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Instead of comparing Learn and Master Guitar to Guitar Tricks, and then later comparing it to JamPlay, I’ve decided to just kill two birds with one stone here.
And it’s not because I’m lazy. I love reviewing and writing about these programs. It’s mainly because I want to emphasize the bigger picture.
What I mean is that this is really a comparison of learning the guitar from a DVD collection, vs. online video lesson membership sites.
At the end of the day, both Learn and Master Guitar and either Guitar Tricks or JamPlay will help you learn guitar. All 3 are great learning tools in terms of actual content.
But how they are presented, and how you use them are different.
So let’s actually compare how the lessons are presented.
DVDs vs. Online Video Streaming
The first difference I noticed when reviewing these programs is content size.
At the end of the day, you’re limited with how much content you can get from a DVD course. It’s a one time purchase which does not get updated.
With an online guitar learning membership website, you have access to thousands of video lessons, that constantly get updated.
So a big difference between these programs is that you get way more content with Guitar Tricks and JamPlay than you do with Gibson’s Learn and Master Guitar.
But how much content do you actually need?
Well to learn the basics and get better at guitar, the 20 DVDs that come with Learn and Master Guitar will definitely help you.
But learning guitar isn’t like learning to ride a bike. There are so many more aspects to getting better at the guitar, and these are highlighted by the long list of features you get with guitar lesson membership websites:
Features You Don’t Get with DVD Courses
When you look at all the extra features you get with JamPlay and Guitar Tricks, it’s really hard to not recommended them.
If you’re a beginner and perhaps a little older, and you own a DVD player, then perhaps Learn and Master Guitar is right for you. If you think this is the case, you can read the full review here.
But as I mentioned above, learning to play guitar and getting better is much easier when you have access to all the material and tools you do with guitar membership websites.
Here are some of the features you WON’T get with a DVD course:
- Thousands of video lessons
- Hundreds of song lessons
- Forums and chat rooms
- Live lessons
- New updates
- Skill based lessons
- Style based lessons
- 24/7 online access
- Compatible with all devices
A DVD course will supply you with 20 DVDs and CDs that cover a set curriculum.
You watch them on your DVD player and follow along. This is what Learn and Master Guitar is, and it has received some great reviews for the quality of its content.
Online guitar membership websites like JamPlay and Guitar Tricks work a bit differently.
All the lessons that have been created are stored online, where you login to your account and watch them any time you want. Over the years, these websites have created thousands of video lessons, and they continue to grow.
So they have all the basic lessons and material that you will get with a DVD course, however they will continue to update the site with new material. This will be lessons on specific songs, specific genres and styles like acoustic and jazz, and even specific artist styles.
Once you have mastered the basics of guitar, an online membership will allow you to grow and improve your own personal skills way beyond what a DVD course can offer.
This is why I always recommend everyone at least tries these online membership websites.
Both of them have free trials that I recommend you test out and see if you can learn from them.
So to start, I simply recommend you get started with a free trial from Guitar Tricks. Click here to visit the official website.
If you’re still not sure exactly what these memberships sites can offer, I recommend you watch my full breakdown of both Guitar Tricks and JamPlay here.
At the end of the day, these membership websites offer a better product, and you get more value for your money in my opinion.