Guitar 360 Method Review

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.

Guitar 360 Method is taught non-linear in a method called Cycical Pedagogy. I’ll try to explain the method the best I can! Think of it as a circle and training your muscles. You learn the parts of the guitar on the neck. Left and right hand basics, chords, scale. With that knowledge you can start to harmonize it together. All the while you are learning music theory, and ear training to recognize the different chords. You learn techniques to apply to your guitar playing. You practice those concepts throughout until you have them engrained as a natural response as your muscles have been trained to do it naturally. It all goes back in a circle to make you a more well rounded musician. Hopefully, that makes sense and I didn’t lose you there! If so then Kritz explains it much better!

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.

Ear Training segments help train you to hear and distinguish the chords to make musical decisions and to interact with playing your guitar. That way you can learn to hear the notes and not just using your physical muscles while playing. The lessons start out with  scales and builds up step by step throughout the semester.

 

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

 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.

Social Media:

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