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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Guitar for Beginners by Berklee

4.8
stars
2,235 ratings

About the Course

Grasp the essentials needed to begin playing acoustic or electric guitar. You'll learn an easy approach to get you playing quickly, through a combination of exploring the instrument, performance technique, and basic music theory. For students who have long thought about picking up the acoustic or electric guitar, this course will provide an easy-access foundation that will get you playing. When first learning guitar, it is important to have the material presented in stages, in an enjoyable way that allows you to grasp the basics of the instrument and music. The course begins simply with the parts of the guitar, the names of the strings, tuning, and technique—whether finger-style or pick. It then explores the basics of music theory with such topics as scales, triads, power chords, and fingering and shapes. At the end of this course, students will understand the structure, parts, and accessories of the instrument, in addition to an understanding of its basic maintenance. Electric guitar players will learn the operation of their instrument along with basic options for amplification, effect pedals, and sounds. Students will also learn to develop correct technique and apply theory concepts to their playing. They will have the foundational knowledge necessary to pursue most intermediate guitar courses....

Top reviews

SM

Sep 11, 2020

If you want to learn guitar no matter which guitar you want to learn acoustic or electric if you are a beginner then quickly join this course it will really help you to upgrade your skills in guitar.

MH

Apr 4, 2020

This course was a brilliant experience. My special thanks to Thadeus Hoggart for his patient and well organized course. Highly recommended for all those who are planning to start playing the Guitar.

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1 - 25 of 650 Reviews for Guitar for Beginners

By Suzana T

•

May 16, 2019

Professor was great but peer review grade from peers, who upload stolen music from Bollywood films, to make me resubmit my project 4 times is ridiculous. Grade based on one peer review, and that from someone who violating copyright uploading something that isn't his, for both assignments, or from another who uploading notes from course not music, or third who rating bad saying I should record louder though there's clearly told not to rate recording quality but playing, without any point where we can request that grade to be checked by professor, Coursera staff, or admin, other than to hit report button for that person's work, and then to again resubmit own, hoping that next peer review will come from someone who didn't come here to make a mockery of this course but to really learn and grade other learner. Neither peers read how to give grade and based on what, nor their own projects are on topic, nor appropriate files, plus uploading copyright and stolen material from films, notes, and totally unrelated songs. Paying for a course to be forced to resubmit repeatedly the same files over grade from people who misusing this place, making it look like a joke, uploading stolen material for own works. I have never seen such poor course ending ever, and though my score is 100% on all other tests, this resubmitting because of some who clearly trying to cheat the system, yet giving bad grades to others, really made me decide never to use Coursera again.

By Mark D

•

Apr 19, 2016

The first few weeks are truly beginner/intro course stuff and the entire course is well taught. However, weeks 4-7 ramp up at far too fast of a pace. I spent 8-10 hours every week trying to keep up and it just moved too fast. The instructor was doing things at breakneck speed with little explanation. It gets very discouraging by the end because you simply can't play the material. I think this course is really for people who are re-learning guitar or already have musical backgrounds.

By Sam J

•

Mar 7, 2020

This class is terrible. You don't touch the guitar for the first two weeks and by the end you are expected to be able to make a multi-track recording by yourself. All of western music theory is dumped in your lap in one week. The difficulty level increases exponentially, from taking two weeks to cover the material in the first three pages of any level one guitar book, to requiring multi-track recording from a five minute video clip.

By Manoj K G

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Aug 9, 2017

Amazing course for a beginner and someone who want to pick it up after a long break. I would suggest this for people who has sufficient experience with the instrument. The tutor is really amazing.

By Ferenc G S

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Dec 3, 2015

While the course is definitely very good and thorough, the difficulty of each week is raising exponentially. First just learn one chord shape... then learn some picking techniques... then a small set of obscure and rarely used scales... and then suddenly a HUGE bunch of open chords, movable chords, power chords and a song too! Of course you got to play it all sounding nice and even like a metronome or your peers will pull your score down heavy. Maybe I'm not the most gifted guitarist, but I really felt like the learning curve here was just unfairly steep. I'm still giving the course 4 stars, because the material is still really good, but if you are beginner, be prepared to take it twice.

By Raymond F

•

Dec 27, 2015

This is a guitar class, done with class. Loved the teacher, Thaddius. After taking this class I got a job at a church playing guitar. This class increased my income by thousands a year.

By Oswaldo A

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Jan 10, 2016

I was looking for a course for a basic learner, this is not. I feel it very complicate and not friendly for a person with 0% guitar skills.

By Davide C

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Oct 1, 2016

Great introduction to guitar, before this course I already played acoustic guitar but with this course I've got many techical info I didn't know, e.g. on guitar positions and scales

By roma g

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Dec 31, 2016

A very nice well-rounded intro to guitar.

The amount of work really rises towards the end, but it does pay off.

The only issue I have is with this course is the barre chords. They are dumped nonchalantly on the learners and we're just expected to pick them up. This part is very hard on the beginners.

By Gaia B

•

Jul 11, 2020

Thadeus comes across as a very good, engaging instructor. Unfortunately though, the course is time gated did not give students the opportunity to complete the weekly objectives until a future date.

By Ross C

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May 30, 2020

Very impressed in particular with the pace and technical depth of the instructor's videos that taught me how and why the scales and chords are constructed, rather than just having us memorise them.

By Hayden B

•

Jan 24, 2020

Great beginner's guitar course for getting started learning playing technique and early music theory. Well recommended for any budding guitar player looking for a good place to start!

