My son took guitar lessons awhile back and we got to the point of him being
able to read the chords and get a good overall grasp of playing the guitar.
Then we exhausted our funds for keeping him in lessons. I hated it as he was
doing really good and enjoyed his lessons and was starting to play songs. He still
has been faithful practicing daily with his guitar. It just wasn’t the same for
him reading out of a book for guitar lessons.
When I showed him Guitar 360 Method and their Semester 1 Bundle he asked me to beg to review it. We also received
5 weeks of Absolute Beginner bonus content.
Intended age would probably be around 12 and up.
The instructor is Kritz Simonfalvi. He was raised in
Budapest, Hungary and started playing classical guitar at the age of 6 and quit
shortly afterwards. Despite his natural ability and showing lots of promise with
the guitar he was bored and didn’t feel challenged. He states, “He never fully
understood his guitar.” He likes to say that Musical
Confidence, Freedom and Creativity is how he describes Guitar 360 Method.
It wasn’t until his late teens that he learned how to
fully grasp more with his guitar. He began touring with bands, recording in
studios, and creating his own music. In 2009 he began teaching guitar using a
unique approach. He is based out of Dallas, TX now.
Most guitar
lessons are taught linear and you learn the basics moving forward without going
back over the foundation of guitar playing. Sort of like a straight line taking
one step at a time. You learn the basic parts of the guitar, chords and move on
and never make those basic steps “natural.” This is how my son learned in his lessons.
The Semester 1 Bundle is 13 weeks of lessons. This is an online course done with videos. It isn’t a subscription. You don’t need to have any prior knowledge of playing the guitar to do this course. It’s very versatile regardless of your ability if you know the guitar or don't have any prior experience. Guitar 360 Method has 3 weeks for “Start Playing Your Guitar” course or if you are just needing to freshen up or continue beyond the basics you can start in The Semester 1 Bundle.
This is the library that you will click into the area you need
First off navigating the site is easy once you log in you
have a library which gives your options of where you begin:
Start Playing your Guitar
2 separate Bonus Songs
Semester 1
You have the ability to jump around. Once you are done
with a lesson you just check it off as completed. Just because you check it off
as completed doesn’t mean that you can’t go back over the lesson again.
If you by chance have to stop in the middle of a lesson there
is a bar that shows you a bar of your progress. There will be instruction on
how to navigate the course with video instruction.
Also its color coded for Goal, Quiz, Ear training, and
Practice.
Another thing my son liked was that Kritz was using both
the acoustical and electric guitar throughout the lessons.
You have PDF to print out on the tablature. Which my son
was really glad to have the printables so he can practice off line. It kind of
surprised me after months of his lessons being out of a book. He told me, “It
made it easy to practice a small portion on certain chords I needed more
practice on or to hone those chords better.”
Start Playing your Guitar:
Start Playing Your Guitar you can sign up for free. This is a 3 week course
that teaches you the basic parts of the guitar, basic of left and right hand,
how to tune your guitar, warm up exercises, strumming practices, chords, and
even songs. They also have two free Bonus Songs.
My son told me, “I really like how he talked about the left hand approach
and dropping the thumb down except for some exception.” He was taught to leave the thumb at the top of the neck. He really felt
the difference with his ability to play. He assumed his hands just aren’t that
large. It made a huge difference.
Bonus Songs:
Are adapted to use all the parts on a guitar and cut out a few sections to
make it flow with one guitar. Kritz does a nice job breaking down the song in
easy to follow steps with his hands and showing the tablature often. He walks you
through the song building up your confidence having a song under your belt!
Semester 1
At the beginning of each week you have a “Goal.” I like to think of this as
an overview of what you are learning for the week. He also goes over and
reviews previous weeks throughout each week.
Practice is applying what you have learned so far with the guitar.
Quizzes start in week 6. Some of the quizzes have videos and have a link to
answer questions as multiply choice questions. Some weeks don’t have any
quizzes while other weeks have 2 quizzes.
This is the layout you will see when you are in a week.
Throughout the entire lessons of Goal, Ear Training, Practice, and Quizzes
each week is filled with varies lessons teaching you tips and trick. All the
different chords, music theory, and varies applications. All the lessons are
taught clearly and easy to follow. The videos vary in length but aren’t too
long.
Kritz Simonfalvi is your teacher throughout the course and explains the lessons step by step
The lessons start out basic and build upon one another
You get to do lots of practice and review throughout
You get to do lots of practice and review throughout
My son liked when he showed the chords throughout the lessons and not just trying to guess where the fingers should be.
Another feature is a comment section after each lesson. This can be used to
ask question. Either Kritz or one of the students can chime in. We didn’t use
this feature but, it’s nice to know that it is there if needed.
How did I use Guitar 360 Method in my homeschool?
Since my almost 13 year old son has some experience playing since he was 11
I let him choose where is was most comfortable. Like I mentioned my son can
read the chords and has a fairly solid foundation overall. To my surprise he
breezed over the Start Playing your Guitar section. I
honestly didn’t expect him to want to start there. He told me, “I struggled
with a few basic concepts and I was curious to see if he taught it to where I
could grasp the concept better or have something that would help me improve
myself.” Like I mentioned previously the thumb placement was a huge help
for him.
My son's confidence playing the guitar has really increased and he loves playing his guitar
Even our cat enjoyed watching Guitar 360 Method
He wanted to do lessons daily. He wanted to jump around
at first throughout the weeks. When I asked him why he is going from a lesson
week 2, 5 to 10 at first? He said, “I wanted to touch on a few areas at
first that I already knew and thought I needed improvement in.” Then he made his way back to Week 1. My son
didn’t do this in a way I would have but it worked for him. When he got through
the lessons that he touched on at first he went over it again. I like that he
can go over the lessons again. I think it really build up his confidence.”
My son printed out several of the PDFs throughout the course.
My son was surprised that he is able to learn ear training. He never imaged he would learn this skill.
My son’s says “I feel a lot more confident while
playing my guitar and it makes learning at home much better and fulfilling. The
lessons are fun to do. Kritz is easy to follow and understand.” “I never
imagined I would be able to learn ear training. I can tell the difference of
some of the chords. I still have a long way to go but, I know that I can do it
and that it will take time and practice.”
I think this mom will leave it at that as my sons words
say that Guitar 360 Method is working and well liked by my son. I hope that Guitar 360 Method
will create a Semester 2 for the guitar.
In 2019 more courses -Keys 360 Method and Drums 360 Method are coming. I know
my son would love to learn the drums!
Right now Guitar 360 Method
is offering a 20% of coupon. Use HOMESCHOOL20 Coupon Code at checkout.
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