“Teachers can help speed things up for a student. What might take you months to figure out on your own, may only take a few weeks to get down working with a teacher…“
Utilizing technology to aid in learning how to play the guitar
I began my love affair with the personal computer back in 1992. At the time I never would have imagined that one of my favorite hobbies would eventually provide me with a challenging and rewarding career in the Information Technology field. It was only a matter of time before my musical and computer worlds intersected and became one. By 1993 I had fully integrated the PC into a valuable teaching tool.
Over the last 29 years I have used various software applications and hardware configurations to help accelerate each student’s progress. Imagine the ability to practice along with bass, drums, keyboards, and various other instruments. This enables the students to gain valuable experience of playing with other instruments in a virtual band setting.
Let’s fast forward to 2021…
Obviously a lot has changed in the last 29 years. The number of online guitar lessons, tablature, and websites such as YouTube offer the guitarist with endless educational information. Unfortunately as is all too common with the internet and all the information available, for every one good piece of information, there are many resources of incorrect information out in cyberspace to sort through.
That is one area where I can help…
I help each student by sorting through the various websites to filter out the misinformation and to start getting the full potential out of the internet and the correct information it provides.
Besides the internet, each student will have access to the many software packages I use on a daily basis.
One of my most useful applications I use is called The Amazing Slowdowner. It can to play any song and slow it down without changing the pitch, change the key, and even create a loop of any musical phrase so the student can practice it over and over.
I will also help and make suggestions on how to cost effectively turn your PC into your own recording studio.
Applications used:
Band In A Box
Amazing Slow Downer
Various metronome applications
Metronome Pro
Y-metronome
Cakewalk Pro
Guitar Pro
Sound Forge
Adobe Audition
Resource Links