By Jim L

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May 13, 2016

Too many bugs with Coursera. Issues occur with submissions. System indicates submissions were successfully submitted. Then when you log back in it indicates your assignment is over due. Now I can't

By MM

•

Jan 13, 2016

Thaddeus is adept at touching on the very basic essentials of the guitar--electric and acoustic. I personally have learned so much from him. He's smart in his approach, articulate, and makes it so anyone of any skill level can learn how to play. Before, I always believed learning an instrument was such a daunting and insurmountable task, but with this course I find myself wondering why I never decided to take up guitar in the first place! That beings said, there are few caveats I will insert here which will explain why I gave it 4/5 stars: (1) This is an introductory course in its purest form. What do I mean by that? Well, if you have any prior knowledge of the guitar (as I had), you will find the beginning to be very, verrry slow. You will soon discover that you are not as "beginner" as you initially thought yourself to be. Hence, you will likely be frustrated, almost insulted by the seemingly obvious information being told to you. (2) Peer f*ing reviews: the the bane of my existence. Well, that's not entirely true. To be fair, they can sometimes be very helpful, but come on, to have to sit and evaluate five, fiiiiiiiive people's homework assignments can take away a pretty sizable portion of your day you didn't necessarily plan on allotting. I suppose it is a necessary evil, but to me it's just evil. A dreaded nuisance, in my opinion. (3) This class is metronome-friendly-centric-heavy. I'm not a metronome person, myself, and I never will be, even after all the times I felt like I was trying to be converted into one. It works for some, but not me..... In conclusion, please do not allow these thoughts to waver your decision on whether to take the course, but instead just be mindful of them. Take them with a grain of salt. My experience with the course may not be your experience. If you are committed to learning the guitar, this is a fabulous course to take that will, in fact, teach you a great deal of what you need to know. I'm only on Week 6, but I'm excited to be moving forward and gaining even more knowledge!

By Shivansh M

•

Sep 12, 2020

If you want to learn guitar no matter which guitar you want to learn acoustic or electric if you are a beginner then quickly join this course it will really help you to upgrade your skills in guitar.

By Mohammed H

•

Apr 5, 2020

This course was a brilliant experience. My special thanks to Thadeus Hoggart for his patient and well organized course. Highly recommended for all those who are planning to start playing the Guitar.

By Rastin K

•

Oct 12, 2015

Dear Friends,

I really enjoyed this course, specially the way "Thaddeus Hogarth" teach the course, It is unbelievably strong and master piece.

Thanks a lot "Thaddeus Hogarth"

God bless you

By Ana C R

•

Nov 24, 2020

They should have different teachers teaching different lessons since it gets very monotone and before you sign up they should let you know about participation and projects since not everyone is looking for that in this type of courses. Music theory was explained in a confusing and slow way in my humble opinion and I had to use my own teachers or google to ask some questions about it since it wasn´t clear (which is why I think different teachers for different types of students would be a great asset to this course). Also my grade is 90% but it doesn´t give me my certificate since I didn´t submit ONE assignment that I am not interested in completing and still got an amazing high rate without it but still the course is not `completed´ until then. Thank you for the tips.

By Shaikh M P

•

Jan 15, 2019

After finishing the recording of the final assignments, I was amazed how practice in proper way can help me develop. I was also surprised to see how a melody and strum played together in time cam sound so great. Now I know why there are more then one guitarist in all the great bands.

I was really out of tempo during the beginning of this course. I had a hard time keeping up with the metronome and keep both of my hands busy playing. Positioning the fingers in proper places in time was also a challenge.

Now I can somehow manage my fingers on the instrument a lot better than before. At week six, I finally am playing something that sounds like music rather than some scattered notes played here and there.

I will keep practicing with the current course materials until I am fluent with my instrument while searching more ways to progress.

The course offered by Berklee is well organized, to the point and contains precise materials. The interface offered by Coursera is the best with tons of features. This is the best so far I have seen. Everything is well organized and easy to switch between weeks, topics and many more.

Trust me you will enjoy your time here and the payback is great!

By Shrey J

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Sep 15, 2019

This course suits best for a beginner. It has all those core elements of guitar learnings, which a beginner requires. After taking this course, one can know his own guitar abilities, caliber and can explore further in the direction one should practice more. I must recommend this course for a music lover who is a beginner in the music world or specifically guitar one.

By Bruno U

•

May 30, 2020

The way Thaddeus introduces concepts makes it very natural to acquire them. Without noticing, after a couple of weeks, I was already making progress.

After this course I'm not a proficient professional guitar player, by any measure. But the little I can play I feel I really got, it feels sound. It feels as a solid foundation to build upon.

By Asad R

•

Jun 10, 2020

Thaddeus is a fantastic instructor. The course teaches how to read music and about the connection between the notes, scales, major chords and minor chords. It also introduces the Audacity program where you can record and mix tracks. As a beginner, I found the course great and it has given me plenty of material to practice and improve.

By Sujit G

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Mar 2, 2019

As an absolute beginner, I am thoroughly enjoying this course. It is really challenging me, but the instructor is doing a phenomenal job explaining everything!!!

By Jose T

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Jan 17, 2019

Very nice course for beginners and it is a good exercise to remember knowledge for intermediate guitarist.

By Gino E N

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Jan 31, 2019

Great explanation, lot of patience in the teaching. Perfect for beginners.