Learning Guitar for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: Nice complement to go along with book
Review: Along with the first few chapters of the Guitar For Dummies book, this dvd gives you a great hands-on chance to see the techniques of chord playing, and finger picking thats shown in the book. It teaches you the basics as shown in the book, however it falls short it as it does not bother to mention any advanced lessons in the book, such as playing in position, fretboad logic, etc.
Still if you have the Guitar For Dummies book, get this as well.

Rating:
Summary: Nice complement to go along with book
Review: Along with the first few chapters of the Guitar For Dummies book, this dvd gives you a great hands-on chance to see the techniques of chord playing, and finger picking thats shown in the book. It teaches you the basics as shown in the book, however it falls short it as it does not bother to mention any advanced lessons in the book, such as playing in position, fretboad logic, etc.
Still if you have the Guitar For Dummies book, get this as well.

Rating:
Summary: good beginner
Review: Great dvd to learn a couple of songs, but the only problem I have found so far is that in Jamaica Farewll the cording is wrong in the book with the guitarist on the dvd the first A chord should be a D chord and then the A after two strums and then back to D after two strums.

Rating:
Summary: A shallow treatment with a misleading cover.
Review: I am glad to see that some people have found this DVD useful. If you barely know what a guitar is, this is an inexpensive introduction to guitar playing. However I truly feel like a dummy (more like a sucker) for having purchased and watched this DVD. This is a shallow treatment, which would be OK if the cover were not so misleading.

The back cover includes the phrase "Play in a variety of syles, including folk, blues, rock, and jazz." (Yes play these styles, but this DVD won't help you.) And it includes the phrase "Play open-position chords and jazz chords." This is the one that suckered me. Most musicians consider a "jazz chord" to be something more complex than a seventh chord - a ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth, perhaps with a flatted or augmented member. This presentation includes three or four major triads, three or four minor triads, and one or two seventh chords. This goes at least one step beyond the usual truth-stretching ubiquitous in advertising.

Jon Chappell does an adequate job of demonstrating a handful of basic chords and changing between them. He uses the same "Row, row, row your boat" kind of songs found in hundreds of other introductory music books. This is understandable, and the new musician should take pride and pleasure in playing simple things. But there is nothing fresh or thoughtful about the approach of this presentation. It is a rehash of the simplest things common in so many of these run-of-the-mill introductions.

If you have never picked up a guitar before, go ahead and get this DVD. It's cheap enough. Listen to Jon and take what he says to heart. I would like to think there is something better for the beginner, but this will work. If you already know a couple of chords, and can strum along with any song already, there is little for you here.

Rating:
Summary: A shallow treatment with a misleading cover.
Review: I am glad to see that some people have found this DVD useful. If you barely know what a guitar is, this is an inexpensive introduction to guitar playing. However I truly feel like a dummy (more like a sucker) for having purchased and watched this DVD. This is a shallow treatment, which would be OK if the cover were not so misleading.

The back cover includes the phrase "Play in a variety of syles, including folk, blues, rock, and jazz." (Yes play these styles, but this DVD won't help you.) And it includes the phrase "Play open-position chords and jazz chords." This is the one that suckered me. Most musicians consider a "jazz chord" to be something more complex than a seventh chord - a ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth, perhaps with a flatted or augmented member. This presentation includes three or four major triads, three or four minor triads, and one or two seventh chords. This goes at least one step beyond the usual truth-stretching ubiquitous in advertising.

Jon Chappell does an adequate job of demonstrating a handful of basic chords and changing between them. He uses the same "Row, row, row your boat" kind of songs found in hundreds of other introductory music books. This is understandable, and the new musician should take pride and pleasure in playing simple things. But there is nothing fresh or thoughtful about the approach of this presentation. It is a rehash of the simplest things common in so many of these run-of-the-mill introductions.

If you have never picked up a guitar before, go ahead and get this DVD. It's cheap enough. Listen to Jon and take what he says to heart. I would like to think there is something better for the beginner, but this will work. If you already know a couple of chords, and can strum along with any song already, there is little for you here.

Rating:
Summary: Very good instructional DVD
Review: I found this DVD very helpful for understanding strumming techniques, etc. I could already play before getting this, but it has helped me develop a much-needed practice routine. Very worth the inexpensive price.

Rating:
Summary: I love this tape
Review: I had barely picked up a guitar before I bought one. I've been wanting to learn to play for a long time. So I bought this tape -and - although I have nothing to compare it to - it is really, really great. Simple, non-threatening, easy to understand. I am actually playing chords easily in just a few days. I'm very grateful to this guy and look forward to more of his stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Great learning tool
Review: I just got my first guitar and being a newbie, this DVD was a great find. The instruction is easy and straightforward and the instructor is very pleasant. I was strumming chords and playing songs the very first week!. I highly recommend this DVD for the absolute beginnner and anyone else interested in learning how to play the guitar.

Rating:
Summary: Good but not the best!
Review: I own this as well as The Hal Leonard Method DVD. I don't think you can bet the latter for beginners. I plan on coming back to this later to continue my guitar experience. Check them both out but do Hal Leonards first along with his method books. Enjoy!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for beginers
Review: I used to take guitar lessons when I was about 15 years old. Learned some basic cords and could play a few songs. I had not picked up the guitar in many years. My 12 year old Daughter decided to learn to play the guitar so I got my old guitars out and started playing again. I ordered this DVD Learning Guitar for Dummies, by Jon Chappell and found it to be an excellent first lesson for the beginner guitar player. Not only did I learn some thing's I did not know but my daughter sat through the whole DVD with her guitar. Jon has a great way of explaining things slowly and easily. I would recommend this DVD for any beginner guitar player. Even if you know nothing about the guitar, you will by the end of this DVD. I had also ordered another Guitar learning DVD and found it to be not nearly as good as this one. Two Thumbs up to this DVD! The only thing I was disappointed about was I could not find any other DVD's put out by Jon Chappell.