Review of Learn & Master Guitar - Guitar Lesson DVD's

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about the Learn & Master Guitar DVD course online. We have taken the time to give it a full review and posted it here for anyone interested in this product. 

Our Review:

Extremely High Quality Video Lessons
Most In-Depth Course 10 DVDs, 5 CDs, & 107 Page Lesson Book
A Bit Expensive, But Well Worth The Extra Money

Legacy Learning Systems set out to produce the most comprehensive guitar lesson DVD courses available and after reviewing several guitar lesson courses on dvd we would have to say they have suceeded. The look and feel of this guitar course is very impressive right out of the box. A lot of time and energy went into this product and it's obvious this isn't a guitar course that was thrown together in a hurry.

Everything is really well organized into a 3 ring binder that closes shut and serves as a great binder for keeping the DVD's and lesson book in one neat and organized place. The DVDs, Jam Along CDs and 107 page lesson book all fit nicely into the binder. The course is broken down into twenty sessions. Each session builds upon the previous one, so it's designed for you to follow the sessions in order. Both guitar and musical concepts are introduced in a simple and logical sequence and Steve Krenz the instructor for this course takes things at a nice learning pace.

What you get:
107 page detailed guitar lesson book.
10 full-length DVD's (over 20 hours of video), organized into 20 sessions.
110 "active" jam tracks (5 full CDs), including features for turning guitar tracks on, partial on or off, as well as slow, medium or fast play features.
Access to members only forum online.
Lots of supplemental files online (songs, music, guitar tabs, tips and tricks)

The DVD's

Session 1 Starting Off Right
Session 2 Reading Music & Notes on the 1st & 2nd Strings
Session 3 Notes on the 3rd & 4th Strings
Session 4 Notes on the 5th & 6th Strings
Session 5 Basic Open Chords
Session 6 Minor Seventh & Suspended Chords
Session 7 Barre Chords on the 6th String
Session 8 Barre Chords on the 5th String
Session 9 The Secret to Great Strumming
Session 10 Fingerstyle Guitar
Session 11 Pentatonic Scales - The Foundation of Soloing
Session 12 Advanced Chords
Session 13 Playing the Blues
Session 14 Giving Your Playing Some Style
Session 15 Electric Guitars - The Heart of Rock & Roll
Session 16 Advanced Strumming - Going Beyond the Basics
Session 17 Going Beyond the First Position
Session 18 Jazz
Session 19 Soloing
Session 20 All the Chords You Need to Know

TOPICS COVERED:

Foundational Techniques
Basic Chords
Advanced Chords
Advanced Electric Techniques
Mastering the Entire Instrument
Strumming Techniques
Reading Music and Tab
Ear Training
Techniques for Masterful Soloing
Major, Minor, and Pentatonic Scales
Alternate Chords & Chord Creation

STYLES COVERED:

Acoustic Guitar
Rock Guitar
Classical & Fingerstyle Guitar
Blues Guitar
Jazz Guitar
Country Guitar
Chicken Picken'
R&B Guitar
Funk Guitar
Your Own Style

Steve Krenz is the teacher of the course and we think he does a very good job of making the student almost feel like they are taking private lessons with him. Not only is Steve an active guitarist playing and recording professionally in Music City USA, Nashville, Tennessee, but he also holds a deep personal commitment and passion for teaching and training other guitarists to excel in their talents. Click here for Steve's full bio.

One benefit to taking guitar lessons on dvd is that you can work at your own pace and speed. If you need to go over something again or you just want to return to a previous lesson, the DVD's make it very easy to pause a lesson or return to a previous lesson for review. One thing that sets Learn & Master Guitar apart from other guitar training programs we have reviewed is the fact that it really teaches the student actual music theory! Many courses show students a few chords and some tablature and that's about it. The Learn and Master Guitar Course really takes time to teach students to read music as well as teaching students scales, chords, playing style and soloing.

Jam Along CD's
Another thing that really sets the Learn & Master Guitar Course apart from other guitar lesson courses is the addition of the Jam Along CD's. The course comes with 5 full CD's of backing tracks for you to practice with. We loved playing along with the Jam-Along CDs. There are "active" tracks that enable you to play the tracks with the lead guitar track turned on, off, or at partial volume. This is very cool!

