Product Description: eMedia's Guitar Method 4 is a new version of the world's best-selling beginning guitar CD-ROM! Over 160 comprehensive lessons cover everything from the basics through chord strumming, playing melodies and fingerpicking. New modern rock chapter includes various strumming styles, movable power chords and power chord riffs. Now with over 50 videos! Multi-track audio gives full band accompaniment on many of the hit songs. There is a variable-speed MIDI track option allowing students to practice any song or exercise at whatever tempo they want. There is also the option to learn using either tablature or standard music notation. Additional features include a built-in automatic tuner, digital metronome, recorder and 250-chord dictionary.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Not bad but limited
I have had this program for about 4 months and still find myself trying to master some of the most basic songs. The longer I have used the more it seems that it focuses on "campfire songs". There are a few licensed tracks like Knockin on Heavens Door by Dylan, but when you get to that point with the software it feels awfully difficult. It would have been nice if there was a little bit more tutorial and a few sections that described things to watch out for when playing. Instead we move from song to song with a new chord thrown in. No practice routines or finer exercises are present from what I have found.
Rating: - This is a very good buy
After trying to learn guitar on my own off and on over the last twenty years, this product is actually teaching me how to play. Rather than starting with scales or other theory the program begins with a few simple chords and then shows you how to put those together for some basic songs. This actually had me sounding musical on the first day -- way cool.
Rating: - Not Perfect, But Useful
Good Points
Animated fretboard, chord dictionary, electronic metronome, electronic tuner, recording/playback capability. It'll get your feet wet if nothing else.
Bad points
Lots of holes in the information that you will probably still seek through Google or other search engine to connect some of the dots when you realize the holes. Also, the pace of most of the songs are not for the beginner in my opinion (to play along at least). The chord transition is a difficult skill to master, and there weren't enough confidence boosters in the songs used. Of course you can play the chords and execute the chord transitions at a slower pace without the play along, but I ended up going to a music/book store and finding some good books with limited chord ranges per song and songs that interested me (motivation).
If you want to skip to skill sections that you want to learn, you will be at the disadvantage of having not learned chords presented in previous lessons, which every lesson builds upon. 75% of the program is the introduction of new chords in each successive lesson, working up to a song at the end of each lesson. When I finally got to power chords and reading notation for instance, it was months after purchase in my case. I was like, "gee I didn't know this was in here!" I had already gotten those tricks off of the web. There are many finger exercises, warm up exercises, scales, fretboard memorization techniques, etc. that never get mentioned in this program. I found these topics in other places and they seemed like essential tools to have as soon as possible. But, I guess maybe that is what they sell in volume 2 of this program.
General comments
Mostly covered above. I would still recommend to absolute beginners with this one qualifier: be prepared to supplement your learning through other sources. I've purchased many books and viewed many online resources; none of them have been all inclusive with information (maybe it wasn't very wise to expect such, but the packaging on these programs make some pretty grandiose claims). I need them all, and I know where the information is between them. If I don't have what I'm looking for, I hit the internet. When I'm ready to get back on some more structured path, I continue with the lessons in the program.
True story: when I started getting the music books and actually applying learned chords to familiar tunes, my family would come into my office one at a time and say "how did you get so good all of a sudden?" So, I guess everything played a role in my progress, including this program.
Conclusion:
I'm fairly immersed in learning guitar, having gotten a rather late start in music (by about a couple of decades!). So, I'm grabbing hold of as many avenues of learning that I can pursue. This is by no means a one-stop solution to learning guitar. But, if you can spare the cash though, it ranks as the best software available from any side-by-side feature comparison reviews that I've read. Learning guitar is a long process, don't expect miracles.
Rating: - Cannot use with iTunes.
Apple iTunes uses the most recent version of Quicktime. eMedia's Guitar Method uses an older version of Quicktime. You will have to uninstall iTunes and the most recent version of Quicktime in order for this software to run properly.
Rating: - guitar lessons
it is helping me get where I want to with learning to play a guitar
- Not bad but limited
- This is a very good buy
