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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Guitar for Beginners by Berklee

4.8
stars
2,246 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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51 - 75 of 655 Reviews for Guitar for Beginners

By Gwen P

Oct 19, 2020

I really got a lot out of this course. I've been playing 3-chord songs (no barre chords, no power chords, and definitely nothing with a consistent rhythm. In just this short time, all the pieces are coming together!

I like the instructors, low-key yet very precise approach in how he conveys new concepts and how we can best integrate his information from our brains to our inexperienced hands. It is an inspiring way to learn and keeps me motivated!

By Faisal R S

Jun 29, 2020

I learnt a lot of new things from this course. Every guitar beginner should take up this course.It was very well organized and the content was just up to the mark.Enjoyed a lot.One thing to focus on is peer graded reviews and assignments. Please show honesty in that section. It will benefit both the learner and the reviewer.

Lastly, I want to thank Professor Hogarth for his clear explanations and playing, Berklee College of Music and Coursea

By Ashraf A

Nov 17, 2020

The best course for beginners, even for those who never play guitar. You can learn basic music theory, music notes, forming major and minor chords, and even some scales. The quiz and assessment are suitable for beginners. By the end of the course, you could play and understand major and minor chords, major scale, and major and minor pentatonic scales. You can even learn how to do basic soloing in this course. Really recommend it.

By Mark A S

Feb 29, 2016

Overall, this course is excellent for both beginners and slightly experienced folks - or people wanting a beginning refresher. By the end of the 6th week, if you've practiced and turned in your assignments, you'll have the calluses and knowledge to keep plinking out tunes from the tabs you can find on the Interweb. Prof Hogarth's videos are easy to watch and helpful. The community of users and TAs is friendly and helpful, too.

By Christine C

Oct 11, 2020

Phenomenal Class! I went from never playing a guitar before to playing in a band, and actually playing all styles of music (Blues, heavy metal, folk, reggae, punk, & rock, pop, so far...) all in under three and a half weeks of instruction by Berklee Staff member Thaddeus! To keep it honest i made a point to practice A LOT- but the guidance from this Course is what took me to such proficiency so quickly. I HIGHLY recommend!

By Aaron S

Nov 29, 2016

This is a wonderful class. The teacher is very skillful in Guitar and very patient as well. At first I thought it is a very easy class so I choose it as my first MOOC class and I hope I can finish it in a short time. Insteadly I had made some mistakes before my classmate pointed it out and I am really benifit through this class. Many basic knowledge of guitar are produced and some of them is I've not learned before.

By Letitia C

Feb 27, 2021

This has been an interesting journey. Before this, I had never even touched a guitar. Upon commencement, I didn't even have an instrument. Things worked out. The videos were easy to follow and Thaddeus explained things as simply as possible. The resources such as the tuner was a tremendous help and reading and learning along my peers, understanding and sharing in their challenges and triumph was heart warming.

By Alan H L

Jun 24, 2020

This was an excellent beginners course for learning the guitar. It differs from other online courses by introducing music theory...which can be challenging to the newby...but yet that that challenges the mind...and is actually very interesting. The instructor is wonderful! Sometimes the material and exercises move too quickly...but this forms a foundation for continual practice and improvement.

By Louis K

Jun 5, 2017

This is a great introductory course! It gives you the basics that along with private lessons get you off and running in the journey to guitar playing. Thaddeus was an excellent instructor and was very complete in his explanations of the musical concepts. I throughly enjoyed this course and completed it before the deadline. Excellent course that I wish had a second course to continue the work.

By L “ F

Nov 23, 2015

If you want to see big improvements in your guitar playing, then enroll in this course. The course is well-suited for beginners with or without prior knowledge of the guitar. Everything that you need to know to jumpstart your guitar playing will be discussed in this course. Major takeaways from this course are the beautiful pieces and exercises that will help you have a focused practice session.

By Darío C L

Jul 10, 2016

This is the first online course I take on music and gotta say it was really great. I have some basics on guitar but the theory was never given to me. I just followed. Now I am able to read basic music sheets and even though i still need more practice to fully understand everything the information will still be online. Thank you and keep it up with the great course.

