Customer Reviews

Guitar Now! - The Beginners Guide (Vol. 1) [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've seen a lot of beginner guitar videos. This one is 2 3/4 hours of great skill building information, tunes, techniques and solid help. Songs are demonstrated by a band, on-screen displays. Comes with a booklet of over 50 pages, too. This is a complete course, nothing held back.

I just recently purchased this video, and is approx half way through and I find it to be very professionaly done. The instructor Dean Hamill teaches not only the nominclature of the instrument and how to hold it, he also explains some music theory while guideing you through some basic songs. This is the very first instructional type video that Ive ever experienced and is glad I bought it.

I have been playing for a couple of years and try to push myself to learn new styles while deepening my understanding of music overall. This video is made by Dean and his trio band. They are obviously talented musicians, however, they are very dorky. Notwithstanding the learned value of the video, at times I felt as though I was watching an SNL skit or a rerun of Happy Days featuring Ritchie Cunningham and Potsie on drums and guitar. Dean, however, challenges the viewer with mostly traditional songs, and a wide array of styles. He is extremely detailed and takes his time explaining fundamentals, which I greatly appreciate. As an example, some of the problems I was having as a developing player were attributed to the placement of my thumb...who would have thought? Dean discusses thumb placement at one point, and thankfully, I have noticed smoother chord progressions. His traditional songs seem basic, but try playing along with the band...they are challenging at times. This instructional video has made me a better player overall. That is the reason why we buy instructional videos, isn't it? The bottom line: good value, solid instruction.

I have purchased several "teach yourself the guitar" tapes. Dean Hamill's volumes 1 and 2 are, by far, better than any other tapes I've seen out there for several reasons. First, they do not rush the student as they break lessons into logical and manageable steps. Second, they come with a small booklet so you can practice the lesson without continually running the tape. Third, they are realistic in what you can and cannot learn. I purchased two other tapes (one of which was a Hal Leonard) which seemed to jump from teaching you the C chord and a scale to expecting you to improvise with an on screen band. I would have purchased volume 3 if it existed.

O.K. I checked this Video out (volume I & II) from our local library. Mr. Hamill has done a good job organizing the material in fact better than other Guitar Videos I have seen so far, I have watched may be at least 10 of them. He may seem a bit too detail oriented at first but that is what is need for the beginners. By watching the video I have learned a few things I didn't know before. Yes, this would be a good first time instructional video. I recommend it for the beginners.

Hamill is clearly an amateur. Says next to nothing about tuning. Heavy distortion of both audio and video early in tape, improving slightly later.
You get what you pay for, in this case, not much.
Hamill spends time at beginning having student writing names of parts in the accompanying book that he could have spent teaching tuning. Not a BEGINNERS tape, since he assumes some pre-existing knowledge of the guitar.
You can learn something from this tape, but NOT for real beginners.

"Learning guitars for Dummies", Jon Chappell is better.

Not the best video quality, but the knowledge and presentation are AAA.Dean goes slow and progresses in an orderly fashion so you build on one lesson to the next.I've been playing rhythmn for years but wanted to go back and correct the mistakes I learned along the way.And it showed me plenty and I have improved. The techniques help me to play my electric a lot better too.

i realy didnt like the quality of the recording. looks like the tape has been taped over 20 times,and a lot of noise on the screen and i had to manually track the image.

other than that an ok tape.