We really like turning the lead guitar track off and then practicing solos with the band on the Jam Tracks. We should mention that the band used for the Jam Tracks is excellent! Legacy Learning Systems spared no expense on hiring professional players to lay down these tracks. The tracks for beginner songs enable playing each song at slow, medium or fast pace and this is very helpful if you are a beginner.

Jam Along Band:
In addition to Steve Krenz, here are some of the other musicians that play on the Jam Along CD's

Dino Pastin: Keyboard player for Alabama and Barbara Mandrell. 

Javier Solis: Drummer and percussionist for Usher, Kenny Loggins, Faith Hill, Jaci Velasquez and many others. 

Abel Orta: Bass player for Jaci Velasquez and Promise Keepers, and a major Nashville session player

Steve Krenz: The author of Learn & Master Guitar, and your personal instructor. 

Styles Covered

One of the first things people want to know is "what type of guitar will I learn to play?" We all have our favorite styles of music, so it's only natural that you'd be most interested in playing what you like. Unlike most guitar training products, Learn & Master Guitar is complete enough to offer advanced training in all of the most popular styles. You can learn them all or just the ones that interest you most.

You'll learn...

Acoustic Guitar: They start you off where most guitar courses leave you: acoustic guitar. Whether it's singing at home, church, or around a campfire, there's no better way to provide accompaniment than good 'ol acoustic guitar.

Rock Guitar: Power chords, power riffs, pedal effects, distortion and more… this is the heart of Rock & Roll, and you'll learn all of it. From hammer-ons and pull-offs to advanced bends and the Eddie Van Halen Technique, all the hot electric guitar stuff is here too. You'll learn the musical concepts behind these techniques and discover how to use them in real playing and soloing situations, just like the pros.

Classical & Fingerstyle Guitar: From the fun and upbeat Merle Travis Technique to the soft beauty of classical guitar, you will learn the secrets of great fingerstyle and stylish arpegios.

Blues Guitar: Is there anything cooler than a hot blues solo? With Learn & Master Guitar, you'll be playing them in no time. You will learn the blues notes, the blues chord progression, how it all works with minor pentatonics (don't worry... it'll make sense when you get there!), and of course -- how to construct a great blues solo.

Jazz Guitar: Love jazz? Learn & Master Guitar has got you covered. You will learn not only the popular jazz chords and chord progressions, but also how to "jazz up" the regular chord progressions you already know.

Country Guitar & Chicken Picken': Country music players adopted the electric guitar a long time ago and have since created a truly unique sound. We teach you everything you need to know, from Country Bends to the secrets of fast and fun Chicken Picken'.

R&B and Funk Guitar: Playing great Funk and R&B is all about muting techniques and how to use them with rhythm and style. It's not too hard to learn and whole lot of fun to play. Knowing a few good Funk techniques will also add a lot to your soloing skills.

And most importantly...

Your Own Style: With Learn & Master Guitar, you won't just be learning different types of guitar. You will be learning to play with style -- both style in general and a style all your own. You'll learn how to make beautiful chord substitutions on the fly, how to give a zest to your strumming, how to blend different styles together, and a whole lot more. The point is learning to move beyond just playing the right notes at the right time and to begin really communicating something when you play. As you progress through the Learn & Master Guitar program, you will learn to discover your style, develop it, and use it.

Once you really start playing your guitar, you won't just want people to hear your music. You'll begin to want them to feel your music. The style training in Learn & Master Guitar makes that possible.

Negative/Cons
One downside of Learn & Master Guitar is that it is somewhat pricey. Many guitar lesson products found online are very affordable, sometimes costing less than $100. The full Learn & Master Guitar course goes for $249 but you can often find it on sale at their website for less.

Another drawback for some is that Learn & Master Guitar is a physical product. Your are shipped the DVDs, CDs, and an instruction book. This means no downloadable software is provided. The allure of "instant access" makes some products sell better than Steve Krenz's course. However, we think most people agree that the way in which the product was developed makes no difference from a learning perspective.

In our opinion anyone serious about learning guitar should check out this course. We haven't found anything else that compares to Learn & Master Guitar. If you do buy this course please visit our site at ReviewGuitarLessons.com and let us know what you think!

Click here to visit the Learn & Master Guitar site.

Read User Reviews of Learn & Master Guitar at ReviewGuitarLessons.com

Here are some screen shots we took of the Learn & Master Guitar DVD