Tony's Acoustic Challenge Review
I joined TAC a couple of weeks ago and this morning an e-mail appeared asking me to provide a review of the site and program.
So here are my thoughts, from a two-week perspective (this is long, sorry):
First some background: I picked up a guitar some 20 years ago, and several times put it away after a few weeks. But I kept that guitar, and about two months ago I picked it up
again. So I'm really still very much a beginner; I know how to form some chords, and play some easy one-finger-chord songs, but am still challenged in making chord transitions with any speed or clean-ness. And everything else beginners are challenged with. I'm currently "enrolled" in the Blues Guitar 101 course, maybe 1/3 of the way through.
On to the review...
Pros:
- Production values are top notch, and Tony is articulate, funny, warm, and very good at explaining and demonstrating technique.
- The daily segments (so far) have a coherent sequence and pattern to them; they are not just some random thing he felt like doing that day. And they are quite challenging and fun to try, even for a beginner like myself, even if I usually can't absorb but a small part of them in the time I can devote. I find myself looking forward to the next daily "lesson," so I'm clearly getting something out of them. Drip by drip I'm learning. I think that's the point...
- The Blues Guitar 101 course has been quite enjoyable. It was fun being able to play a recognizable 12-bar blues sequence after a lesson or two, even if only using single-note chords. I assume the rest of the courses (there are quite a few) are equally well done. Again, the production values cannot be beaten.
- Tony is fully engaged, day to day. For example, I've been struggling with transitions between E and A chords, and put in a comment about that in my lesson, and Tony replied with some encouragement and tips. I confess I did not expect that as I was just basically venting, but it was nice to know he actually looks at those things.
- The rest of the community is equally passionate; I commented one day about the
daily segment being just plain beyond my ability, and got back several encouraging replies from other members.
- There is a LOT of value here. Some might think it is a bit pricey, but getting a high-quality mini lesson five days a week, plus the community, plus the various courses also included, with the production quality and Tony's personal engagement makes it worth it.
Cons:
- Difficulty: If a raw beginner (ha ha, more raw than myself) were to ask me if they should join, I would probably not be that encouraging. I think the difficulty of the daily segments would be very frustrating. "What do you mean, do a slide from 3rd to 5th fret in an eighth note? My fingers still hurt! I can barely make a chord! I can't do that." So I think that, ideally, to get the most out of things, one should have a bit more playing time -- be able to make some chords, play a simple song or two, etc. before jumping in. I'm in a bit over my head for the most part, but I'm very stubborn...
Other comments:
- You can see that I really only have the one negative point, but I think that it is something one should definitely think about. I'm trying to get to where I can actually play things, so I'm going through a course which is fun yet challenging, and I also find myself taking time away from that to do the daily challenges, or try to do some part of them. I'm learning from them, but I feel also in my heart that I'm not really ready for them (other than the Monday warm-up), so they are frustrating and keep me from other things I need to be doing -- like getting better at that E-to-A transition and the strumming pattern for my current lesson.
- It would be nice if Tony could find a way to produce some more "kindergarten level" daily lessons for beginners to break into, then they could graduate to the big kids group. :)