eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method Win Mac
eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method Win Mac
With its latest package, eMedia goes beyond the drills and tutorials of its earlier eMedia Guitar Method, instead targeting players who already have a familiarity with their instrument. Song-based and fully interactive, eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method covers a lot of ground in its single CD and thus just skims the surface of some topics. It also seems a bit lackluster when compared to Voyetra’s exciting, rock and roll-inspired Teach Me Guitar Deluxe. Nevertheless, the program offers a barrage of mid-level and advanced chording, soloing, and picking techniques that should assist any student who seeks to become a more knowledgeable and skillful guitarist.
Divided into six categories–left-hand techniques, barre chords, strumming styles, scales, solos, and fingerstyle guitar–the program delivers no less than 175 individual lessons and 41 appendices featuring most every popular musical scale in both open and closed fingering patterns, and a handy virtual chord dictionary. Most lessons allow you to adjust the speed of the music to suit your personal preference and loop certain sections for repetitive replay. Several sessions also offer optional narratives and video, though the narratives are too abbreviated to be truly informative and the video snippets, where veteran instructor Kevin Garry offers personal advice on certain techniques, are equally condensed and confined to a small window.
eMedia has provided several additional perks to make your job a bit easier, including an integrated metronome to help keep the beat, an optional tablature display for those who can’t read musical notation, and an animated fretboard that graphically demonstrates each lesson’s fingering positions in both left- and right-handed formats. The program’s tuner isn’t quite so impressive, behaving just as erratically as most computer tuners, and certainly not a replacement for a handheld digital or quartz unit. A small but serviceable audio recorder allows you to build a library of your own efforts and even jam along with self-penned arrangements.
The program concerns itself more with clean and semi-clean acoustic and electric guitar rather than heavily distorted hard rock. A valuable but curious assortment of songs dominates its many lessons, in particular Grand Funk Railroad’s mysterious “I’m Your Captain/Closer to Home,” The Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey,” and Jim Croce’s exquisite “Time in a Bottle.” Several complex classical pieces end the proceedings, culminating in the celebrated but extremely demanding arpeggio masterpiece “Romanza.” It should be noted that although none of the selections are original recordings, all are capably translated and played.
Although eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method isn’t especially high-spirited, it does offer a deluge of material that will ultimately benefit any guitarist with the talent and the drive to successfully take it on. With a ton of challenging musical passages and cool licks, some nifty utilities, and plenty of guitar exploration, it is recommended to novice players with virtuoso desires. –Gordon Goble
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars more challenging than looks
I found the software more challenging than I expected. I have also been studying with another kind of software which has a totally different approach to the study of the electric guitar. At this point I haven’t made enough progress to be more thorough in my remarks.
5 Stars awesome way to learn more advanced guitaring
After completing the first volume, I was nothing but impressed with the emedia material. I’d conquered campfire chords! Now is where the cool stuff starts, Volume 2, and it too is excellent. The great thing about Emedia’s approach is how it breaks down the teaching of a new technique. After explaining and demoing the technique a short, usually interesting (but not always), song is presented that exactly covers that technique being taught. It avoids the pitfall of other guitar teaching material, which is use some ultra-mind-numbing, hardly melodic bit to practice the execution of the technique. The well paced introduction and progression of technique building really suits me well. My only concern is that I’m potentially developing bad habits, this is where a good teacher is a must. The chord and scale directories are great, but it would’ve been nice if the scale directory took better advantage of the guitar’s range. I find I use the metronome quite often too. Good stuff!
1 Star A complete software failure
I am an intermediate guitarist and this method is meant for beginning guitarists and not for those who have played a few years. First off the video is bad bad bad. You can only view the instructor in a small box and seldom is he seen. You mostly see typed songs, chords and hear audio.What is really horrific is that the syncopation of the audio meter and the graphics are not in sync.Rather the graphics meter is ahead by 3 counts of the audio.Thus it is impossible to follow along.What you are really learning is how to play simple 3 chord songs that beginners should learn. This is a TOTAL waste of money. PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT
5 Stars you will be able to play some great stuff
eMedia intermediate guitar method is an excellent system to expand on your beginner skills. I have now been playing guitar for four months and have gotten better than some of my friends that have been playing for over a year. I finished the CD so I am lending it out now to these same friends.
I started out with the eMedia beginner guitar method and soon after bought this CD. I had attempted to play guitar for perhaps two days before this present time. From this series, I am now comfortable with chords, barre chords, bass walks, finger picking (arpeggios and travis style), hammer-ons, pull-offs, trills, and reading notes. The method has gotten me excited to buy my first electric guitar, practice bends, and learn more about lead guitar playing.
The stuff you learn to play on this CD simply sounds cool. There is a sweet Grateful Dead tune, All Along the Watch Tower, several classic rock pieces, an excellent 12-bar blues solo, there is some country/bluegrass, a few classic guitar pieces (Bach, Pachelbel), and an amazing Jimi Hendrix solo for All Along the Watch Tower. All the songs are recorded from a live guitar player so you will know how each song will sound. When I first browsed through the CD, I thought to myself “There is no way I will be able to sound like that”. And yet after much practicing, I got through the CD, can play all the pieces well, and am so happy that I am now a decent guitar player.
I continue to be excited to learn. I think the Fretboard Logic series will help me develop a better understanding of the fretboard and build up my lead guitaring skills.
I wanted to add this review to show that this system is still a great way to learn. I am thankful to eMedia for putting out a product that is showing me that it is never to late to learn to play guitar. To add to the pluses as detailed elsewhere: many great pieces that you will be excited to learn, both standard and tablature notation so that you can learn both methods of reading, etc. The minuses: does not cover fretboard/CAGED organization.
5 Stars I Love This Program
I have read a gazzillion books, visited as many web sites and the guitar has always been a damn mystery to me. Sure I can bang out a few chords and play House of the Rising Sun, but that’s about it. This program has clicked with me more than anything else I’ve ever tried. After about a month, I really feel like I can play the silly thing! Now I can go back and understand what all the other books were trying to tell me! Get this: I went into a guitar store and plugged in an expensive Strat and played it without feeling stupid!
The approach appeals to my nonlinear thinking. You can work through the lessons, skip ahead and then go back. I won’t say I’ve mastered anything yet, but I’m playing and enjoying! I’m recommending this to everyone! I if you can read tabs and understand basic open chords START with this program! Mostly I’ve been working on Crying and screaming lead techniques (bends, hammer-ons, pull offs slides, etc.) and barre chords.
I’m going to get the advanced programs when I’m done with these!
