get out. For me, the hard part about tapping (or any technique like that) is learning to apply it in a musical way, not just jamming "tapping licks" into a song. Flowing in and out of tapped parts. I was hoping the DVD would go into that a little bit, but it's more of a series of exercises which you can probably get from Youtube or a book.

[3shiftgtr]

Do both. Grab a few DVD's and git ta work. Then find a teacher who TEACHES what you want to know, and do a couple of one off's (1 hour or more) with him and record it (video preferably). That way you can reference it whenever you want.

 

Why does it have to be one or the other?

 

There is no 1 magic DVD or 1 teacher that will turn you into the player you want to be. Just keep plugging and use whatever means necessary.

[Steadfastly]

THese are 2 dvds I'm interested in, anyone have them or know anything about the player?

I don't know the price of these but they are likely quite reasonable, likely no more than the price of a couple of lessons. Why don't you just order them and if you don't like them, re-sell them on eBay and recoup most of your money? I'm sure you wouldn't be out much.

[meganutt7]

Do both. Grab a few DVD's and git ta work. Then find a teacher who TEACHES what you want to know, and do a couple of one off's (1 hour or more) with him and record it (video preferably). That way you can reference it whenever you want. Why does it have to be one or the other? There is no 1 magic DVD or 1 teacher that will turn you into the player you want to be. Just keep plugging and use whatever means necessary.

 

 

This is absolutle the best thing to do. One is never better than the other. and BOTh is always best. Learning on your own is great and can often be more rewarding, since you get to form your own ideas rather than having a teacher bludgeon you over the head with his/her ideas... On the flipside, a teacher that is good and keyed in to what it is that YOU want to do, will be able to give you tools to improve faster. You might have a small technical thing happening that is hindering a certain technique or idea.. A good teacher will be able to observe and help you correct this with minimal time, rather than you going through a long period of rehashing that mistake, thereby making it a part of your playing and much more difficult to re-condition.

[Jasco]

I'll put in a vote of agreement with 3shift and meganutt.

[girevik]

I just now found out that Stanley Jordan has an instructional DVD. If it's based on an older VHS tape release, I'd never seen the VHS tape:

 

http://www.halleonard.com/product/viewproduct.do?itemid=320477&menuid=483&subsiteid=7&

 

I'm going to get it mainly because I've been a fan since I bought the Magic Touch cassette years ago, and saw him on VH1.

 

As for sweeping, I like a combination of Pebber Brown's sweep picking basics video on Youtube and Jack Zucker's Sheets of Sound book.

 

A teacher who can effectively demonstrate and teach what you want would be an awesome find of course.

[axolotls]

i have those two and only scanned through them. i still suck at sweep picking tho.

stuart bull is that bald guy, really fantastic player. i think he plays in Australian Pink Floyd Tribute Band

[axolotls]

NVM, I was thinking of Jamie Humphries...