Home

Meeting Notes

Newsletters

Reviews

JHU Price Lists

E-mail

Members Only
(Password required)

Vendor Resources

Quick Updates:

Review of eMedia Guitar Method

Table of Contents

• Product Specifications
• System Requirements
• Introduction
• Features
• Specific features and tools include the following...
• Conclusion
• Ratings
• Contact information
• Pricing
• Computer system this software was reviewed

Product Specifications

Platform: Macintosh and Windows
Media Format: non-hybrid CD

System Requirements:

Introduction

From the musically inclined to the interested novice, this personal guitar tutor makes learning the guitar easy and fun. The user-friendly interface proves useful and helpful for both beginners and intermediate students, allowing you to proceed at a pace that you choose. Very little time is necessary in figuring out how to navigate and use the features, thus, devoting more time to fully utilize it's potential of being an efficient and effective tutor.

Features

The features that are most notable really begin with the ease of installation. Once installed, useful features are at the click of your mouse. Each lesson is accompanied by buttons that produce sound, video, and "how-to" techniques. Overall, there are 30 full-motion videos, 100 exercises, and 3 hours of audio. Basic guitar can be taught in 60 lessons using the helpful tools below. Included in the lessons are basic areas such as how to hold the guitar, how to string the guitar, playing chords, strumming styles, and finger picking. The student will learn and differentiate between the sounds of an acoustic, steel, and electric guitar.

Specific features and tools include the following...

1. Tuner with visual feedback
   A guitar out of tune is like a radio without bass or treble. Sure, you can play it, but it just doesn't sound right. To get you off to a good start, this feature comes in handy as you will want to make sure you are playing with a guitar that is tuned.
2. Video instruction
   This audio/visual feature provides the student with voice and video demonstration of how a certain chord or a series of chords are played. Being told where your finger placement should be is one thing, but "seeing" where and how makes this feature an excellent and useful tool. Also included in the video instruction is how to replace a guitar string.
3. Metronome (provides a constant beat at a speed you choose)
   A metronome provides the guitar enthusiast with a constant beat. This feature allows the student to increase or decrease the speed at which the beat occurs, thus,providing a rhythm and the continuity of tempo when strumming chords.
4. Pop-up chord chart and dictionary with fingering of more than 250 chords
   To produce the proper sound of a specific chord, a tuned guitar is only the first step. Strumming a chord and getting the desired result also depends on one's fingering of that chord. To assist with this, the pop-up chord chart enables the student to clearlydiscern where each finger is to be placed, on what string, and behind what fret.
5. Song accompaniment
   What better way to learn a chord than to put it into practice? This handy feature offers the student many songs that incorporates the technique and chords just learned. This bridges the gap between learning a new chord and playing multiple chords in an actual song. You can choose between a variety of songs, anywhere from folk and blues to rock. An audio button allows you to listen to the strumming and choose between a male or female voice to sing the song, letting you hear how theperformance should sound like.
6. Record and playback
   With a microphone, you can record, playback, and save all songs and exercises youperform as WAV files. This is useful for the student who wants to hear what they sound like from another perspective.

Conclusion

For those who have the patience, discipline, and desire to learn to play a guitar without a personal instructor, eMedia Guitar Method will get you off to an excellent start. Andif you've played guitar before, but haven't picked one up in a few years, this is sure to rekindle your interest and inspire you to play again, as it did for me.

 

Rating

(Rated on a scale from 1 Dome to 5 Domes. 5 Domes being excellent and 1 Dome being not worthy)

Value for the Money: (5)
Usability: (4)
Installation Ease: (5)
Manual: (4)

Contact information

eMedia Guitar Method

905 Wouth Hohokam Drive, Suite 10

Tempe, Arizona 85281

(888) 256-331

Pricing

Suggested retail pricing is $59.95

Computer system this software was reviewed.

6400 PowerMac, 32MB RAM, 2.3GB Hard Drive