By Levy S

Nov 2, 2018

Clear, concise, nice user interface (UI), easy to navigate.

Great crash course on guitar basics 101.

I used to be an avid guitar player in my younger years, life, family, and work took priority.

This course has helped me get back to basics and build a strong foundation before I continue into music theory courses.

I'm stacking this with Rocksmith for that extra edge.

By Nicole B

Aug 27, 2020

Thaddeus Hogarth is a super guitar player who under the Berklee College of Music instructs with simplicity how to play the guitar. There are definitely challenging moments in the course yet through Thaddeus lectures and guidance helps students have break threw moments. A rewarding way to practice refresh knowledge of the instrument or just starting out.

By Biren M

Jun 26, 2020

This course if very good for Beginner Guitarist or anyone who is planning to learn guitar as this course covers all the basics for guitar playing and theory knowledge required while learning a guitar. The lessons are very interesting and tutor is also quite experienced. I had a great time learning it and suggest others to also enroll for this course.

By Deborah S

Mar 18, 2021

What should I say. I learned to play guitar. I am on the beginning. But I have fun. The videos are very well. Everything is understandable. I learned to read guitar notes. All what a beginner neads.

I forgot. The most favourite on this course is that you get all material for download. Hence it is possible to go through the material again at any time.

By Raziq I B A L

Oct 12, 2021

The instructor, Thaddeus, teaches everything with sufficient clarity and depth that would definitely go far in helping students complete the course. I started off knowing only basic chords but I finished off getting a better grasp of time signatures, reading musical notation and i can even improvise a bit using the minor pentatonic scale.

By V i c t o r i a C

Jun 28, 2020

Thank you Thaddeus Hogarth for patiently teaching us the skill require to start with all about Guitar. Thank you peers for reviewing my work. I enjoyed every bit of it even though sone times I felt like I need to give my fingers and my brains rest. This was by far the most enjoyable course on coursera to me.

By Mark P

Jun 4, 2020

Good course for beginners. Covers all the basics in a very quick survey. The course taught me how to digitally record my playing. I became familiar with playing scales, and learned about time signatures and reading notes and tablature. I'm inspired and am off to take the next Guitar course in the series.

By Blaike B

Oct 22, 2015

So far this course is amazing! The teacher is phenomenal and will most defiantly help me with my guitar. Within the first week I have realized that there is so much more to a guitar than just the guitar, the picks, and the case. I recommend this course for anyone looking on information on the guitar.

By Jorge S

Jul 31, 2020

I loved everything about the course but I think that the last peer review part still needs to be polished as I was constantly going to see if someone has a pending review and none appeared. It was until I asked in the forums that people asked for help as their assignments have been peer reviewed.

By Swifty F

Apr 18, 2016

So far, I have been enjoying this course and I don't regret taking it. This course has helped me learning a lot of skills in Guitar. It's a course that anyone should take to know better about Guitar and the lecturer is friendly and understandably good. I know more, I learn more, and I love it more!

By Phil B

Sep 23, 2020

Great intro to guitar. Fast-paced if you work full-time, so make sure you plan to carve out some time and really practice the material. I am excited to go back through some of the handouts and work on things more when I have time, and hopefully before too long will feel ready for the next course!

By Vikram S

Jun 7, 2020

Thanks to Coursera for providing such an amazing course!! I'm very happy and satisfied by enrolling in this course and recently I've been successfully completed this course and earn a certificate too!! It is really a great experience of learning guitar from such a prestigious music college.

By Tania M

Feb 14, 2016

Great course, now I understand what the pentatonic scale really is and the chromatic scale. Some of the Peer Reviews could crush you but this is the place to be a student and make mistakes. I made my first iPhone Garageband multi track for this course. Thanks Thadeus Hogarth and Berklee.

By Sai S V

Jun 7, 2020

Its a wonderful experience..this course not only has training to play guitar..but it also has the subject.

Many know how to play a chord..but very few know the formation of a chord.. this course helped me to learn them. This increased my interest towards guitar even more. Thank you.