1162 Sawgrass Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32563
Tel: 850.934.1382
www.guitarlessonsinteractive.com
[email protected]
By Danica Davidson
Countless people dream of being great musicians, and at Guitar Lessons Interactive they’ve found a place to improve their guitar skills and experience a unique manner of learning. Guitar Lessons Interactive is online, but there is one big thing that separates it from countless other online schools. Namely, students here are able to see and speak with their teachers via the computer screen.
The idea is as revolutionary as it is simple. By attaching a webcam to a computer, having a microphone and getting on the internet, a student is able to see and hear his or her teacher. The teacher, in turn, can see the student. Skype software is needed to do this and can be easily downloaded from the internet for free. Likewise, webcams and microphones can be bought at inexpensive prices and attached to the computer. Any high speed internet, like cable line or DSL, will work.
Students register and set up individualized lesson time. This is not an instance of the teacher being filmed and broadcast to many students. This is one student and one teacher, each at completely different places in the country, if not the world, seeing and listening to each other on the computer screen. Small group lessons are also available.
Guitar Lessons Interactive, created in 2006, is the brainchild of Laura and Chuck Rogers, both of whom are very experienced in music and education. Chuck Rogers has more than thirty years experience in the field of music education, having worked as an elementary school music teacher, a guitar instructor and a band director. He was the founder and Headmaster of the Hawaii Community School of Music, part of the Hawaii Community College Office of Continuing Education and Training. In addition, he taught for the Community School of the Arts at Stetson University for seventeen years. As a composer, arranger, and performer, he has worked in recording studios and in various performance situations including five performances with the London Symphony Orchestra. Meanwhile, Julie Rogers, Guitar Lessons Interactive’s other teacher, has a Bachelor’s degree in classical guitar from Stetson University. For a decade she’s had a private studio teaching various forms of music and has performed on television.
Students can learn about music theory, classical guitar, finger style guitar, jazz guitar, folk guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, blues guitar and acoustic guitar. Free sheet music and a free guitar tab are available. Various other guitar products and accessories can also be purchased on the website. The very first lesson is free, so anyone who is curious can try it out and see how the lessons work.
To say this would be a blessing for homeschoolers would be putting it lightly. Guitar Lessons Interactive is for anyone, and is, without a doubt, ideal for homeschoolers. While there are many online schools out there, they tend to be ones where work is emailed, not where a student is able to look at and speak with his or her teacher at the same time. Rather than spending time searching for a good music instructor in the area, all a person has to do is go online to www.guitarlessonsinteractive.
These lessons are individualized to meet each student’s need. A student can be skilled in playing a guitar or can be a beginner. The teacher will assess the student’s skill level and decide what needs to be done. More difficult areas can be stretched into longer times, or students can progress quickly through anything that comes easily to them. The particular interests of students are also stressed, so that one student may study classical guitar while another jams with the electric guitar. There’s a bit here for everybody.
“We enjoy sharing knowledge and helping others grow to their full potential,” say the teachers of Guitar Lessons Interactive. “We feel very blessed to work with our students and watch them mature in their artistic and academic pursuits.” Likewise, students are very pleased to be taught by such talented and personal teachers. It’s not every day someone finds a form of education like this one. Although it hasn’t been around for long, Guitar Lessons Interactive already has its share of customers gushing about how glad they are to have registered.
“Guitar Lessons Interactive provides excellent instruction and is a very convenient way to study guitar since all lessons are taken online from my home computer,” says Tom R. of Orlando, Florida. Tolson M., of Clermont, Florida, exclaims, “Chuck Rogers is a master guitarist and instructor, and has focused on playing not only the score as written, but also on technique. This has helped me to bring out the beauty of the instrument and the amazing music that has been created for it. Chuck brings a world of experience to his teaching, and I am glad that I am one of his students.” Sam G., an eleven-year-old in Hawaii, expressed his happiness as well by saying, “I think Guitar Lessons Interactive and the guitar lessons are great. I’ve learned so much from what you are teaching me now. You’re a great teacher. Rock on!”
People all around the world can take part in Guitar Lessons Interactive. No matter where they are, they can pick up a guitar, get on the computer and learn the joy of music through qualified instructors right there in front of them.
For additional information or to enroll, please visit www.guitarlessonsinteractive.com. D.D.?
